The Pacific Beer Aging Discussion

For IPA’s most of my bottles and cans (mostly cans these days) will sit no more than 4-5 weeks inside my fridge. Of course I’d drink as fresh as possible. I like to keep my fridge well stocked. And I don’t drink like I use to so some cans/bottles will sit a bit longer. Back in the day I would bring home 5-8 64oz growlers from Alpine plus bottles of the Big 3. No way I could drink all in a week or 2. So some growlers would sit up to 4 weeks. If the brewery didn’t use electrical tape around the cap I would do so when I got home. I’m sure most hoppy beers inside the growler would lose some freshness sitting that long. For me not enough to drain pour. Flavor and aroma would still be present. The more filled to the top cap the better. The most I had my crowlers sit was 4 weeks. I think most hazy beers improve with taste when sitting. For my stouts? 2-4. Coffee stouts should be opened fresh. Most will lose the coffee flavor after awhile from sitting. But some will do better than others. Sours? I don’t do sours. But I do have a Cantillon Lou Pepe that’s 2013.
That’s my take on beer aging. And you don’t age IPA’s. I don’t like some of these brewery’s that stamp born on dates and say it’s good for 6 months.

 

For me it's more a matter of how long can it keep more than me expecting an improvement. The only beers I think I see any real benefit is some of the huge ABV bal-aged beers, e.g. Black Bruery Tuesday, and that's only because some of the alcohol heat dies down and there's a huge amount of flavor to start with so a little decline is no problem. I drink IPAs as soon as possible and while I've had beers that tasted fine a few years after bottling the real reason I didn't get to them sooner is I bought more than I can drink due to FOMO. I do think quite a few Gueuzes age nicely as well though.

 

You can split hairs all day long about aging IPAs, but the real question is, "why would you?" With such a plentiful amount of good-to-great IPAs available on shelves pretty much all the time, why not drink within a couple of weeks, then restock? Another re-frame is to not ask, "are they still good after three months?" but "aren't they best when more fresh?"

 

Agree. But with so many great choices in IPAs if I see a fresh batch I tend to buy it. My fridge is pretty much full. But I’m planning on getting another crowler of BW11 today. An excuse to have lunch there. I’d hate to miss out on the Offshoot’s Can release. I think I’ve missed 2. Fresh Kern JO and RB cans. Etc. etc. So I buy when I see something I want or like. But I always give bottles/cans to my brother in law. And I still have too many in my fridge. The crowlers don’t help either.

 

I see aging most beers to be pretty much a crap shoot. For me, I don't drink like I used to; therefore, I don't buy $300 worth of beer at a crack and try to determine which I should age and which I should drink. IPA's and Pales I drink at the tap room or brewery if I can. I'll buy a grocery store shelf bee if I have to but try to avoid it if possible.

Wine, "I know"; is different to an extent and I'm going to talk the Cabernet Sauvignon's mostly. Most wines today are filtered and intended to be consumed within a 3 month period of purchase. I see Most of the beers available from the craft industry being in this category.

Hops will degrade with time, and we have all had that experience buying some shelf turd from Costco and being disappointed. Some Stouts, Barley wines, Sours, and some Belgians will age nicely and others will not, due to all of the above mentioned issues, especially oxidation. But, oxidation is part of that process we call ageing. That slight cardboard taste profile you pick up on an Old Ale or Barley wine is oxidation. Hops dropping out of a Stout, Old Ale, Barley wine or Porter is not significant, nor is the presence of some oxidation. In anything else it becomes the dominate flavor.

That said, I have found that the higher the alcohol content and the more complexity a beer has (not talking about fruit, coffee, almonds, or vanilla) the better it ages, especially if it has been in a barrel. The tannins in the oak just seem to add another level of flavor and complexity along with what ever spirit was originally in that barrel. It is still a crap shoot IMO, either way you go.

 

I guess I meant, "Why would you age IPAs?', not "why would you ask the question?"

As far as why people buy old beers, I don't think this freshness-awareness has hit the mainstream. And I don't think brewers (especially mass ones) are in any hurry to educate the public; I think they're plenty happy with people buying up old stock. I actually had no idea until about five years ago that freshness (or even refrigeration) was an important factor. It wasn't until I spent a fair amount of time on BA that I really "got it." Which is something your average consumer just isn't likely to do.

 

I can’t speak for Brewers, but I know most of my friends don’t understand freshness. Even my friends who like a craft beer are happy with golden road or lagunitas, little do they know the back story, and they also don’t care.

 

Exactly, people either don't really understand Beer, or they just don't care and can't figure out why a certain IPA doesn't always taste the same.

I have had some IPA's on the shelf in my brew shed for several years... I opened a 5 year old, I won't say the name, high alcohol DIPA some time back and the hops had nearly dropped out. There was some oxidation but the beer was still nicely carbed and resembled an Old Ale. I might add that this was a 22oz bottle and one that was stuck behind a few of my home brews and forgotten. So, an unintentional ageing of a double IPA...

The hops just don't hold up, become skunky or dorp out significantly.

 

Even Hazy IPAs, I tend to go from brewery to brewery. I won't sit on much, but Monkish I'll sit on for at least a week before cracking one open. More if it's double, and even more if it's triple. But, really, I give my beers a few weeks at a glance.

About the only thing in my shelves now are Firestone's, Bottle Logic's, Beachwood, and other barrel aged stuff. I know for sure BW's Sadie needs somewhere between 6-9 months before I deem it amazing.

 

For those new here I have a bottle of Elder that just turned 8 years. Waiting for it to turn 10 years and take it to RRBC for Vinnie. FYI > It wasn't my bottle to begin with. Had 2 bottles of Elder. First one was opened after 5 years during Super Bowl Sunday 3 years ago. It wasn't pretty. Actually it was pretty ugly.

 

I think ABV and hop profile plays a huge factor on how a beer can turn over time. Drinking IPA fresh is an ideal way of drinking hoppy beer. There are always exception on higher ABV beers. (Sumatra, Dogfish 90 and above).