I noticed that my chillwave bottles are getting close to their best by dates 5/20 and I know in the past we talked about victory and theirs are about 5-6 months after bottling, but does anyone know how Great Lakes marks there's? I didn't think chillwave has been out for 6 months so there's no way that is right is it? They still taste fine to me, I'm just curious as to how old they actually are.
The beer has a 90-day shelf life. source: http://www.greatlakesbrewing.com/uploads/Beer/Chillwave Beer Profile Sheet 2014.pdf
Chillwave seems to hold up a little better than a lot of DIPA's. I wouldn't hesitate to drink one even if it was close to the 6-month mark. Might not be all it was in its prime, but certainly not deserving of the drain either.
agreed with @glass_house above on the life of chill wave - if anything the mango flavors become more prominent? I had one that was 'best by' 5/11 last night and it was pretty tasty. I wouldn't use the term "shelf life" because it says 'best by' not 'sell by' - but still, could certainly be a haggling point if you feel like getting a deal.
I've been drinking it consistently and it's been fine, but i didn't think i had it that long so that makes sense. Appreciate all the info!
I had a few (then Alchemy Hour) left well into summer of 13 last year and thought they were still delicious.
I had several Chillwaves that were past the Best by date by a month or so. Still had that gushy gushy wet wet honey taste. So gooood. Honestly though, it still is solid, and it still tastes great. Lost some hoppiness, but it was still solid. Did i mention it was solid?
Stopped after work today and found a handful of Chillwaves still on the shelf. Best by 5/11/14. Drinking one right now and it is still delicious. Some may even say solid.
Just had one last night. Still fantastic and definitely has that honey citrus sweetness going on. According to the new generation of beer snobs though, I believe we are supposed to drain pour it because a 3 month old dipa is absolute garbage
I drank a 2 year old Christmas Ale 3 months ago and it was still SUPER tasty! Drink ALL IPAs as fresh as you can. If you're unsure, I'll send you my address.
I understand, but don't completely agree with, the "drink all IPAs as fast as you can because they only get worse" sentiment. I had a roughly one-year old HopSlam that was aged in perfect conditions, and it was better to my palate than a fresh one (of which I've had several). Sure, the hop resin was perhaps not as pronounced on the nose, but the 10% abv had receded into the background and the hop, honey and alcohol flavors were more balanced imho. I liked it better. I think for those looking for a huge aroma from immensely dry-hopped DIPAs, then yeah the fresher the better, but when it just comes to an enjoyable beer to drink, it's not nearly as important as people seem to think, again imo.
I notice that mosaic-forward IPAs tend to keep better than other IPAs, at least in the case of Chillwave and 2XOne. must be the hop profile.
