Old or expired beer

The time frame is right on the spot for the IPA's... http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2009/jun/13/atlantic-sailing-holidays-ipa

 

Being that I dont enjoy IPAs very much, I could care less how long they have been on the shelf. To each is their own, IMO. With that being said, I would say nothing more than a month is worth drinking.

 

I try not to buy anything hoppy in sixers that's more than two months out, and even that's pushing it--unless I know I'm going to drink/share it within the week. Otherwise I'll have one or two and space the rest out, and by the time I'm on the last one it will be three months old (or older).

 

I had Citra with 2month old and it was so disappointing. It just tasted like... a pale ale.... muted taste and smell.

 

First of all, Oskar Blues is a respected brewery with good QA/QC. I highly doubt the beer is going bad in 2 months. They produce their beer in cans too, which block all UV light, so skunking isn't the issue.

There are differences between a 1 week, 1 month, 3 month, or 6 month beer, particularly for the more hop-forward sytles, but those differences are usually subtle, assuming the beer was packaged and stored correctly, of course. The more likely culprit in cases like this is people's own minds... they see a date [or a sale price that makes the beer seem "cheap"] and their mind was predispositioned against the beer before they even walked out of the store. The minds' effect over what you taste is incredibly well documented by science, and the more subtle the real differences are the more power the mind has over your taste. So, "madness" is an apt description.

 

I like my hoppy beers fresh like most of us here. Various beers seem to hold up differently. This weekend my wife brought home a six of Flower Power that was refrigerated but exactly 90 days old and it wasn't very good at all. Aroma and taste were noticeably faded and lacking the flavorful pop one looks for from a quality IPA. At the prices we pay for beer these days I'll shop around until I find something fresh.

 

There are a few stores near me that specialize in discounted "old beer". I've gotten a case of Lake Erie Monster that was 6-8 months old for $12.99 (it was still a great beer). I've also gotten cases of beer that were damn near undrinkable. I'm a sucker for a good deal, so I continue to be willing to play Russian Roulette with discounted beer.

 

I voted 8 weeks, but the key IMO is storage temp. Last night I pulled a Torpedo bottled on 12/27 and it still had a great fresh "zinginess". Not all IPAs will do that well of course, but storage temp makes a big difference.

 

I had the exact opposite experience when I picked up a 12pk of SNPA in cans a couple weeks ago. I was bummed to discover it was packaged 3.5 months ago but was utterly shocked by how fresh and juicy it was. I swear it was some of the best SNPA I've ever had. Incidentally I also shared this story in the recent thread about how well Sierra Nevada's beers hold up.

Curious if yours were bottles or cans?

 

Triple sunshine at 4 weeks had dropped off from 2 weeks a decent amount.

 

3 months for me. I just got a 4 pack of double jack dated 3/05. still an amazing beer and one of my favorite double IPAs. these beers are better after 2 weeks but theyre bottled/canned to last much longer than that, but for me I prefer under 3 months.

 

If it's a hop forward beer I try to pick it up at ~2 months or younger. I like to change up what beer I'm drinking from night to night so I like it on the younger side so I don't feel any sort of pressure to get through it while still fresh. This is a general rule, if I discover that a particular beer for whatever reason either holds up better or more poorly with time I'll adjust my rule for it.

 

Lol. OK.

 

I don't think that I've ever found a beer bottled within two weeks in my area.

 

It was an intentional play on Enjoy By.

I'm starting to think that storage is a big factor in all of this. Perhaps a reason why some breweries, like Sam Adams, requires that their beers are stored cool.

 

Long Trail's spring seasonal was a APA so I saw it discounted for cheaper but I just couldnt pull the trigger on it knowing that the summer seasonals are out already. Now Newcastle did a colab Scotch Ale and I saw it for 10 bucks a 12 pack like 5 months after it came out so I got it since its not a hop forward beer.

 

I did get bottles so perhaps cans preserve hoppy beers better? this may actually explain why alot of breweries are switching their IPA to cans... very interesting!

 

I've been experimenting a bit with ageing DIPA's in my wine cellar at a constant 55 degrees. Over the past month I have drank a number of them that have been stored since Oct/Nov and they still exhibited full fruit and hoppiness, with the exception of 1 bottle that the malt characteristics took over. That said, while it is best to drink them fresh, personally, I feel that they can be aged longer that the 2 months that most people stick with. These are all bomber bottles, not cans.

 

When it comes to on the shelf (non-refrigerated) hoppy beers I will only do 4 weeks or less. If it's refrigerated, since the store got it, I will do 8ish weeks.

 

Depends on the beer. Some hold up well (alot of Lagunitas hopped beers) and some die a quick death (Zombie Dust). I usually look for something under 8 weeks though. Just bought Molotov Lite last night that is about 3 mo. old. I was a bit weary, but the price point was right. You could tell it faded a slightly but that wasn't an issue.