Being a rather serious beer geek I have an extensive Beer Cellar. Over the course of the past year or so I have learned some valuable lessons on what ages well and what does not.
IIPAs are a relatively new style and as such I had no experience in aging them. So far I have yet to have an IIPA that ages well, past about 3 months. I have a theory that is purely speculation: that the quicker these beers deteriorate the less well-made they are, i.e., they relied very heavily on the massive amounts of hops to hide overall flaws.
This includes such high alcohol monsters as:
- YuleSmith
- Dreadnaught
- 90 Minute IPA
All are stellar when young but do not age well at all, especially so the Dreadnaught. Don’t be fooled by that high alcohol percentage equating to a good cellaring beer. So drink your IIPAs now, the sooner the better. Every day you wait is less hop character and therefore less of what these beers are about.
Update - After writing this post I dug up a relatively old bottle of Rogue I2PA and decided to give it a whirl. This is at least a year old, probably more like 18 months. It has held up better than the other three I previously mentioned. The hops have mellowed quite a bit and alcohol plays a more prominent role in the flavor profile, but overall it is still quite nice.
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