How well does Deviant Dale's hold up?

I wouldn't want any hoppy beer over three months old. Three months is definitely my limit, and it would have to be a rare beer to pick it up at that age. I usually shoot for under a month and a half.

 

3 months...I'd probably buy it if nothing else caught my eye
4 months...I'd probably pass

 

This is why I love shops that sell singles

 

like the comment above. three months is fine by me, four is past it's prime and i feel i owe it to the beer to wait and try it once i can find it fresh.

 

I believe around here it is usually old because it's so expensive by the case. I think I've seen it for $75-80. The 4-packs probably sell quickly but hard to find.

 

I'd definitely skip the Dales at that age. What area are you from? It's often still possible to find local IPAs that are far superior to something aged like that.

 

This reminds me of the time that I went into a local Walgreens and saw the had a new craft beer section and they had Dale's on sale for 9.99 a six. I looked at the canning date and it was about six weeks old, so I bought it. Went home chilled them, opened one and it gushed all over the place. Tasted it and it was so disgusting, no carb from the explosion and was a complete messy malt bomb, no hops to be found. Looked at the date and realized it was a YEAR and six weeks old. Bad luck on that one ha-ha. Since then I've made sure to check the year also on the date.

 

I did a quick search, and it looks like you have no shortage of breweries in that area. Ithaca Beer Company should only be about 40 minutes from Elmira, so if freshness is your issue, just drive right to the source!

Also, why not check out the following and get some growlers (or bottles if they have it)
Upstate Brewing Company's X.P.A. or I.P.W. (India-style Pale Wheat Ale)- both seem promising
Birdland Brewing Company's Blue Jay - unrated, so you could be discovering something awesome
Horseheads Brewing Inc.'s Horseheads IPA - 4.05 rAvg based on 40 reviews
Iron Flamingo Brewery's IPA - unrated, but who knows!?
Yorkholo Brewing Co.'s Mountaineer East Coast IPA
Two Goats Brewing's Wyck'd Nuggets IPA or Goat-gasm - i mean, with a name like that...

I'm sure that most of these beers are not world class, but I often find that a fresh, above average local IPA can be wayyy better than a 3-month old, well-rated IPA.

But maybe you know that already, since your name is @HorseheadsHopHead

 

I would go ahead and give it a try, it's not like you're buying a whole case. Oscar Blues's canning system and quality control is going to be better than your average brewery, so the hop flavors are going to last longer.

 

Please try our IPA. I would love to hear your thoughts and of course what your rating would be. Check out our website under "Beers" for a quick write up.