Aging Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA

[beerbroker]

I forgot about a 6-pack of DH 60 that I had in the basement that I bought last August and cracked it open recently. I now find it much more balanced than fresh. I even bought a new 6 to try it vertically. The aged version loses some of the bitter aftertaste and add a little caramel. i normally prefer the Southern Tier IPA to the 60 Minute fresh but the aged 60 Minute beats them both.

Anyway, if anyone else has tried this please let me know if I'm on crack.

[SteelbackGuy]

It's fairly reasonable to assume that with some age, most IPAs are going to lose a bit of the hop bite, and become a little more "balanced".

I prefer fresh, sharp, hoppy IPAs, so I don't age any of them, but I do know some who prefer more of the caramel taste.

[Jon Walker]

Beerbroker, while I'm glad you prefer your aged 60 minute, the hop degredation that occurs to many IPA's over time doesn't generally improve them, it actually reduces them (at least in terms of style). So I'd hazard a guess that American style IPA's might not be your thing.

[beerbroker]

Actually, American IPA is one of my favourite styles and I do agree that most of them are better fresh. However, in the 60 minute I find the bittering hops obscure some of the other flavours so I enjoyed this accidentally aged version. I'd still take a fresh 90 minute over the 60 any day.

And don't worry, I'm not going to start aging my IPA's. I might be new here but I'm not new to beer.

[markaberrant]

I'm not in favour of aging IPAs either (6 months, tops), but I can see DFH 60 holding up relatively well because it has a more complex malt character (and esters too) than most IPAs.

[mjohnston]

I've aged a few a year and IPAs change a lot over that period. The hops are definitely muted. I stored a Brutal Bitter from last year and it picked up a sort of cocoa flavour, and it lost most of its hops.

I personally am not a huge hop fanatic - I do love hoppy cask beers (Durham's, West Coast Pale, etc), but some of the bigger IPAs just overwhelm me. While aging made them more drinkable (by taking the edge off), I certainly wouldn't say that it made them better.

It was an interesting experience to witness the change though, so go ahead and try it. It'll help you understand the changes that come with aging, which can't be a bad thing.

[Jon Walker]

Aging an IPA is akin to aging beaujolais nouveau. Sure you can do it but the very point of such a style is to drink it at its prime not after it declines. I've mistakenly aged some IPA's and the results have generally been upsetting. The aged beer may well be drinkable, might even taste good, but if I wanted a pale ale I would've bought one.

[G.M. Gillman]

Not directly relevant but some early 1800's statements about the aging of ale and porter (see p. 143):

http://books.google.com/books?id=YGoAx- ... #PPA143,M1

The theory then was that aging could benefit beer where done in bulk, hence the very large porter vats (holding thousands of barrels in some cases) that we have all read about. Clarke though felt a hogshead of beer (a large barrel, basically) was large enough to show improvement over time. His example of drinking ale stored in a large vat holding many such hogsheads is quite extraordinary though. Ale stored for 20 years was mellow and exquisite, he says. It seems hard to think that such beer could not have turned sour over such a long time, yet apparently it did not, since in the pages leading up to this discussion he gives many counsels on how to cure beer which is too acid. In the light of this discussion, aging beer in small bottles would seem a chancy proposition; on the other hand, I would think today overall sanitation and quality is so much better than circa-1800 that aging beer in a bottle might approximate to some of the aged, vatted beers of yore. Hard to say.

Gary

[JerCraigs]

but if I wanted a pale ale I would've bought one.

Pretty much what I was thinking too. If its too hoppy for you there are plenty of other options out there. Cheaper, local options for that matter.