Which style do you think would stand up better to aging in keg at 35F - Munich Helles (18-20 IBU’s) or Classic American Pilsner (35 IBU’s)?
One I can prep to give 5 weeks of lagering for and the other only 3 wks prior to bottling with a beer gun.
Any thoughts?
Are they getting shipped to comp or just kept around to drink ? All things equal, I think the helles ( with negligible hop character) would be the one to lager longer. The CAP’s hop character would obviously be fresher on the short term.
Yes. Bottled up for an upcoming comp. Good thinking on that one. I wasn’t even thinking about hop freshness there as there is quite a bit of hop flavor addition in my cap recipe (mostly saaz).
I just didn’t want to miss out on that fresh malt graininess in the helles either before it passed its prime. Both are closed transfer into keg from primary, so oxidation is a minimal concern.
I had a Dortmunder hold up pretty well for a year - bottled off the keg and stored cold. It lost a bit, but it was surprisingly tasty still. When bottling for a comp, I try to bottle a couple extra to long store to see how they taste after a while. Some fade or oxidize after only a few months…but that is probably my fault in handling more than anything.