IPAs/DIPAs that hold up best (or worst)

I agree about Jai alai. Grapefruit sculpin I can get 2 months out of it just dosent have as sweet of a grapefruit taste to me, more of a bitter ipa with grapefruit at that point. 2 hearted falls hard to me after about 6 weeks. .

All Sierra nevada seems to be good 6+ months as does regular lagunitas ipa and nighttime. I like arrogant bastard a month or two AFTER the enjoy by. Tastes sweeter almost like a barleywine so good.

One thing I have not confirmed 100% is how HOP HUNTER holds up. Awesome fresh, then a few weeks ago had a 2/18 bottle. Couldn't tell if it was just me, or if it lost some zing.

 

I had a 750ml of Uinta Detour DIPA from 06/2013 recently that, surprisingly, still had a nice hop component. Usually these beers that are heavily hopped become one dimensional but this one was actually really nice. I believe 90 Minute holds up pretty well like most hoppy DFH beers.

 

I had an Enjoy By 4/20 on 5/21. Taste was still amazing

 

Dogfish head ipas all holdup well. Enjoy by doesn't it is still only a little more than a month old at the enjoy by date. Yes it is good after the enjoy by date, but two months after the enjoy by date it isn't very good and that's only 3 months old.

 

Just another vote for Dogfish Head. Man that stuff lasts.

 

Any beer that uses hops that have even alpha to beta acid ratios will hold up very well. Alphas degrade faster whereas betas will have a greater hop character over time. Look for IPAs that use Hallertau, Mt Hood, Saaz, Tettnanger, Fuggle, Sturian Golding Willamette and Cascade. They have a good A-B ratio. In general, avoid older beers with Centennial, Nugget, Simcoe and Summit hops. They will be very hoppy fresh but will fizzle out after 2-3 months. Beers that are designed for longer aging will go heavy on the high beta acid hops for greater longevity. They do that to avoid the stale bread, wet paper and cardboard flavors.

 

Chillwave becomes a sweet, barleywine-esque beer. Definitely not the in your face tropical bomb it is fresh but definitely unique and enjoyable

 

I had a year old Hop Stoopid that tasted pretty darn good. That was first one I bought. Second one was ~6 months old (different store however) and tasted about the same as the year old one. We have freshness issues around my parts.

 

Bell's Mars held up pretty well. The hops yielded a bit, but still great a few months old. I still have a few in the cellar. I'll find out at some point how well it ages out.

 

Sixpoint Resin is just as great at 6-7 months as it is fresh. Probably even longer than that.

 

I've had a handful of the Enjoy By's after the date, they've been fine.

 

A couple of years ago I found a Hopslam in the back of my fridge in July which had been purchased in February. It still was great.

 

Best = two hearted. I had a six month old two hearted that was very good. Worst = anything dry hopped most recently in the worst column ommegangs hopstate new york.

 

FWIW I think otwoa is better with a couple weeks on it, rather than "canned yesterday." The hops need to fade a touch to catch up to the malt. It seems a bit under carbed right off the line as well, although I believe this is intentional as it is every batch.

 

Dogfish 120

 

Apparantly, these criteria are important:
1.alpha:beta ratio (close to 1:1)
2. amount of dissolved oxygen is in the beer (less)
3. whether it is bottle conditioned (related to dissolved oxygen)

 

I'm another fan of the longevity of DFH IPAs. I've had 120's years old and they may have improved.

 

Stating the obvious...canned more than bottled

 

I just drank my last today. Definitely sweeter as it aged but still quite enjoyable.