Old Bottles - Risky Buy? (Skunked?)

It's $8. If you can't afford it you shouldn't be buying beer at all. If you can, give it a go. WCS is it's not good.

 

If the label really looks faded from the sun, and you can buy a 2015 or 2016 Unidragon with no additional effort other than an extra $5... then I wouldn't buy the old bottle.

 

No price is a good deal if you might have to pour it out.

 

The local brewmaster here for Red Oak said brown bottles are 85% effective in filtering uv rays. Figure 3 years with a spent label and I'd bet that beer was bad. That badly faded label is the key to this question, not to mention the heat variations.

 

Does the bottle shop have a guarantee or return policy for bad beer? If you go to a good bottle shop, I'd imagine coming back and saying, "Hey, this was skunked. I'd like a refund." wouldn't be out of the question.

 

for $8 you get an aged bottle of a 12.5% RIS, I would probably pull the trigger on it, but only after I tried to talk him down more

 

Yes and no it depnds on the style. No low abv and fruit/ vegetable beer even imperial ones. stouts ok, belgians etc . . . barrel aged ok, 7% at least for a shorter time like saisons in wine barrels, but not the IPA or DIPA.

 

I'd be more worried about the bottle's temperature history. Was it ever in hot temps and for how long?

 

Buy it for science. In the future when another BA faces the same predicament he will recall your experience and know exactly what to do. If the beer is bad your story will serve as a cautionary tale for others. But say for some reason the beer is still good. How many otherwise relegated beers will be enjoyed because of your selfish act. What are 8 dollars, or even a drain pour, when compared against the chance of helping countless others fellow BAs.

Buy it, I say. Buy it, you must.

 

Whether we recognize it or not, every new beer we try is a learning experience, and sharing what we experience with others is always a positive thing. There is a thread on Sunday dedicated to the proposition, and it is the longest running thread on BA.

 

I'd pass on the beer and the "educational" experience.

But then I'm cheap and don't like gambling when the odds are against me, so I prefer to age a.beer in the cool peaceful corner of my basement where it would be comfortable and among friends.

After all, it's not like there are no other Beers out there left for me to try when I know they have been well cared for by the folks who sell them.

 

But for me it is not just the label, it is what the fading of the label and storage in the evening sunlight can mean. :-)

 

A faded label doesn't necessarily mean sun damage at all. The ink they use to print labels often fades with age.

So long as the cap is tight, it's probably fine.