How long after bottling does hops flavor and aroma begin to decline?

Hi,

I bottled my Two Hearted Ale clone two weeks ago. After 10 days of being in the bottle, there was only very slight carbonation. Yesterday, at the two week mark, I opened another and there was good carbonation and the beer was amazing. I know that hops flavor and aroma will fade over time, but at what point does this start to happen? I dry hopped this beer for a week and the aroma is very pleasant. I can tell that hops aroma from dry hopping fades as time passes with other beers I have tried. Pliny The Elder is a good example of this. Its not nearly as good in Colorado as it is in Santa Rosa. I don't want to drink through my beer before it is at its best, but I want the hops to be at their best when I drink it. Thanks for any advice.

Shawn

Other's opinions may vary, but I notice a steep decline after about 60ish days in the bottle.

I want to give my beer enough time to mature, but hops flavor and aroma are important to me as well. I hear a lot about beer getting better with age, but not beer with excessive hops I guess. So, with very hoppy beers it is best to start to consume them when they carbonate? And there is no gain to letting these styles of beers age?

I like to consume my Wheat Beers and IPA's after about 3 wks in the bottle. The fresher the better if you like the hop aroma and flavor, in my experience.

Thats good to know. Thanks for the advice. Im going to give mine another week before I work into rotation so I can get a full three weeks. Would you do the same for an Imperial IPA that had and original gravity of 1.084? Ive read they may even take longer than that to carbonate.

I'm guessing maintaining hop freshness/flavor/aroma is a huge advantage to those who have kegging equipment. By the time my bottled batch carbs up, a kegged batch would probably be gone, and be 3-4 weeks fresher. A kegging system will probably be in my future for this reason.

OP- Stouts and bigger beers in general take longer in the bottle to condition. I usually give mine at least 30 days in the bottle and I'm talking about 1.060 OG. So bigger will take longer.