Russian River Score....

Your PtE is about 2 weeks old and you have 4 of them. Stick them in a fridge and drink 1 or 2 a week and you'll be fine. Yes, you'll be past the dreaded "20th day," but somehow I think you'll survive and still enjoy them.

 

I work at a store that gets Pliny in every week. We often have 3-4 cases at a time. In this case because I drink this beer so much yes I can tell a difference. But it's not "bad" after 20 days or even 40 days. It's just not as bold but still good. Never I mean never even think about drain pouring Pliny unless it is 1 year old and was in the sun the whole time.

 

I think flower power honestly tastes completely different and falls off steeply after 2-3 weeks.

 

I wouldn't let the Pliny go longer than a month, personally. The other two I wouldn't age very long but they should still drink fine for a few months to come. I would still at least try one bottle of Redemption and Damnation fresh just to see what it's like first.

 

Probably. Hops fade faster than most people seem to think, and Pliny doesn't have much going on besides the hops.

The problem is that a blind taste test isn't really possible as Pliny does have some bottle/batch variation, and you'd have to do the test a few times to disentangle those things. But if you put like 4 from each batch for a month aside and then did the test blinded a number of times, you'd probably have a decent sample. I'm pretty sure you'd find that someone who's an experienced Pliny drinker could pick out the older ones pretty reliably, but maybe I'm just deluding myself.

Also, Pliny at 6 months old is pretty terrible. Don't do that.

 

in the world of the modern beer geek no beer can be drank, cellared, or traded without first consulting the Internets and receiving a minimum of 100 views and 25 replies as to the appropriate course of action regarding the beer in question. the age of hand holding squared is well upon us.

 

It drives me crazy when people think a hoppy beer is exactly the same after 30-45 days as it is when fresh. Undrinkable? No. Fallen off? Absolutely. Hops fade - that's an undeniable fact. IPA's are all about the hops. Some hold up better than others, but there are lots of beers that are fantastic fresh and only average after a month. Not everybody is going to taste the difference as all palates are not created equal.

 

I'm probably going to sound like a hypocrite here but I think the 'hops fading' phenomenon is definitely a little overblown here. However I believe that almost every RIS improves with a little bit of the age on it -- the hops fade and the flavors seem to meld together better. I have no scientific proof that any of this actually happens, it's just my own personal experience. I by no means think that you shouldn't drink RIS's fresh but I do think they improve with age.

 

I have a case with me right now and have taken everyone that makes your claim to task in a blind taste test. Of course I'm not doing 5 month old pliny we are talking 1 week to 60 (sometimes 75) days. Let's just say it's easy to talk with out comparison and the date staring you in the eyes...

 

And I've done the blind comparison many times over on numerous IPA's and it's been obvious nearly every time. As have plenty of other people.

It's not a myth, but believe what you will. Some people are just more sensitive to it than others.

 

Maybe it's only because I can see the date, but I don't really think so. The 2/13 Pliny I had the other day was pretty noticeably worse even without a comparison. But what the hell, I also have a 3/19 Pliny, I'll put tape over the date tonight, shuffle them a few times, and put them in the fridge. Tomorrow I'll do a side-by-side.

I'd do it tonight but I have a growler of Row 2 to finish before it goes completely flat.

 

Some days a nice cold lager at a ball game tastes good. That doesn't mean you tasted a different version than one you had three weeks prior at a friend's party that tasted like piss. The mood you're in has a lot to do with how receptive you are to the style at that given moment. Side by side blind tasting is the only way you can see which you prefer.

Apparently the guy above has some ninja pallet where he can taste 3 day from 7 day. I shall seek his advice on UFO flight patterns and beach front property in Tennesse...

 

So true and I don't see that brought up too frequently. Environment, company, and mood play a large role in your taste experience.

 

Yes, but that's not really relevant here. You can assume that we're speaking ceteris paribus, or at least "on average". And, of course, I'm doing my best possible job to blind myself so it'll be obvious.

Also, I think you're continually missing that we're saying "different" not "bad". I thought that 2/13 Pliny I had was significantly less hoppy than normal and therefore "worse", but I'd still prefer it above 90% of IPAs I've tried.

That's not what he's saying.

 

I never said 3 to 7 day. But 3 days to 30? Yes. 3 days to 60 days? Night and day.

I honestly don't understand why this is controversial. We all agree that hops start fading immediately, and we all agree that hops fade continuously over time, and we all agree that hops have a huge impact on how a beer tastes... yet we can't agree that a beer tastes differently at 3 days and at 30-45 days?

 

I recently made a trade for PtE (3/20), Blind Pig (3/23), Beatification, Supplication, Concecration, Damnation, Temptation, Sanctification, 2010 Abyss and 2011 Abyss. Aging all except for the PtE and Blind Pig... drank Pliny last night with some friends and popping the Blind Pig Thursday with some friends.

Saw this forum topic and figured its perfect to see what A-tions to age. I'm guessing age all the barrel aged and Ones with Brett.

 

id have them all gone by the end of the week

 

That's generally true, but only beatification, sanctification and temptation really hold up over the years. Consecration and Supplication are both so fruit-based that I wouldn't go any longer than two years with either. I had batch 1 consecration a few months ago, and it was a shell of its former self. Though still very good, you need to try it fresher to understand the change, and I like the fresh version more.

 

2 month old Pliny is fine too. You can tell a difference. But to pretend that "the bottle you're saving for your friend" is ruined by a few extra weeks in the fridge... at some point this all gets silly.

 

anything after hour 23 gets drain poured.