Fresh beer?

They say the same exact sentences about the Pliny.

 

I would not say that a beer's flavor changes for the worse as it ages, it just deteriorates. It also depends on the style especially with hop forward beers.

 

Certain beers fare better with age than others. Malty beers, wild beers, and ones with a lot of alcohol do the best (but even then a lot has to do with personal preferences). Being as Belgian beers are often big, boozy, malty beers, or sours they do very well at aging. However, being as American IPAs and other styles (especially dry hopped ones) fall off noticeably rather quickly because they rely so heavily on hops for flavor and aroma, many US beers should be drank as quickly as possible.

That said, there is nothing wrong with drinking everything fresh if you can. However, don't go too overboard. A 60- or 90-day-old IPA won't magically become poison, the flavor and aroma will just be different.

 

I want fresh beer and I want it cheap. There, I've said it. Of course you can't always get what you want.

 

All beers oxidized after being brewed, some faster than others. In some beers this creates an issue of off flavors like in the case of IPA. In a large stout or barleywine this process can create sherry flavors that people actually enjoy. I also find pils to be a better beer when fresh. It doesnt have the alcohol strength to help with aging, and falls off quick.

 

Perhaps. I've had Pliny many times in varying states of age, and it's not nearly as sensitive as Tree House stuff, in my opinion.

 

That what I was trying to say

 

The most obvious example here is IPAs; however, to say that the beer isn't as good with age is a matter of opinion. The beer changes and the hop freshness wears off and the maltiness in the beers comes forward. Is this unpleasant to some? Absolutely, but to others this may be welcome. I've had a Heady Topper when fresh and it was mind blowing in my opinion. I held another for about a year or two and the beer was completely different.

 

8 months??? Try 2 months. The snobbyness of proffessing that we need to drink pas/ipas/iipas as fresh as possible, to me at least, carries the most truth of anything we proffess. These highly hopped ales need to be drinken ASAP, they really do.

 

i find myslef asking this quite often. im a new beer consultant and my manager wont let me discount beers that i believe are far out of date. for instance i found a case of southern teir 2x ipa that was over a year old!

 

Not being a fan of the overly hopped, super exclusive, drink within 15 minutes beer; I say if you really want it super fresh: brew your own. It's fun and the aroma in the house is wonderful. Well, I think so even if my wife doesn't.

 

I'm more of a 3-4 month guy, so I stretched it in case anyone did it. They might not notice if they don't believe it. Fresh hops vs dead hops is a real thing for sure.

 

I was fond of the brand that was revived, shame it is gone now. Some info on it----
http://www.shelbycountyhistory.org/schs/archives/industryarchives/woodenshoinua.htm
The revived version was from Elevator Brewing....a solid bock and a decent wheat.

 

Thank you for that link!

I wonder if @jesskidden is familiar with this link?

Cheers!

 

6 day old beer only on reasonably local beer. 30 day old beer happens more often now than in the past. Established brands with big followings (and hype) tend to be able to ship on a larger scale, enhancing potential freshness. Smaller and emerging brands without strong followings have more difficulty with freight and freshness issues.

 

Considering the wealth of info he knows, chances are probably pretty darn good!

 

Fresh beer at a busy pizza place can't be beat.