Hops have been known for the preserving quality they have upon being thrown into that lovely concoction that eventually became what we all know and love - beer. For that reason, British brewers began to use a larger helping of them in batches in order to ensure the beer's stability as it began the long voyage to India. That is hop we ended up with the India Pale Ale style, or so the legend has it.
I hoard/collect a decent amount of beer. Sometimes beer that falls into my hands can remain as such for anywhere from just a few weeks up to a full calendar year. Most brews usually half a shelf life of approximately six months.
I obviously take that very liberally. I'm in the camp that says if you take care of the beer your store (that means with minimal temperature changes and out of direct light) you can have that beer remain in good order for a long time.
While doing all of this, I've started to notice that one style of beer doesn't adhere to the legend behind it. Yes, it's the beer style I harp on at least once every other week. I haven't noticed so much that the older IPA's that I have are changing in terms of color, smell or taste. Some of them seem to have a sediment that pours from the bottom of the bottle and into my glass.
I'm not entirely sure if this is the beginnings of the brew breaking down or just simple signs of age. Sometimes I get a bit turned-off because of this and other times I just say hell with ti and drink most of the beer while trying to keep as much of the sediment in the bottom as possible.
Maybe I should start having an extra bottle or two on the weekend in order to get more bottles consumed on a quicker basis!
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