Everyone always says to drink IPAs within 3 months of the bottled date. Does the same generally apply to double/imperial IPAs that have higher alcohol content, or can those sit on the shelf longer? Sidebar: I just bought a 4-pack of Firestown Walker Double IPA and noticed after the fact the bottled date is July 2012..,it doesnt taste off but I have no frame of reference since its the first time I tried it. I also noticed the bombers have no date posted on the bottles..odd
The higher alcohol content of a DIPA doesn't prevent those precious hop aromatics/flavor from dissipating, unfortunately. For me, freshness is more critical with DIPA than it is for IPA since a double is more of a showcase for delicate hop character.
It is only a matter of time before Pliny the Elder (a DIPA from Russian River) aficionados chime in; they think that if Pliny the Elder is more than a few weeks old it is too old. Cheers!
I think if you had a five month old Union Jack and a fresh one they'd come across as totally different beers. I love UJ, but once it has some age on it the Munich malt (which is liberally used in the recipe) totally take over. It's still tasty but not at all like a fresh batch. Firestone Walker does date their bombers, but it's in black ink on the neck of the bottle and can be nearly impossible to see unless you hold the bottle at just the right angle. I swear they are messing with me and only dating every other bottle, because often I can't see the date at all until the bottle is empty.
FW recommends 120 days from bottling for their beers. I personally recommend no more than 60 days from bottling for any hop forward beer. You can report old beer on FW's website and they'll replace the stuff on the shelves. http://www.firestonebeer.com/beers/fresh-beer.php
My $.02 is that typically with DIPAs they are more highly malted to balance the more robust hop presence. If they are too old, the abundance of malt totally takes over. The beers are still "good" just different honestly. Dark horse for example says that their Double Crooked Tree "ages well" on the label. Bottom line. Drink one as fresh as possible so you have a good baseline. You might prefer one with a little "age" on it. Bring on the PtE trolls .
All IPAs fall off immediately up leaving the fermenter. The optimum freshness period is before the beer is even brewed.
I agree wholeheartedly. I don't have the decerning palate that some have on here. I know what I like and what I don't; but I don't necessarily pick up as well as others on the details of a flavor complexity. However, where I do notice is the flavor drop off of DIPA in particular. Examples being getting Heady by trade twice with the second being much fresher and another being Abrasive, where I got a 4-pack within a week of can date, tried it that night and in the 2 weeks that passed before the last was drank, I could clearly taste a difference.
One additional thought. Since hops is what fades, it stands to reason that hoppier beers where the hops are more at the forefront of the flavor will comparatively experiences a more profound impact to the overall characteristic of beer over time.
The sooner the better when talking about IPA's/DIPA's. I don't pick up on all of the complexities of flavors like others here either, however if you want to enjoy the style as it is intended, drink sooner than later.
A DIPA can still be very tasty after four months in many cases. But there is no denying that something less than a month old is going to be in tip-top shape.
It is. I would keep it in a dark, cool place. Chill when you're about to drink it. Those sorts of beers hate light.
I recently did a side by side with a 6 month old a Dreadnaught and a just pourchased one and the older one smalled and tasted better. Here in Indiana Dreadnaughts don't stay on the shelf.
Depends on what you're buying it for. If you're a hophead and what it to be bright and bitter, drink as fresh as possible. If you like what happens to hops as they fade, become less obnoxious and the alcohol melds more with the malts, then age it. I personally like pilsners because they're pilsners, barrel-aged RIS for being just that, and DIPAs for being DIPAs. If I want an old hoppy beer I'll pop open some 2008 bigfoot or the like.
For me, once you have had a specific IPA/DIPA very fresh, it changes your perception of the beer from that point on. Perfect example, when my local Total Wine first got in Troegs Perpetual IPA it was 8 days after the bottling date and was fantastic. I have since had bottles that are 2 or 3 months after bottling date, and its not the same for me. Is it still good? Of course it is, but I still remember what it tasted like super fresh and that will never go away. That's just me though.
What about a 120min where they say it is meant to age? I understand the high alcohol helps to age but the hop characteristic are still going to fall off like crazy. Does a high ABV like that cause the hop characteristic to fall off quicker?
Hey pdbader what's up bro to tell you the truth this years PTE is not as good as other years I think they're slacking off but that just me and as far fresh vs old I've yet to have any IPA you her than two weeks old and light does ruin them along with 60 degress and above
Yesterday I bought Stone Ruination with an enjoy by date of 1/15/2013. While it was not peak freshness, I was ok with it. I had one last night and it was not the Ruination I remember. The floral, piney aromas were not bursting out of the bottle, the hops were rather dull, and overall it tasted stale. Going to have another one tonight and hope this was an aberration. Was I wrong to assume that < 3 months old Ruination would still be enjoyable?
I have had a few of the "holy grail" hop brews past their freshness. While they were still good there is a difference. One single IPA for instance was a Two Hearted. I had one that was 5 months old and one that was a month old. I tasted them side by side. Their was a difference. I've also had Pliny at 4 different release intervals at the same time. There is a difference. No matter what anyone wants to say it does change. It doesn't make the beer bad but it does change. I love how people instantly jump on to "hate" on people without putting anything remotely relevant to the topic. LOL
Could have been a lot of factors besides bottling date. Light, temp, or even handling by distributor/store in transit. Or, could have been you. Did you have anything before to throw the taste off? Have you been overloading your taste buds lately? I find if I take a break from hops (and beer in general) and then come back to an IPA/DIPA I appreciate it more. In general, if you're consuming by Stone's date it should not be stale.
I had a 6 month old Hoptimum and I freaking loved it. It was different from the fresh bottle but a different beast
I'm not sure that would be Brynildson's (sp?) take on it. FW now has a "report old beer" page on their site.
I think folks need to self examine themselves enough to know if they are: !. Hopheads who go crazy for the aromas of dry hopping, and the subtle hop flavors of melon, mango, other tropical fruits, and the sweetness of citrus. 2. Beer drinkers with a palate able to distinguish and enjoy these flavors. If you answered yes to both, or even one, of these, than I guarantee you will notice the difference, and enjoy less, any hoppy IPA that is more than a month old. For those who answered no to these questions, don't even bother looking at the date on IPA's. All the bitterness and pine that is probably all you taste anyway will still be in there and you will enjoy them just fine.
All beer will age differently plain and simple! Can vs bottle. Temp stored. Amount of travel to it's location. Type of bottling facility. Blah blah. All these things can affect "freshness" The only recommendation I can make is to try them at different stages and see what works best for your palette. If you have a beer for the first time and have no clue what it taste like fresh you won't have anything to compare it to anyways. Cheers and happy drinking!
To my knowledge alcohol content wont affect how long hop characters last, so in that sense, yes you would want to drink DIPAs soon after bottling. However, many DIPAs are very malt forward, even fresh, so the degree to which they change over time wont be as affected as the hoppy DIPAs or the standard IPAs which generally are less malty.
I am currently conducting an experiment with Ballast Point Sculpin bottles. I bought a case of bombers in 2010 and crack one every 3-6 months. The flavors have slowly gone from bright and floral and clean citrus fruits to malty, muddled, and tropical fruits. Not a bad beer now, but not amazing like it was fresh.
My biggest thought though was the original purpose of adding more and more hops to a beer which was to preserve the beer for long voyages back in the day. Was a fresh IPA or pale ale back in the day considered to be off or was that what they were trying to preserve by adding and adding hops. Just a thought to provoke thought
It depends on the beers hop profile. Some will be good for three months, but for many with "brighter" hop character you are really pushing it after 6 weeks. Some danker resiny IIPAs will transform into very acceptable American style barlywines as even more time passes. Yes indeed.
I had a bottle of NoDa Pacific Reign that was at least two and a half months old that was still mighty tasty.
The fresher the better with hop-forward beers. End of story. Also, PtE IS a radically different beer after 3 weeks. It doesn't become a bad beer, of course, but I'd challenge anyone with tastebuds to deny that 4-day old bottle is different than a 4-week old one.
