Home-brew shelf life/preservatives

[john901]

Ok, i read a lot of previous threads on this and see most people agree with proper sanitation beers can last several years. Especially darker and stronger beers. For me i have found brown glass bottles keep the longest grolsch and plastic bottles do not last more than 1.5 years. The brown glass i have some that are 2 years old that still taste good.
I have found my hoppier beers IPA'S and pale ales taste gross though the hops seem to be the first to go for me than the carbonation.
I store mine in the basement now but did not always so it stays fairly cool they are all in boxes in the dark.
I wonder is there anything i could add that would make them last longer?
Also i am not sure why my hoppy beers taste like ass aft 1.5 years, when other people say the hops extend their life. I have other beers the same age that taste good.

 

[brewshki]

Hoppy beers "last longer" in that the hops help to suppress microbiological activity. If your beer has any amount of bugs/microbes in it (and it most likely does as we are home brewers and do not pasteurize our beers) the hops will make it harder for these nasties to produce bad flavors in your beer. Tasting like ass is kinda a hard thing to go off of, but I imagine it doesn't really taste like ass but is just not very good. A lot of IPAs are very basic in terms of malt bill and extensive in terms of hop regimen. When time take away your hoppiness, all that is left is likely a simple malt bill. This won't taste as good as a big imperial stout that has been able to mellow out and have many flavors meld with time. If there was any oxygen added accidentally during packaging, that will have a more detrimental effect on a hoppy beer than it will a malty beer. You could store everything in legitimate cold storage to help preserve them longer. I have no opinions on preservatives. My beer doesnt normally stay around that long unless it was built to do so or I am curious to see what age will do to it.

Brewshki

 

[day_trippr]

The best "preservative" is to keep oxygen out of your post-fermented beer...

Cheers!

 

[john901]

Yeah i'm not sure how to describe the taste of the hoppy beers, just that it is still bitter but loses its aroma. But it has a bad taste to it, not sure what. It's not like it tastes just like malt or whats leftover. Something goes stale or sour there. I do as much as i can to keep air out, i think i get a little better each time so maybe in a couple years my two year old beers will still taste fresh..maybe

 

[DrinksWellWithOthers]

I'd say the next best thing to preventing the introduction of oxygen to your beer would be to keep it cold as it slows the oxidation and aging process.

 

[jjeffers09]

.... hops.... brewtan B.... or just hops. yeah, I think hops, and heather.