Ok. Oh Kay.
This isn't over yet. I made a Stone IPA clone (Edwort) and killed it within a week or two with the help of neighbors. Never noticed anything except it just didn't have as strong a nose to it near the end. I followed that up with the most amazing Dogfish 60min clone (Yooper). It was heaven in a glass. I was drinking it before it was even fully carbed. However, one week later there were no Hop Faeries dancing on my shoulders while I was drinking anymore. There was a noticeable depreciation of the nose. Still an awesome beer! A great IPA! But some of the magic was gone. Another week went by and still a really good IPA but all the Hop magic lay dormant, forever lost.
I'm still obsessed why the quality of the IPA would depreciate over time. I remember an article I read over a year ago, where two guys in Denver both left a brewery with a 12 pack. One drove a car home, and the other rode a bicycle home. Really? I would never ride a bicycle down a mountain. Maybe a harley. Anyway, both beers seemed less of an IPA than what they had at the brewery but the IPAs that came home on the bike were less so than those that rode home in a car. The author suggested the agitation of the bike ride did something to the Hops. He also said that all IPAs diminish over time and to drink the freshest you can get your hands on.
What ever. I totally disregarded this at the time, thinking that once a beer is locked in a bottle, that the beer is locked into its current state.
Ok, so I age my stouts. They get better over time. Why wouldn't my IPAs?
Now I just read an article on Brulosophy about another brew exbeeriment testing Whole Hops versus Pellet Hops. Splitting a 10G batch and hopping one with leaf and the other with pellets. If you want to find out the specific results, read the article. What I'm curious about is the author's comment regarding the first taste tests. These tests were conducted within days of the transfer to the serving kegs. The latter and final test came a week later and no one could tell the difference between the two IPAs. Where the initial taste test everyone could easily tell the difference between leaf and pellet.
So, I guess, IPAs just diminish over time. I wonder if I could force the great Hop Faeries back into the keg? Maybe a second dry hop to regain that nose and bright taste? Drink for a week, dry hop. Drink for another week, dry hop. And so on.