I read something interesting about IPA today.
I already knew the story about IPA being suited for shipping to India by boat. What I did not know was that the British believed shipping certain beers improved their flavors. I also didn't know that some of these beers that were not shipped were cellared for two years. So Englishmen were taking the ancestors of modern IPA and keeping them cool and dark for a long time before drinking them. This comes from Wikipedia, which we all know is never, ever wrong.
It looks like aging ale was very important to them, whether they did it by punishing the beer with an ocean voyage or putting it in cellars.
Earlier this year, I got some skeptical comments when I said some bottles of Sierra Nevada Torpedo tasted better after sitting in my hot workshop for a year or so. I wasn't making it up. They seemed to have a nice caramel flavor. I also really enjoyed a can of Top Gun IPA that had been in my pantry forever. A guest had left it.
So...should modern homebrewers be putting kegs of IPA and similar beers in their closets to see if they improve?
I already knew the story about IPA being suited for shipping to India by boat. What I did not know was that the British believed shipping certain beers improved their flavors. I also didn't know that some of these beers that were not shipped were cellared for two years. So Englishmen were taking the ancestors of modern IPA and keeping them cool and dark for a long time before drinking them. This comes from Wikipedia, which we all know is never, ever wrong.
It looks like aging ale was very important to them, whether they did it by punishing the beer with an ocean voyage or putting it in cellars.
Earlier this year, I got some skeptical comments when I said some bottles of Sierra Nevada Torpedo tasted better after sitting in my hot workshop for a year or so. I wasn't making it up. They seemed to have a nice caramel flavor. I also really enjoyed a can of Top Gun IPA that had been in my pantry forever. A guest had left it.
So...should modern homebrewers be putting kegs of IPA and similar beers in their closets to see if they improve?