Old or expired beer

Gotta say no here. Not because I've never seen "old" beer or been tempted, but because I simply don't buy undated or expired beer. Shelf dust can be misleading since I've seen cases/bottles that still had 2-3 years on their shelf life that were dusty.

The case law here means that if I gamble on undated beer I might be making 24 mistakes rather than one. Too expensive to make that mistake and too many dated, fresh alternatives to take the risk on undated beer.

If there's a beer I want that I find undated, I'll often send the brewery mail explaining why I did not buy their beer and which of their competitor's beers I bought instead.

 

About the only time I buy beer that i know is old is if it's old guardian.

 

I cook with old beer alot. Old IPAs in particular are great for brazing meat in. I don't buy it, it's sully just stuff that gets lost in the back of the fridge and I forget it's there until it's too late.

That diesel might actually still be good too. If I remember correctly it was like a stout black ipa hybrid. It's probablly lost a lot of hopiness but it could still be good

 

Silly question, but Diesel appears to be a stout (http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/10607/23452/). If the conditions in the store looked OK and the price was right why not give it a go to see how it does aged?

 

No, neither scenario. Sitting on a shelf, under lights, in a 73 degree store, is not doing the beer any favors.

 

I've actually had "whiskey" distilled from the leftovers of various expired kegs of beer. Aged in wood, it was pretty damn tasty.

 

Just picked up a 6 pack of 21st Amendment Bitter American which I knew they changed up, but I was hoping it was someone what fresh. No date on the box, but when I opened and found the date on the bottom of the can it was May 2013... brutal find. It didnt hold up to well.

Recently grabbed an Imperial IPA from a brewery I hadn't had before without checking the date... another bad find. Over a year old and an absolute malt bomb. Lesson learned on that day.

 

Was out of town this weekend and stopped by a shop I haven't been to.

Found 2014 Bigfoot 4 packs so picked one up. Got to the counter and the guy asks me what I'm looking for. Told him stuff I couldn't get where I'm at. Then he asked me if I wanted some HOPSLAM. Said he had two cases in the cooler and brings them out from time to time. Against my better judgement I grabbed two bottles. Mistake. I mean I kinda knew from reading on here but wanted to see for myself. Bottled in January and it was nothing like the 18 or so I had back then.

For anyone that is skeptical about old DIPA, at least when it comes to Hopslam stay away.

 

It depends on the style and if I trust the store if I would consider it or not.
Of course, IPAs are a no go (with the potential exception of brett-fermented ones)
Most light colored beers I would be extremely hesitant to try.
However, big beers like barleywines and stouts I would at least consider picking up, again depending on the store (if it was against the window, I'll pass, but at the back of a bottom shelf, or back in the storage area, I'll give it a shot.

 

it is quite good aged! try it out - if you don't like it, we'll get you some "fresh" samples :-)

 

I don't mind an old Chimay Blue, but then again I don't remember them having dates on them.

 

I buy old beer often enough. I don't particularly like old beer, I just like buying oddball beer and it comes with the territory. Sometimes that means it's an old bottle of something no longer produced or an old bottle of something that barely sells. There have been some strike outs... obviously. It's par for the course. Not too long ago I bought a Malheur Brut Noir that was 3 years past it's best by date (and it's best by date was probably very far off from it's bottling date). It wasn't refrigerated and it was covered in dust. It was shockingly awesome. I don't intentionally age beer at home... there's just beer in my basement that's taken me a long time to get to.

I don't understand the posts by members that express shock when they discover a beer a few weeks past a best by date that's still on the shelf. When I was at a store yesterday, I picked up (and put back down) plenty of beer that was bottled 3 years ago. I did in fact buy one ancient looking imperial stout that hasn't been distributed in my area in ages. Perhaps it'll suck. That's a $3 risk I was OK with because I like the brewery. Are these consumers that are shocked to discover a beer a few weeks past only ever buying Sierra Nevada Pale Ale or something? I don't get it.

 

Brut Noir is fantastic 5 years after its "Best By"Date.

 

Do you have any idea how many years the best by date is from the bottling date?

 

Found almost year-old Palate Wrecker in the "dollar cart" at my bottle store. It was still very good. High ABV beers age well, even DIPA's!

 

I bought some Dogfish World Wide Stout in probably 2012 that had a 2009 date on it. I've still got some and crack one open every so often. Just gets better with age.

 

On average for De Landtsheer 5 years. That thing is good for 10.

 

Thanks. I was guessing 5.

 

I still see about 8 bombers of Stone IPA at a certain store. The enjoy by is 11/06/2013.

I am half-tempted to buy one...but certainly don't want to pay full price for a full drain pour.