Taste the freshness: Why beer bottling dates matter

Two events where you can try the very freshest in local brews.|

What’s the best way to get your beer at its freshness peak? It’s a common and not incorrect belief that draught beer offers the best pour with proper oxygenation,

Of taps, cans and bottles

“Chasing the freshies” may be a term coined by beer drinkers who seek out the tastiest and trendiest hop offerings in IPAs, but fresh beer in any style is hard to beat. This weekend’s Petaluma River Craft Beer Fest and October’s Freshtival events give beer fans a chance to sample and compare some of the best local and just-born beer varietals.

If you’ve ever tried a new favorite beer at a brewery only to take one home and find it to be tinny, stale or just not quite what you remember, you were likely the victim of time and temperature. Good beer is fresh beer, and local breweries are now educating consumers to be picky about “brewed on” dates.

HenHouse Brewing Company’s co-founder Collin McDonnell said that the brewer’s job is not done until the glass is empty. HenHouse calls this the “second half” of quality assurance - making sure the beer in the hand of the drinker is served as intended. By requiring temperature control, shorter turnover time and cleanliness from retailers and servers, breweries look to develop a following for high-craft products with consistent flavor. These breweries are hoping that beer drinkers will speak up and let the retailer, server or even the brewery itself know if a bottle or can isn’t up to standard.

HenHouse now even prints the date of canning prominently on the side of the can rather than the bottom, along with the brewery’s contact information to invite feedback on freshness. Petaluma native and HenHouse’s own cicerone Sayre Piotrowski told the Argus that HenHouse receives three to four emails a week from consumers giving input on their beer’s condition and the drinking experience.

McDonnell recently invited media to try three samples of HenHouse IPA cans - one freshly canned, and two older cans stockpiled just for this tasting. The differences were remarkable. The newer beer had floral and fruit hop aromas, while the shelved beer became muted, metallic and slightly stale. In the nine-month old beer, the hops were unrecognizable.

It goes to show that so-so beer is not always the result of poor brewing, but possibly lackluster storage, presentation and serving.

Beers like IPAs with distinctive hop aromatics, along with kellerbiers, wheat beers and exports like pilners and Kolsch, are served young and tend to bring out notable beer flavors. Most beers served fresh within the first 30 days of leaving the barrel will yield crisp flavors, though some brewers shoot for less than 28 days to show off the finest ingredients.

McDonnell added that the ingredients themselves are very shelf stable, but once beer is brewed, the same grains and hops become vulnerable to time and heat. Of course, some beers like lambics, Belgians and barrel-aged anything, are designed to improve with months and years on the shelf.

It’s not so easy to guarantee cold and timely transport from out-of-state breweries, which makes local craft beer more appealing. Fresh beer helps consumers distinguish malt and hop characteristics accurately, so they can seek out tastes that suit their own palate. By knowing what your beer should taste like, you can advocate for that standard in whatever format and venue you find your beer. When in doubt, ask when your beer was kegged.

Fresh beer events

Taste test the freshness of local brews at this weekend’s Petaluma River Craft Beer Festival, set for Saturday, Sept. 28, from 1-5 p.m. along Water Street. Petaluma’s biggest beer festival features nearly all local breweries like Dempseys, GravSouth, Barrel Brothers and Seismic, and regional craft beer producers who are keen on showcasing their best beer styles. The historic riverfront is a great venue for craft beer connoisseurs to taste fresh, Bay Area beers served at cold temperatures, as well as top seasonal brews.

Cost: $50/$60

Tickets and more info: petalumarivercraftbeerfest.org

HenHouse’s inaugural Freshtival: Celebrating the Art of Freshness ups the bar by bringing the largest variety of brewers serving their best and freshest beers in one location. Set your freshness meter by trying over 150 beers that are less than seven days old. It takes place Saturday, Oct. 12, at Somo Village Event Center (1100 Valley House Drive, Rohnert Park).

Even farther-away breweries like Allagash, Temescal, Trumer, Chapman Crafted and Altamont are getting cold transport to compete for the “freshest” badge in this event. But the event’s sponsor, HenHouse, will be hard to beat with releases of its own, like the Art of Freshness IPA, Mr. October DIPA, and likely four or five other favorites like Stoked Simcoe (single hop varietal), Soft Saison and the flagship IPA. While brewers are welcome to enter any beer style, this is a chance to see hop-forward specialties shine, including fresh-hopped, wet-hopped, and regional hop varieties.

HenHouse will collaborate with Fogbelt on a proprietary local, fresh-hopped release for this event, as well as other pairings with brewers like Drakes, Temescal, Libertine and Fort Point. There will also be entries from dozens of local favorites like Moonlight, Russian River, Shady Oak, Berryessa and Dempsey’s, who are sure to be in the top running for freshness given the short distance to get their beers to the show. The event will also feature live music, an assortment of local food and food trucks, beer education and artwork.

Freshtival is a fundraiser for the Bay Area Craft Brewers Guild.

In sharp contrast, fans of barrel aging who attend the Freshtival can also sample the same brewers’ preserved offerings in a special section in the Redwood Grove reserved for aged specialty beers. Keep an eye out, HenHouse’s first aged release, the Sempre Frago, a strawberry aged sour, will debut at the brewery this winter.

Cost: $55

Tickets and more info: henhousebrewing.com/thefreshtival

What’s the best way to get your beer at its freshness peak? It’s a common and not incorrect belief that draught beer offers the best pour with proper oxygenation,

Of taps, cans and bottles

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