Draft IPA age?

This, plus remember it has probably been refrigerated the entire time which will help keep the beer longer.

 

Most commercial kegs have a suggested shelf life of 90 days, less in some cases. I wouldn't touch anything that old. Or pay for it anyway.

 

When I buy kegs I always check the dates before I leave the store. With IPAs I like to be no older than 60 days so I have time to drink it. A bar could tolerate being close to the 90 day window because they presumable have a better run rate. Before I got picky about dates I did have a 90+ day old Lagunitas IPA that I wound up returning to the store, when the store contacted the distributor to get a fresher keg to replace it with he found that all they had was 90+ days old.

 

IMHO that beer wasn't good fresh, wouldn't drink it now at all.

 

I know what bar we are talking about and even if they got it fresh, I doubt they would kill it before it went "bad"

 

I used to think that draft beer would be “fresh”. I have had too many ‘off’ draft pints of Sculpin and Pliny the Elder to think that way anymore. When I go to a beer bar I will often ask for a sample of a hoppy beer before ordering a pint; that tactic has saved me from drinking many an ‘old’ IPA. I will use my 5 bucks to buy a non-old beer instead.

Cheers!

 

I love The Oceanic and always go back.

 

That depends on the IPA. And also upon one's individual taste preference.
Historically speaking, IPA is, of course, traditionally a long-aged style (and remained so even long after the days of it being shipped to India by slow boat ).
The bastardized "American" IPA currently popular seems to be favored by most folks when consumed über-fresh (I've heard people jokingly ask "...but what TIME was it bottled")...but even many of the new American IPAs are very good for quite a few months beyond their packaging date. The profile changes, of course, but not always to the detriment of the flavor. In the end, it all depends what you're looking for in your IPA anyway.

 

Well of course it is personal preference if you don't like in your face hops. I'll stick with my bastardized American IPA less than 90 days old. You can buy the old stuff.

 

Sorry, I'd pass. I don't pay good money for hoppy beers that aren't fresh.

 

If you're looking for strong hoppy aroma and taste, it has to be fresh. My rule is 2 months. If I'm paying 5-10 dollars for a glass of beer, I want it to be really good. I know I sound like a snob, but when you drink an old (modern American) IPA, you're just not getting what it's supposed to be. It's like ordering filet mignon and asking them to cook it well done.

 

I know -- what's w everybody needing fresh beer? I like to make the analogy with bread -- why do people get so up tight eating a 2 week old loaf of whole grain bread??? Why do they waste it by throwing it in the garbage after a couple of days? So it's a little stiff, dry, and crusty -- that's the way the baker intended it to be! -- and he says it's good for at least 3 weeks.....so just eat it and stop whining.

 

You're completely entitled to that. I'm just not sure there would be a discernible difference in the beer over that course of time. $5 a glass doesn't seem too steep, depending on the serving size. Whatever floats everyones respective boat.

 

Not to get off subject, but I have to go to Indoshine, Boca Bay Brunch, Sweet n Savory, and Oceanic every time I come back to visit. Its getting expensive haha.
I hear Lighthouse is getting some crazy good stuff these days.

 

I went to Buffalo Wild Wings (I have no idea why) recently and had a hop drop that must have been over 6 months old AND dirty tap lines. I ordered a Sam Adams after tossing that one back to the "bartender".

 

Does storing a keg in a cooler slow down the aging process?

 

It sure does but the key words are "slow down". Even with cold storage beer undergoes oxidation processes. One of the way that oxidation processes manifests itself in hoppy beers is via hop fade.

Cheers!

 

Yes stuff on tap goes bad just like bottles or cans. I run a beer program at my work(SteakHouse,18 taps) and my reps know dont even bother sending any Ale that is over 2 months old already. they know that i want fresh IPA that maybe rated lower if its fresher. Founders is struggling because they pour way to much into Chicago. Dark Penance is still on tap places and its so old. I tried it and its not close to the same. You have to watch breweries that only brew stuff once or are not as popular. Even in Chicago my #1 and 2 beers are Sculpin and Stone IPA. Because we tell people these are the freshest there are. Goose Island brews there IPAs in one wave, Ill only buy them when they first come out. Most good beer bars in Chicago follow the same idea.

 

This is true. I also order samples before I purchase a Pint. That way I know for a fact that I'm getting what I pay for. I tried Sculpin on tap a few months ago and it was still not that Tropical/Floral brew I remembered. So, I just went with Go To instead. The power of taste testing.

 

Thank you be being a good publican. I wish there were more bar owners/managers like you!

I recently posted my concerns about beer age of bottled/canned beers but I think this applies to kegged beer as well:

“…too much old product sitting on the shelf.” I have been a little frustrated on this topic of late. I am concerned there is not an easy answer here. The overall beer distribution process has so many moving parts:

· Breweries project demand for their various beer brands and produce certain amounts accordingly

· Wholesale distributors purchase beer brands from a large portfolio of breweries (again based upon projected demand)

· Beer retailers order beer brands from wholesale distributors based upon their judgment on what beer consumers want

Of the above it is my guess that the brewery/wholesale distributor is the ‘weak link’. I have seen too many older beers showing up at my local retailers fresh off the truck. For example, I noticed a ‘new’ stack of SNPA at one of my local retailers a week ago and those beers were already 3+ months old. That retailer has very quick turnover so there is no doubt that they received these beers with this amount of age from the wholesale distributor. I do not anticipate that SNPA will just ‘sit’ at this retailer but let’s suppose this beer was an IPA or DIPA and the customers are similar to BAs who demand hoppy beers be only 1-2 months old. These types of consumers would refuse to buy these 3+ month old beers and it is easy to see that in a few months these beer will still be ‘sitting’ and then will be 5+ months old.

I also discussed this topic here: http://www.beeradvocate.com/communi...h-west-coast-ipas-in-snj.238644/#post-3088345

Cheers!