"Heady MUST be kept cold."

The first time I went up to the Alchemist I bought a few cases, put some in the fridge and kept the rest sitting on my condo floor. 3 or so months later I polished off my last Heady, one which spent it's entire life unrefrigerated. I still tasted damn good. Definitely a shell of itself at compared to the first I had that was a few hours old, but still in the upper echelon of IPAs.

The next time I went to the Alcehmist this past June, I decided to keep every can in the fridge. I can definitely tell you that it holds up better over time when kept cold (obviously). That said, a week unrefrigerated won't do much of anything.

 

Based upon your mention of Alpha Acids I believe you are conflating the issue of hop storage with beer storage.

Let’s discuss hop storage first. Oxygen and temperature are both enemies for hops. The best way to store hops (in order the minimize degradation of the Alpha Acids) is packaging purged of air and cold. Hop Union packages their hops (pellets) in nitrogen flushed mylar packages (mylar is oxygen impermeable). Once you have those hops you are instructed to store them in your freezer. By packaging in an oxygen free manner and storing cold you can keep those hops for years. Below is from the Hop Union website:

“How long will my hops stay fresh?

Hop deterioration is impacted by numerous variables, the two most important being heat exposure and oxidation. For properly sealed, nitrogen flushed pellets, customers can expect a 3-4 year life expectancy. Raw hops however have a much shorter life span (approximately 6 months to 1 year). Regardless of the product size or packaging, hops should be stored in a cold, air tight environment to ensure optimum freshness and quality.”

As regards beer, the best way to mitigate the beer from going stale (including hop fade) is by storing beer cold.

“Temperature -

It is best to keep beer refrigerated at all times. Warm temperatures will hasten the spoilage of beer, like any other food. The chemical reactions that occur during beer staling are accelerated by temperature. A common myth is that cycling beer from cold to warm and back to cold temperatures will damage its flavor. This is only true in that warm temperatures are bad for beer. Higher temps and severe temperature swings (cold-warm-cold-warm) can cause an excelerated oxidative process, shorting the shelf life of beer. Keeping beer cool is always good for the preservation of its flavor.”

You can read more about how best the keep beer here:http://www.consumersbeverages.com/beerinfo/index.html

Cheers!

 

Since Jai Alai hasn't been in cans for even a year yet, I'm fairly sure you're a time traveler.

 

Or was referencing the bottles which have been around for a few years.

 

Hmmm, I wonder if the employees from the old brewpub kept their mason jars cold the whole way home.

 

Fair, just the mere mention of Heady gets my head on a one-way track to can land.

 

I didn't say it was...

 

I kept some in my basement for 3 months, and it was still delicious.

 

I don't think anyone is saying heady isn't delicious when not consumed fresh, it just tastes nothing at all like it does that first 7 days when kept cold. That fresh taste is what sets it apart from other IIPA's.

 

Nope buy it transport it warm and then chill it you are golden

 

See: http://beeradvocate.com/community/threads/do-you-need-to-keep-heady-topper-cold.40372/

 

They make one beer so they have nothing else obsess over.