Nuggect Nectar: how old is too old?

Good god man that is almost two months old...I can't believe you even wasted your money on a single.

 

Geez Louise this is getting out of hand

 

Nugget Nectar is not an IPA it has the hop profile of an IPA but the malt base of an Amber/Red ale. It will hold up fine for a couple of months although the flavor and aroma from the hops will not be as prominent as they were a month and a half ago it should still taste just fine. I finished the last bottle I had about a week ago and it was still absolutely delicious so I would say that you should be fine. Although I did purchase from the fridge when I bought my last six pack and not at room temp so that may make a slight difference.

 

Depends on how it was stored... Strong hop profiles that sit on the shelf fall a lot harder and faster than cold stored. I had a Nugget Nectar that was 3 weeks old that was terrible, but it was warm stored on the shelf, and I had one that was 1.5 months old that was still great, from the cooler.

 

I think I'd buy a six pack of 3/25 if I found it around here.

 

I'm not trying to be combative, but if you are telling me a three week old Nugget Nectar was terrible because it was stored on a shelf at room temp, I am going to call bullshit and say you either just had a bad bottle or your mind is playing tricks on you.

This falling off nonsense is getting so far out of hand it is ridiculous.

 

sorry to all you NN lovers, this years fresh sixer was the worst beer ive had this year, bitter onion bomb. the older it gets i might even think its decent now. maybe i should try a single. my personal guideline is every beer is different, last year cw illumination was superb at about 6-7 month, still very good 8-9 months. this year's fresh may have been the second worst beer ive had this year. port hop 15 is also (alot) better right now than even 1 month ago. agree with hanzo, this falling off is nonsense. another example 2010 port high tide was still killing it at 6 months old. super fresh heady topper this year was outstanding, my highest rated beer. then again, i would not mind trying that either at 6 months of age, too bad i couldnt save even one can.

 

Dude -- come on.

 

I have been buying cases since it first came out in February, just bought another one from the last batch bottled in late March. I did a side by side just because I was curious about how it would hold up. I agree it isn't as hoppy as fresh but still a damn good beer. I am still looking around for more so if anybody knows who has it in the mid atlantic, let me know. Plan on drinking this through the summer. Cheers,
Scott

 

I could not agree with this more. Im not going to post one of those, "back in the day we used to drink stuff 100 years old" threads because the more you learn about freshness and beer you obviously would prefer to drink it as fresh as possible. But to think that a beer with a bottled on date less than two months old is suddenly complete crap is beyond absurd. I am also not trying to be a d*ck or combative, but at a certain point common sense needs to step in here. If the only way an IPA or other hop-centric styles tasted good was by actually being at the brewery and sucking it directly from the kettle the only people on this site would be brewmasters and brewery employees.

 

Ok, let me preface this by saying I'm a HUGE Nugget Nectar fan, I've been drinking it for years (even get a keg of it each year) and love every year of it......but. This year something was off. It just was not the same bright citrus hoppy explosion of a beer that it was in past years. My first glass from the very fresh (one week old) keg was one of disbelief. It tasted 3 months old. Call me crazy, I'm cool with that because I actually wonder myself if my palate just changed. But I come back to the fact that I have loved it each and every year prior, so why this year am I not totally digging it? Remember, this was ultra fresh NN, not sitting on a shelf anywhere.

Then just a few weeks ago I spotted a bottle in a beer cooler at a bar, so I ordered it. Guess what, that bottle tasted even worse with very little hop flavor and just an overall disappointment. So am I crazy? Perhaps.

That being said, I will buy it again next year and hope (really hope) that it was a one time thing. There was a rumor floating around (ever substantiated?) that the early batches were infected. I never saw where this was actually proven though.

So long story long? Buy it and try it then decide for yourself. I personally am done with NN this year, I even passed up another keg that was available last week. In prior years I would have snatched that thing right up, not this year.

 

Last weekend I had one that was bottled in February. It was still very good. Not as good as fresh, but still really really good. Fresh NN is just so great, a couple months on it will still be better than most.

 

There was definitely some inconsistency this year, and there were a bunch of posts on the Mid-Atlantic board regarding bottling dates. I got an early case with diacetyl issues, barely perceptable at first but got really noticable at the end, buttery and almost oxidized. I did give it another shot when the second release came along and that one had no problems. cruisian above may have gotten one of the 'bad' batches and attributed it to warm storage.

 

if it is 10 minutes old you should pass on it.

 

I think the OP was wise to buy only a single once he noticed the bottled on date. I would suggest giving it a try now. Everyone has different tastes. If you don't like it, you're only out the cost of one bottle. If you do, you might still be able to find more. I had some All Day IPA last weekend that was bottled in December. It was still nicely hoppy and enjoyable.

 

Extremely well done. Please remember that common sense is not very common