Draft IPA age?

You have some "bad money" ?

 

It is fairly old at this point, but they did do a batch a month or so after the original.

 

I honestly can't stress enough knowing what comes in when and if it is a one time brew. Deschutes.. they just brewed Red Chair. Now is the time to drink it.. Even though it is a seasonal I highly Doubt they brew/bottle more than once. I honestly drink Pipeworks, Ballast, Stone, FFF, Green Flash, Surly... I know they go through a ton a product and they keep brewing and bottling all the time. Some are small batch or stuff like Sculpin goes so fast it is always fresh. I am on beer menus and I laugh when I see bars that finally get offered something because they normally wouldnt be allocated and they take it!! And one last point... BUSY BARS mean more beer in and out!

 

I agree with the other posters saying just enjoy the beer, but i don't really understand your reply. You say that draft is always fresh, yet say that it isn't fresh? Am I trippin

 

I was in the same position before when I found a bar that had hoarded a keg of hopslam until the early summer. It tasted like a malty, syrupy mess. Not the hop bomb you've grown to expect at all.

It was however worth the few bucks just to try it and see for myself. I suggest you do the same.

 

If it tastes good to you, then it's fine.

 

And perhaps it was $5 for a 32 oz. because.....

 

Ding ding ding WINNER!

 

Could I add dry hops during the brewing? In this way, will the flavor of the IPA change comparing with adding hops pellet?

 

My own personal experience is that draft beer is rarely fresher than bottled beer. Although I guess thats somewhat unfair because I only drink draft beers at establishments whereas I drink bottled beers at home where I am in direct control of their freshness dates.

Why? Shouldn't he have the write to know if he's being served a 6 month old IPA masked as a fresh beer?

 

I strongly support this statement. This can be inserted into half of the topics on this site

 

He has the right to know, he already knows. He didn't say the establishment was masking a 6 month old IPA as a fresh beer. He said they were tapping it. Looks like he was asking if it was "worth it", not if he was being tricked. My point to the original poster is that I doubt the beer will have morphed into something unpleasant in the keg within that time frame.

 

Kegs have a shorter code date than bottled or canned beer. I'd pass.

 

“Kegs have a shorter code date…”

What exactly are the best by dates for kegs?

Cheers!

 

The dates are usually on the keg, so someone has to look at the keg. The best by dates depend on the type of beer and the standard the brewery puts on the beer.
An example I am using from personal knowledge is that Budweiser has a code date on packaged beer of 110 days and the keg dates are 50 days.

 

My guess for the difference in the case of Budweiser is that packaged beer is pasteurized while the keg is not pasteurized.

Cheers!

 

Yes Bud kegs are not pasteurized, so it depends on a few things and how each brewer kegs their beers.

 

I'd ask for a sample. I've had some old keg beer that I wished I would've gotten a refund on.

Or don't. And maybe put your money toward a product that's fresh and still awesome. It's a buyer's market out there.

 

It is my understanding that the vast majority of craft breweries do not pasteurize their beers whether packaged or kegged.

I would be willing to bet that the keg of Stone 18th Anniversary has no best by date on the keg collar label.

Cheers!

 

I work for a distributor and all of our kegs have a filled on or best by date. I'm pretty sure there is a date on the Stone keg collar because the sales rep or delivery guy would need to determine if the beer is still within quality control limits. But these can be removed.
Cheers!