question about "cellaring" IPAs

Discussion in 'Cellaring / Aging Beer' started by Ant7780, Feb 14, 2014.

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  1. Ant7780

    Ant7780 Crusader (451) Dec 2, 2012 Michigan

    I'm sort of asking the opposite here: Is there an optimal condition or temp for keeping IPAs/DIPAs fresh? For example I've had a lot of Hopslam and my palate is burned out. It hasn't tasted quite right for a few weeks now (I was drinking the 1/16 batch at the beginning of Feb, so I don't think it's a freshness issue). I can feel the hop burn and bitterness, but I can't taste the subtlety, so I feel like it's a waste.

    I'd like to try and put some away for a few months, or at least a month.

    If possible I'd love to try and keep one fresh until May, when Double Trouble comes out, so I can do a side-by-side tasting.

    Has anyone ever done this? Is there a perfect coldness that will preserve the hops?
    Thanks in advance.
     
  2. HighWine

    HighWine Initiate (0) Dec 11, 2010 Illinois

    As cold as you can go without freezing is probably your best bet. There was another thread asking if you could freeze IPAs and thaw them out in the future as a way to preserve the fresher hop characteristics but the comments were inconclusive. I'm not sure what if any cellular changes occur in beer once it has been frozen.

    Sounds like you've got a few bottles so you could try freezing one or two and stick the rest in your fridge. Open one of each up in the summer and at the end of the year and note the differences. And next year, just buy fewer bottles. :slight_smile:

    Despite what you might read a refrigerated Hopslam won't become a "malty mess" or a barleywine anytime this year!
     
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  3. DCintheMSP

    DCintheMSP Devotee (323) Jan 8, 2014 Minnesota

    I have saved several bottles of Hopslam in each of the past few years, due to purchasing too much or "burn out" and I actually like it quite a bit with some age (6-10 months) on it. The hops die off pretty quickly and the honey comes through quite a bit more. But to each his own I guess, good luck!
     
  4. BrettHead

    BrettHead Initiate (0) Sep 18, 2010 Nebraska

    I would drink them ASAP. Hopslam has a lot of late additions and is already falling off imo.

    I'm pretty sure that honey is 100% fermentable and as such does not provide residual sweetness. Cheers!
     
  5. JasonLovesBeer

    JasonLovesBeer Initiate (0) Mar 27, 2013 Canada (BC)

    I believe he was referring to the sweetness coming across as a honey flavour, not actual honey - I too find that big IPA's often develop a lot of honey sweetness as they get a little older. 10 month old Palate Wrecker was my recent experience like this.

    Like others say, cold as possible to try to slow down the breakdown of those delicate acids. Freezing can cause havoc on the chemistry with the phase change of its base so I'd think that's best avoided (beyond the obvious explosion concerns)
     
  6. tjensen3618

    tjensen3618 Maven (1,391) Mar 23, 2008 California

    Since I've brought up or asked about freezing a few times on BA and gotten no responses, I might have to be the one to do the experiment.
     
  7. Ant7780

    Ant7780 Crusader (451) Dec 2, 2012 Michigan

    I was thinking of keeping one in the freezer for a few hours a day, like maybe one or two, then transferring it to the fridge. Doing this every day just to keep it very cold. As I said, I was lucky to get a lot this year, but I am still hesitant to experiment with such a beer!
     
  8. UCLABrewN84

    UCLABrewN84 Initiate (0) Mar 18, 2010 California

    That sounds like overkill.
     
  9. jesskidden

    jesskidden Grand Pooh-Bah (3,145) Aug 10, 2005 New Jersey
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Here's what Dave Radzanowski of the Siebel Institute said about freezing beer, in a Lew Bryson article about beer abuse, How Does a Good Beer Go Bad:
     
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  10. HighWine

    HighWine Initiate (0) Dec 11, 2010 Illinois

    Winner!
     
  11. HighWine

    HighWine Initiate (0) Dec 11, 2010 Illinois

    Seriously. Far too much work. It's beer.
     
    jrnyc likes this.
  12. Ant7780

    Ant7780 Crusader (451) Dec 2, 2012 Michigan

    True. I just wish there were a good way to reset my palate before the HS looses it's freshness.
     
  13. lakeylake

    lakeylake Initiate (0) Oct 29, 2013 California

    Have a rotation of beers? Like Hopslam one day, a stout the next, a wheat beer the next, and then back to Hopslam. I just say this because it sounded like you were drinking Hopslam every day.
     
  14. JasonLovesBeer

    JasonLovesBeer Initiate (0) Mar 27, 2013 Canada (BC)

    First world problems! :grinning:

    Put it on the bottom shelf of the fridge (the coldest shelf) and you're good
     
    Ant7780 likes this.
  15. Ant7780

    Ant7780 Crusader (451) Dec 2, 2012 Michigan

    This is true. I overindulged now I am paying the price. First world problems indeed.
     
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