Why should hoppy beers like IPA be drunk fresh?
Show answer & explanation
Answer: Hop aroma oils fade over weeks
Hop aroma oils fade over weeks ✓ — Correct! The punchy aroma of an IPA comes from volatile hop oils, and those fade within weeks. A months-old IPA tastes flat and papery next to a fresh one, which is why the bottling date matters most for hoppy beer.
The alcohol slowly disappears — Wrong. Alcohol doesn't evaporate from a sealed bottle. What fades is the hop aroma, not the strength.
It keeps fermenting in the bottle — Wrong. A properly packaged beer isn't actively fermenting in the bottle. The change is the hop oils fading, not ongoing fermentation.