Getting Old IPA's in trade

Not a bad idea to get confirmation from the trader on the bottle date/enjoy by date before they ship. Give your trade partner a deadline such as "please make sure all IPAs are within 30 days of bottle date,"
Just gotta be reasonable based on availability.

I've had good luck with trading and the beers I've gotten are fresh.

 

To be fair I would see if they are dated at all. If not it might not be entirely the other person's fault. They might have bought them from a reputable place and sent them without trying one assuming that they would be fairly fresh.

 

It will happen, but let's be fair. Not all of us compulsively check bottle dates and mistakes do happen. I've received a couple over-the-hill IPAs (note the lack of apostrophe) and it's never a great experience, but recognize that the freshness issue is largely an inflated one. That said, if you're getting year-old Sculpin something's off.

 

Even if its dated, I like to get a pack or two of the bombers and check for myself. If I am satisfied, I mail the others. I have been burned a few too many times to let anyone else get weak IPAs. I have also asked those I trade with to provide fresh beer, if the style demands it.

 

When trading for IPAs/any hoppy beer I always specify w/ the person I'm trading with that they must be fresh or I don't want to make the trade. I tend to go for the "bottled within 30 days" approach, but I can be flexible if it's something that isn't made as often and is still within 6 weeks of bottling. If they then send me something that is old I have the right to give them bad feedback.

 

You handle it by asking the bottled-on date and if the person stored it cold until shipping...if not...what's to complain about?

 

If it's part of the main trade then if the bottle is dated and is obviously old or it is known when the last bottling was done so they know they are sending an old IPA then that's not too cool. Whenever trading IPAs I always specify that they be FRESH and have never had trouble. Extras are different. While I would never send anybody an old extra it's hard to complain about something you're getting for free. I'm sure everybody has received old IPAs as extras and unless there is a date on them it's hard to tell if the person even knew they were old. Many reputable shops still seem to leave old, undated IPAs on the shelf which is a shame.

I don't think it's a bad feedback situation. More of a maybe I shouldn't trade with that person again type of situation. It could be a newbie trader situation where they are unaware that IPAs go bad quickly.

Whenever I receive or buy IPAs they go straight to the regular fridge so they get drank first so they can't get lost in the cellar.

The brewers are part of the problem as dating should be mandated on beers like IPAs or people should talk with their wallet and tell them why they are not buying them.

 

What beers were they? Were the bottles dated?

 

Ive gotten old IPA that were bottle dated, like 6 months old, but I just assume they're not really Hop Heads and think any beer on the shelf is a good one. I really need to be specific with IPA's, but I'd never send out anything I knew to be well under 30 days old, and I don't have to, the stuff we get here cycles so fast it's usually a few days old when I get it.

 

i always ask for a bottled on date...that way if it shows up and it's not what they said...they either got some splainin to do or they're getting crap feedback. gotta do your best to protect yourself, with beer trading through the mail there are a lot of variables, this is why a lot of the time i trade for beers that put this out of the equation.

 

I don't believe the OP said anything about pouring out month old IPAs. Not everyone can tell the difference between a 15 day or 60 day old IPA, but some can. Personally, I have trouble with month old IPAs sometimes. No one is saying brewer's opinion are wrong. If you asked them, they would all tell you IPAs have more aroma, stronger bitterness, and less oxidation when they are 9 days old than 90 days old.

I don't know how it works where you're at, but I often see kegs of IPA/DIPA that are under 2 weeks old here in LA bars. I've had kegs as young as 3 days old. Some bars here take pride in providing fresh young hoppy beer, even posting photos of the keg collar on social media to prove the freshness.

In the end, it's not snobbery, it's simply a taste preference. I would much rather drink a fresh IPA than an old one. Trading IPAs is tough because not only do you have to worry about bottling date, but you have to take in consideration how it was stored by the person who bought it and then what kind of temperatures it's been exposed to in the Fedex/UPS trucks. The heat can degrade flavors/aroma much much faster.

 

So maybe its an issue of different perspective/expectations/tastes than snobbery?

 

Once got a stout that was a couple months past it's enjoy by date, but that's not really an issue. I always do a quick check of dates even on extras before I send it away. I figure sending an old IPA is just as bad as not sending anything.