Which American Style IPA's hold up the best over time?

spinrsx · Post by **spinrsx** » Fri Nov 02, 2012 11:14 am

what is everyone's experience with which American Style IPA's hold up the best? I had some bells' two hearted and bear republic racer 5's that I hung onto for 3 months past bottling date and it just wasn't the same.. but I found some various Lagunita's beers (hop stoopid, lil sumthin sumthin) in the back of my fridge from 12+ months ago that were still fresh/hoppy/vibrant tasting.

matt7215 · Post by **matt7215** » Fri Nov 02, 2012 11:31 am

ST IPA lasts better the DFH 60min
Russian River's Pliney and Pig not not do well with time on them

TheSevenDuffs · Post by **TheSevenDuffs** » Fri Nov 02, 2012 11:32 am

Heady Topper seems to maintain freshness very well. I am sure the cans have something to do with that.

spinrsx · Post by **spinrsx** » Fri Nov 02, 2012 11:35 am

I bought some sixpoint resin in July that has a March 2013 BB date.. seems like a large window of time

Kel Varnsen · Post by **Kel Varnsen** » Fri Nov 02, 2012 11:38 am

Can we also talk about the ones that don't? I bought some Stone IPA a few months ago that was a few months past its best before and it didn't really taste good at all.

sprague11 · Post by **sprague11** » Fri Nov 02, 2012 11:56 am

Canned IPA seems to last longer - Dale's Pale Ale, Sierra nevada Cans, Heady Topper, Surly Furious - I've had all with more han a couple months on them and all were in good shape.

Goose Island IPA goes downhill fast. Ballast Point Sculpin depends on how it's stored. Green Flash West Coast seems to be hit or miss. Flower Power may still be good after a couple months, but why wait?

ritzkiss · Post by **ritzkiss** » Fri Nov 02, 2012 1:30 pm

Sierra Nevada Celebration is the best example I think. It hits a weird point at about 6month but by a year it is delicious again - like a lite barley wine.

TheSevenDuffs · Post by **TheSevenDuffs** » Fri Nov 02, 2012 1:36 pm

Kel Varnsen wrote:Can we also talk about the ones that don't? I bought some Stone IPA a few months ago that was a few months past its best before and it didn't really taste good at all.

5-6 months is a pretty long time to expect an IPA to hold up.

Belgian · Post by **Belgian** » Fri Nov 02, 2012 2:22 pm

Mad Tom seems to lager well for a long time if it is kept cold. I've had some Stone IPAs and Ruinations that were just a few weeks past date but refrigeration kept them very fine drinking.

A · Post by A » Fri Nov 02, 2012 3:48 pm

Great question (and no, there's no point talking about which ones don't - most don't!)

I second the Sierra Nevada Celebration suggestion - it does hold up well.

Victory Hop Devil holds up reasonably well too.

G.M. Gillman · Post by **G.M. Gillman** » Sat Nov 03, 2012 12:30 pm

If the beer is filtered, the extra hopping IPA has may protect it for longer than other styles, but not significantly so IMO.

However, bottle-conditioned beers are a different story and if well-packaged, can easily last a few years.

Traditionally, India Pale Ale was bottled after a few months', sometimes a year's, storage in wood. 12 months or more might intervene before it reached market in India. There was a slow ongoing residual fermentation in the bottle. The beer acquired what was called "flavours of maturity", probably brett and estery notes.

Therefore, any of the IPAs being mentioned should if unfiltered have the capacity to go for a very long period but their taste may alter.

Gary

A · Post by A » Mon Nov 05, 2012 1:06 pm

Yes but - correct me if I'm wrong - I believe the original intent was to talk about IPA's that still retain a reasonably aggressive hop profile even after sitting for a long time, not just which ones haven't gone bad.

spinrsx · Post by **spinrsx** » Mon Nov 05, 2012 1:11 pm

exactly.. when I go to the states to get beer, I mainly buy IPA's but I can only drink them so fast.. Just wondering which IPA to stock up on that will stand up for a bit

G.M. Gillman · Post by **G.M. Gillman** » Mon Nov 05, 2012 1:37 pm

Well, the discussion was about freshness, and the decline of hop character and onset of inferior taste seem really the same issue to me. To try to separate them though, I'd say hop bouquet fades faster than the bitterness in the beer, but a bitter taste will go too ultimately.

Usually I don't keep them long enough to tell the differences, but those I have kept over time all showed marked loss of both these traits.

Gary

markaberrant · Post by **markaberrant** » Mon Nov 05, 2012 2:20 pm

The breweries with better equipment and attention to quality control produce IPAs that stay fresher longer.

There is still no way to compensate for poor shipping/handling/storage, and no way to know how it was indeed handled, aside from seeing it in a retail store, either in a refrigerated cooler or at room temp on a shelf.