That really depends on style. A barley-wine or an imperial stout, definitely. An IPA, fresh is much better. The hop character fades with time. In fact, Stone Brewing just released "Drink By IPA" - bottles will be removed from shelves if not sold by the deadline. Of course, there is so much hype around the drink by that it wont sit on the shelf anyway, but the fact remains.

Wow - this post shows a lot of ignorance regarding home brewing. While darker beers may not be your favorite, it absolutely does not mean there is something hiding. Virtually all your color comes from the roast of the barley and different grains are selected to impart different flavors in the beer. With a darker malt, you get more roasty, chocolate, coffee, etc. The brewing process is no different for a stout than an IPA, just different ingredients. You are correct that lighter, more delicate beers are more susceptible to off flavors, but very wrong about the adjuncts being directly related to a light color. How about a hefeweizen, blonde ale or cream ale? All very light in color, no adjuncts. I am a homebrewer.

I hear someone outside my office talking on a cellphone giving out their password