The Life Span of NEIPAs
While The PubScout never restricts his enjoyment of beer to a single style, there are apparently those for whom one style--the New England IPA (NEIPA)--is the be-all and end-all of beer. "If it ain't hazy, you must be crazy" seems to be the mantra of some in that group.
And, at the right time (after yard work or on the beach ), and with the right food, certainly a juicy, citrusy, hazy, dank NEIPA with that luscious mouthfeel is a quality drinking experience. The advent of the convenient, recyclable can has been a boon to all craft beer, but especially to NEIPAs. Cans allow for easy transport with no risk of broken glass, and they keep out the things that can cause a beer--especially an IPA-- to degrade: light, heat, oxygen and time itself.
But just how long will that wonderful NEIPA --even in a can--retain all of its flavor? Most IPA drinkers know that Stone Brewing--which makes some incredible IPA's-- has a "Drink By" date suggested right on the label of its "Enjoy by IPA." Many brewers and beer lovers alike suggest there is indeed a window that can close out peak flavor. In IPA's especially, that change usually affects the hop profile and the malt begins to demand more palate time.
While a relatively few beers will age gracefully, hop-forward beers are usually not among them. Indeed, most beer brewers and drinkers agree that your beer will taste best when it's fresh--which is usually about thirty days after being packaged. That doesn't mean it will be undrinkable after that, though--just different.
But waiting too long can make it bad, Collin McFarrell, Co-founder of Henhouse Brewing in CA, says, " Hoppy beers in particular lose a significant amount of aroma, and oxygen starts ravaging the beer, making it taste like cardboard or cooking sherry." Inasmuch as I haven't tasted cardboard or drunk cooking sherry, I'll take his word for it.
In scouring the 'Net for information about this critical issue of "how long before your beer skunks out?", I have come to the conclusion that, like most things beer-related, it depends on what flavors you want to dominate when you drink your beer.
With NEIPAs you'll usually get the most hop flavor in three weeks to a month, though John Kimmich of The Alchemist refutes that. Check out his video here.
It's also interesting that Heady Topper, the NEIPA which seems to have begun the NEIPA craze, advises you to drink their product directly from the can. Some say that's because they don't want you to see the sediment that forms in the lower quarter of the can because it's an unfiltered, unpasteurized beer. But as Kimmich shows, drinking that won't hurt you either, though it may have less visual appeal than a brighter beer. And he even drinks--and apparently enjoys-- a canned Heady Topper that is ten months old.
And this doesn't even take into consideration how long that beer has been sitting on the shelf of your local liquor locker. You should examine the package to determine that. You pay good money for craft beer, and you should get the most flavor--and value--for it. The general consensus here is that IPAs, especially NEIPAs do better in the cooler than at room temperature.
Of course, buying directly from your local brewery cuts that potential shelf time dramatically. You just can't get fresher beer, unless you're lying on your back beneath the tap of the brewer's tank.
Bottom line is that NEIPAs are drunk and enjoyed for a reason--hops. The more of those you want to taste, along with the various flavors they impart, the sooner you should start popping the tops of those cans.
And remember to recycle.
Cheers!
The PubScout
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