Old IPAs - What to do about this problem?

Not the cross country trek that you are asking/nor am I in inventory management for a distributor but I do want to test something at work now. We have a couple craft suppliers from Oregon and Washington we distro in Southern California area. The next time one of their flagship beers is out of stock in our warehouse, I'll try to send a case out as soon as we get more in, then follow up the next day and check it's bottling date at the store. For shits n gigs mostly to see how fresh we get it to ship out

 

That's if stone has depleted the current inventory in their distribution warehouse before the next batch of blazing world or swamis comes in, and that product is going directly out as soon as it is ready to ship. Also if the last two 6 packs from the pervious delivery a week or two ago in joeshmoes liquor store are gone...or the new case comes in, sits in the cooler and doesn't hit the shelf til someone buys the last two older 6 packs.

 

Eventually, these breweries will have to keep their hoppy beers to draft only, or seasonal with the bottled versions.

But then again, there are a lot of people out there that buy old ipa's on the shelf and don't know or care the difference. God bless those people.

 

This thread has changed the way I view IPAs. From this point forward, I'm going to purchase some of my favorite IPAs within two months of being bottled or canned; maybe even more than two months! Thank you @rollom, @AlcahueteJ, and @JStampler.

 

The shop i go to has had the same bombers on the back shelf for the past two years. Ive seen some port brewing IPAs with dust on them and they drop the price to $4 to try and get rid of it and as tempted as one could be its not worth it.

 

Pay a visit to the brewery?

 

My last trip home Trenton Road Tavern in Levittown had Double Jack right at 30 days old.

 

Room temperature, and torture testing as well.

 

You're right, there's too much snark in this thread.

 

Absolutely. We test all of our beer regularly to evaluate aged and staling characteristics. Hops are a lot more volatile than many malt flavors so they get most the attention, but we test everything.
Lately we've been making so many lagers and traditional-ish German styles. We're very interested in the flavor profile of beers like Oktoberfest and Vienna as they age. We don't think they're as susceptible to huge dips in age character, but beers like Kolsch definitely have a D-Day where they go downhill rapidly. In fact, just last week we were doing sensory evaluation on Kolsch packaged in February. It was a shadow of the beer it was when fresh, but in a very different way than a hop-bomb IPA would be. The malt flavor was still intact and everything was technically still in spec, but the balance was off and the beer tasted...muddled, I guess. Not as crisp and poppy as the bright fresh examples. Interestingly, this happened right at the 170 day mark. Beer packaged only a few weeks later still passed muster with the panel (although never as good as blisteringly fresh.)

-Bill

 

I think @sierranevadabill has said it best, the variability of what the beer experiences once it leaves the facility, as well as things like dissolved oxygen levels and filler capabilities really define what you will get for shelf life on beers. I know many of us look to SN as the benchmark by which we try to emulate to achieve the quality they put out. ( I mean one of the ASBC reference samples for testing was torpedo just to give you an idea)

 

I have nothing new to offer here that hasn't already been said by tons of BA's before me: check bottle/can dates AND don't buy anything that isn't dated. Don't waiver--NO Datey NO Buyey.
The one thing I have taken away from visiting BA that I continue to pass along to friends who enjoy IPA's is the importance of bottle dates (where they are located on bottles/codes etc)---sure you will miss out on the Firestone, Ballast P, Green Flashes etc. that are 3 months old + but as aforementioned there will be plenty of locals that will be a few weeks out and very enjoyable.

And as already noted by some, being from the East Coast I don't expect to be able to get West Coast beers a few weeks out---just not happening with cross country shipping. Just be realistic about what you will find based on your location.

 

I love IPA's and don't like Sculpin much. Had on tap, in a bottle (old and new labels) and in the cans. Wasn't impressed.

 

DRINK IT


For science...

 

I know a place that has Palate Wrecker with the old labels still on it. That must be late 2013, early 2014 as the latest. Maybe I should see what it tastes like now...