Even though it’s been only a month or so of spring, I received three bottles of Deschutes Brewery‘s Twilight Summer Ale yesterday.

The “best by” date is July 25, which makes me think it must have only been bottled a few days ago (i.e., April 25), so it really doesn’t get much fresher than this. Although it makes me think of something Tony Lawrence of Boneyard Beer said when I interviewed him for the book; he was talking about being unable to keep up with demand for Boneyard’s RPM IPA, with kegs being on tap almost as soon as they are kegged. While there’s no disputing that “fresh” is best when it comes to hoppy beers, Tony opined that he actually thought RPM was best with about three weeks age on it (and wished they had the luxury of aging it to its peak before shipping out). Of course I have to wonder now about optimal tasting times for beers, and perhaps these three Twilights will present a good way to experiment with that.