Monday Rant: Fragility of Hops

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!

The Session No. 73 - Beer Audit

I've always planned on keeping up with this monthly post, but I keep getting caught up in other ideas and usually forget to participate in this. I actually remembered this month. It seemed to work out since this month's theme is a beer audit of what you have at home. The Session for March 1 is hosted by Pints and Pubs (from beer to eternity).

I've shed light on my issues with the beer I have in previous posts. I've never actually cataloged any form of an inventory of what beer I have here. I usually just have a mental idea of what's there. To put it simply, I have enough cases of beer here that the kitchen table is now rendered useless.

Some might have a problem with the amount they drink. I have such a variety here now that I once had to tell my uncle that he could stop over, not try every type of beer I have and still be on the floor. I'd have to say my problem is actually having it. I look at the beer I have like money and I hate having to spend it.

I have a tendency to keep beers so long that sometimes they over-age. I have bottles from cases in my kitchen that I bought about a year ago. When a case of beer gets near the end I'll usually take what's left and move them to another almost empty case in order to make a little more room.

The way I keep my beer seems a bit chaotic, but I always know what's left, where it is and what's exactly in the fridge. I always make sure there's at least 15-20 bottles in the fridge at one time. I also attempt to make room for at least one growler should that opportunity present itself.

The most systematic thing I have in terms of my beer auditing/storage is what I call "my queue." This queue is where about 75 percent of my beer reviews on this blog come from. The queue consists of approximately two mix-and-match six packs I picked up over time. These beers are the closest to being placed int he fridge for possible drinking than any other bottles in the kitchen. These are beers I specifically picked out to try or were given to me as a gift. If these beers are lucky, they'll be consumed  in about a month.