re: Beer Freshness

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will the average person who likes all different types of beers really be able to tell if a beer is fresh?

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I don't think they would consciously be able to put their finger on it, but they'd know something was off. Prior to graduating to a beer nerd, I used to have some beers and notice they didn't always taste the same. Take Purple Haze, for instance. Huge difference fresh vs. old.

Other beers that might not be so obvious, but pilsners, saisons, and fruit sour beers are always better fresh.

To answer your question, the average person would definitely be able to tell the difference if they drank them side by side. However the average person probably doesn't have the frame of reference to be able to recall what a fresh IPA should taste like in order to then say "this isn't fresh" or "this is fresh" when they taste it.

This may sounds silly but I would compare it to coke vs diet coke or coke zero. When you are younger and first drinking them, you don't really know. You are drinking a dark, sweet, carbonated beverage and you just think its all the same, its all coke. Its not because you can't taste the difference, its just cause you haven't had them enough to remember what coke tastes like vs diet coke. Now that you have had a bunch you could easily determine if what you are drinking is coke or diet coke.

This guy makes kennypowers look like a girl scout