Old IPAs

There is no doubt that IPAs change (and some more than others) and I will leave it to the individual to judge whether this change is to the detriment (or benefit?). For those sighting the Alchemist video of John Kimmich, the "old" Heady he poured had a completely different appearance than its fresh counterpart--amazing difference and you should go look at it again if you missed that.

I'll take the new one.

Thank goodness most people don't want IPAs old because it would lead to even more hoarding than what currently goes on. Imagine if highly sought after IPAs stayed at peak or continued to improve--what a mess.

 

I agree with this except I would humbly suggest it was more of a preservative than anything else. Just one that we would consider a "good" preservative as opposed to sodium benzoate. This "preservative" has just provided a twist and one that many find highly enjoyable. Although it "keeps," the keeper still changes.

After my recent introduction to American made cask ale on our west coast, I rediscovered the unique qualities of this beer which has no ability to last in this fragile state. A beer of extraordinary character that like the desert flower lasts for a short bit but is appreciated for its fleeting brilliance.

 

The sweet spot with most IPA's seems to be about 2-3 weeks from bottling. I've noticed this with dirtwolf and a few other IPA's. The exception that I've found is Hopslam which seems to be on it's way out hop wise immediately and is a different beer 3-4 weeks from bottling and not in a good way. The only Ipa's i've drank that seem to keep their hop presence with some age on them are 100% Brett IPA's.

 

“The only Ipa's i've drank that seem to keep their hop presence with some age on them are 100% Brett IPA's.” An intriguing observation. How many different brands of Brett IPAs have you consumed with age (and how old is “some age”?)?

Would you happen to know whether the Brett IPA’s that you drank utilized dry hopping?

Cheers!

 

In the context it's moderate oxidation . The beer had had plenty of time to become completely undinkable and little more than mid Victorian vinegar.Beer experts, however, say the 137-year-old brew tastes "absolutely amazing".I've had undrinkable beer just a few weeks old.
The point is that if the bottles had kept the contents so well for 137 years then they should be well up to the task of keeping oxygen at bay for 137 days which is the sort of time scale relevant to keeping present day IPAs.

 

Victory's Hop Ranch kept well, too. I had a 3-month old bottle of that and it was still great, and this is coming from someone who's very sensitive to old IPAs.

I really wish Victory would make Hop Ranch year-round instead of Dirtwolf. it's leagues better imho.

 

This talk about oxidation due to ingress after packaging is amusing since the amount of DO in a container results from oxygen uptake during brewing and filling, ingress is negligible compared with the amount of oxygen picked up after the cans are filled and prior to the top seal being applied. And it's worse in the typical small brewery caning line that is not a KHS or Krones quality. We measure oxygen uptake in ppm's so one ppb per day is noise.

As for year round Hop Ranch, can't happen until many more acres of Azacca are planted and good yields take two to three years from planting of rhizomes.

 

I had Terrapin's session IPA in a restaurant yesterday, big mistake ordering a can in a restaurant I quickly learned as it was 9 months old and really quite unpleasant to drink. Only fresh session IPA's for me going forward I think!

 

Paging @Peter_Wolfe

Any input you could provide on air (oxygen) ingress into a typical bottled beer would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

 

i'm sure this was in part due to the beer being canned and refrigerated.

i'm a stickler for freshness myself, but i'd take a 3 month old refrigerated IPA (particularly canned) over a 3 week old IPA at room temp on a shelf.

also, some beers just hold up. the inexplicably retired dogfish head squall IPA was different but equally delicious at > 1 year as it was fresh. honestly i think it was their best beer.

 

I had a bottle of Founders Inspired Artist Black IPA with 4 months on it and it was very weird and I really hated how such a great beer had changed so much and in a relatively short amount of time. Had a 4 month old Sculpin that was still pretty good though. My local Meijer has some Founders Centennial singles from last July I've been tempted to get one to see what it's like. One thing I hate is seeing Stone Enjoy By sitting on the floor, I mean it's written all over the bottles and the cases to refrigerate it.

If I had a bottle shop with a walk-in cooler, all hoppy stuff would be in there, leave the Bud and Miller on the floor.

 

in my experience (and with beer i really think YMMV always applies), founders IPAs age like milk. grab stuff like double trouble right when it comes out, and it's just phenomenal. wait even a few weeks and it's sort of the standard, old school, "balanced" (read: muted) IPA that you'd expect from like 6 month on the shelf great divide six packs.

brooklyn blast is another one that can't seem to handle time at all.

bizarrely, the recent victory hop ranch IPA that came out, which tastes like the kind of "all late hops, gonna fade immediately" unbalanced beer, was as good after a couple months (i let a few languish in the fridge) as it was the week it came out. if i found some in a cooler and saw they were bottled january 2014, i'd still buy it.

i can't think of too many IPAs that hold up well, but in part that's because i just don't like most IPAs (low pool to draw from). meh.

 

Call me crazy, but I like all my beer fresh.

 

It's not the bottle that is making a difference, it's the beer and what you want the beer to taste like. Some beers will taste good to some people after decades of oxidation, and most won't. I would even venture that these aged beers were quite bad for a period of time before continuing to evolve into something more pleasing. Aging as a roller coaster rise of flavor evolution. Many beers go through awkward periods before coming out the other side as something good.

 

I'm suprised you lived to tell the tale!

Too many people on her would just automatically DP that as if it were a vial of smallpox.

 

I think some of Lagunitas' offerings are excellent with age. While I prefer them fresh, I still enjoy them when they're 6 months to a year old. There's a nice caramel sweetness that pairs well with whatever hops are still present.

 

Nope, meaning I've not had an old IPA that was better than fresh.

 

Heres an article from the packaging manager from Avery that addresses this subject too:

http://www.denveroffthewagon.com/2013/09/25/cans-better-bottles-lies-beer-geek-buddy-told/2/

 

I probably should of been more specific when quoting ppms, since its typically .2-.5 ppm targets, with most modern folks aiming for 30 ppb in the initial package. Given that number, Id be surprised if crown caps really allow 1ppb per day.

 

I've had year-old Hopslam before and although I prefer it fresh, I still enjoyed it almost as much as most fresh DIPA's. I'd never consciously choose to age it though...