Expert: Ed Westemeier - 11/17/2009

Question
I have just finished my first IPA, and it tastes great.  I am aware that, historically IPA's were created to preserve beer during the overseas trip to India.  And I understand the antiseptic quality of hops.  When bottle aging an IPA, does the taste improve, or change with time or is it pretty much as you see it after a couple of weeks of bottle conditioning?  I have read that it does not hold up well to age, but that seems to run contrary to the science.

Answer
The bitterness of the high hopping rate used in an IPA will gradually mellow out over time. The flavor will also change, as it will with any beer. Whether that change is for the better or the worse depends on the beer.
The original idea of the IPA was that it was so highly hopped as to be nearly undrinkable, taking advantage of the preserving quality of the hops. By the end if the voyage to India, which took several months, much of the bitterness had mellowed out and the beer tasted fine.

When you heard that it doesn't age well, that just refers to the fact that it won't always taste as hoppy as it does when it's young. Don't be afraid to age it. Open a bottle every few weeks to see for yourself how it changes over time. Eventually you will get to a point where it's past its peak, and you'll have a better idea of how long to age your next one.