Old or expired beer

My rule of thumb is 3 months for IPA-type beer and about 6 months for DIPAs

 

Depends, but it is never the price that decides it. I'll buy a beer I've heard stands up 2-3 months after bottling. I'll skip a bottle I've heard drops quickly if it is older than 4-5 weeks. So it is all about the particulars. As such, I did not pick one of the above.

 

Depends on the beer, and the situation, but generally speaking about 3 months

As far as Dales goes - not really a fan - regardless of the date

 

Is this another one of those I am super picky about freshness and believe that IPA's should be drank right off the canning/bottling line threads?

 

I thought this thread was about a new Stone beer.

 

I will usually buy it at 2 months so I can drink it by 3 months.

 

If it has a "enjoy by" date, I usually try to buy it at least a month out from the date. Otherwise, it's a toss-up. If it's a mediocre beer, or one I don't have huge expectations for, I'm more inclined to buy it on the older side if I see it on sale. If it's an outstanding beer at a steep discount due to bottling/enjoy by date fast approaching, I'm a bit more skeptical.

So, last option for me, I guess

 

I usually go for by the enjoy by date as well if it's refrigerated. if not, then 2-3 months is my cutoff. rarely do i see anything within a month of bottling but always enjoyable when I do.

 

I really dont pay attention to dates. As long as it is not more than a year old im ok with it. I dont buy any of the drink within 30 day BS.

 

8 weeks shouldn't have much of a noticeable affecting the flavor, assuming there was no packaging problem (oxygen ingress/high TPO) and proper storage (like it sat in a 100F warehouse for a month). Many brewers even say their hoppy beers hit a sweet spot after a few weeks, when the initial harsh vegetal hop flavors diminish.

 

There are so many IPAs on the shelves right now that I almost always have the luxury of finding one that's within a few weeks old. All things being equal, the fresher the better.

 

I generally don't check dates, so it wouldn't be an issue for me.

 

Eight weeks is fine unless it's been very warm. 60 days at or below room temperature is no problem.

I have recently been experiencing this with Anchor IPA. I don't mind vegetal flavours, but when it's very fresh the grassiness is much too prominent, while after a few weeks that subsides and a nice citrus orange thread becomes clear.

I haven't got a really scientific knowledge of which varietals' flavours undergo what changes with age, but that said, some of the neat tropical fruit flavours seem to fade more quickly than citrus ones.

Additionally, the way a beer is hopped matters---e.g., aromas and flavours in dry-hopped beers dissipate a bit faster.

 

I always check dates but sometimes ignore them if I'm jonesin' for a specific beer. Anything seasonal I like to purchase when it first hits the shelves and store it in my fridge rather than pick it up sixer by sixer. I usually make my non-seasonal purchases at a store that at least displays most of their beer in coolers but I don't know about storage in the back of the store.
As long as the cooler beers have a bottled on date within a month or so, I buy. There is so much to choose from that if something I check isn't as fresh as I like, I'll keep going until I find something fresher. This applies to IPAs, Pale Ales, etc. and not to the beers that are meant to be or better when they are aged.

 

I went with 8 weeks, but I have no problem at all buying stuff much older, especially if it is refrigerated.

A lot of variables of course. My general rule of thumb would be in the 3-4 month range and average.

 

There is a definite problem with excess over age beer on the shelves. But Dale's at 8 weeks or SNPA at 3 months have always been fine for me. Some people have an exaggerated desire for freshness, methinks.

 

6 months, really, depending on the beer. I had a two hearted that I thought held up marvelously at six months. Some dry hopped beers you'll say 90 days and that is optimum. Oh and beers in cans seem to have a longer shelf life imo.

 

Any beer that goes off or is 'dull' in a couple of months is probably made by a dodgy brewery and is a bad beer. No brewer should release beer to shops that goes off that quickly. It is unfair on the shops and the public. The breweries usually indicate on the bottle when it's best before. Beer does change, but really, is this the new madness among young beer drinkers (the last one seemed to be 'skunking')?

 

I'll drink hoppy beer up to 90 days after packaging, but prefer 2 months or less.

 

My comfort zone for an IPA is up to a couple months. Really don't like them when the malts starts coming forward as the hoppiness fades.