Question About Bottle Dates

While most beers are meant to be consumed fresh, some withstand aging well and there are folks that think those beers are better with a bit of age (e.g., some Belgian styles and Imperial Stouts). So it really depends on the style of beer as to whether or not it is safe to buy when a year or two old. Storage conditions also make a difference in that beer stored at room temperature ages more quickly than if kept chilled.


My personal general rule is that I don't buy undated beer or beer with a cryptic code I don't know how to read unless I know it is a fresh seasonal release.

To go along with that, if the beer has a bottled on date I generally won't buy it more than 2-3 months beyond the bottling date, depending on the brewery (some are better than others at packaging the beer so the beer has a long shelf life).

If the beer has a best by date that hasn't expired then it is still within the period where the brewer feels most of the flavors are still there, but the beer doesn't necessarily taste the way it did fresh. If I don't know how long the shelf life is on the beer I usually subtract 1-2 months (depending on what I know about the style and the brewery) from the best by date and don't buy it after that earlier cut off.

If I don't recognize anything about the beer at all I check out the page for that beer in the database here on this site and follow the link to the style description. On the right hand side of that style page there is typically a recommendation about how well that style of beer holds up with aging.

 

For me it's a big deal with all of them. I won't buy any without a date code I can read or decipher and don't rely on best by dates because that optimistic suggestion doesn't take into account how the beer is handled or stored between the brewer and me. Locally I deal with no airconditioned trucks and warehouses, plus retailers who don't cooler the beer. So, 2-3 months except for high ABV stuff that may keep a little longer.

Exceptions of course. Yesterday I bought a Weihenstephaner Vitus that was 5.5 months old because it should still be viable and I recently purchased a locally brewed undated IPA after the brewery owner assured me the batch was bottled three weeks ago.

When in doubt regarding date codes or brands in general check them out here before buying. One of the benefits of this site in the vast amount of information posted by BA members reflecting their first hand impressions.

Good luck with your search.

 

Drink local, straight from the brewery, don't have to worry about old beer. I used to play Russian Roulette before local beer scene exploded. If breweries, distributors, stores cant get me fresh beer, no thanks.

Other than that get to know the different breweries and how they date or not date their beer, then only buy if you know the dates and they are within reason.

 

I think most people would say freshness is most important for IPAs, pilsners, and generally beers with more emphasis on hop flavor. There are Belgian-style beers that can age very nicely for many years, and some brewers even date their Belgian beers with 3-5 year "best-by" dates (like Unibroue, Weyerbacher, Rochefort, and others).

Good on you for paying attention to beer dates though. If more people did this then retailers would have much less incentive to leave old beer out on their shelves hoping to sell it.

- Buy from the brewery.
- Buy draft beer when possible as it is generally fresher than bottles/cans (for technical reasons beyond simply when the beer was kegged)
- Buy beer that was stored cold, if possible.
- Be vigilant to check for dates on beer.
- Find a retailer who pulls old beer from shelves, which will likely depend on you checking dates on product regularly.
- Don't buy beer stored near windows that could expose it to sunlight (i.e. skunked) and needless to say store your own beer near sunlight. Relatedly, avoid clear or green bottles unless you are confident it was never exposed to light (e.g. a fully enclosed factory-sealed case or trusted retailer).

EDIT: If you don't mind some light reading, here's an old discussion about beer freshness with a lot of technical information from professional brewers (including Victory, Sierra Nevada, Anheuser-Busch, and Firestone Walker). https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/old-ipas.177842/

 

Some beer styles age well, barley wines, stouts, and some Belgians, so for those styles I would freak out over them being a year or maybe even 2 old. Most styles should be drank fresh, and it's important to check dates, especially in smaller places. It's not uncommon for beer that shouldn't be sold to still be on the shelves, so you might want to start paying attention before you buy. If you get interested in cellaring I'd check out the cellaring forum and maybe buy a copy of vintage beer on Amazon.

 

My own rules are pretty simple. If its a strong ABV beer I don't overly worry about the date. I find that these always drink well and if anything they aged them for you so win win. Any IPA I insist on buying fresh, anything over 4-6 weeks I tend to frown upon, I know most are good for 3 mos or so but I just enjoy my IPA super fresh. Like others a lot of beers with cryptic coding or odd numbering goes down on my list, I just don't appreciate the hidden dating system. To me, if I was proud of my beer, I would want everyone to know its age. So with that said to hide the date only tells me the maker is wanting to move old product etc.
All in all I don't really worry about dates or spend a lot of time on them. I know what to look for and if drinking local guys its always fresh mostly so if in doubt stay local and you can't go wrong.
Cheers.

 

I'd second drrth here. But I would add that I don't buy Ipas and the like or pale ales that are over 30 days old that's my usual cutoff. My limits are tight because they can be, quite often the hoppy beers I like are under 10 days old.

 

“…any horror stories about seriously ancient beer finds, are appreciated,…”

Permit me to tell a happy story instead.

A couple of days ago I was shopping at my local beer store to obtain beer for tomorrow’s (Saturday) AAL tasting thread. I was chatting with a Wholesale Distributor Sales Rep I know (and haven’t spoken to for months) and I happened to notice that right next to me where a few cases of Thomas Hooker #UNFILTERED New England India Pale Ale. I had never seen this beer in this store before. As I was chatting I picked up a 6-pack (cans) and flipped them over and to my great joy it was stamped with “Canned 5/23/17”. That beer was basically just one week old so without hesitation I purchased it. I brought it home and promptly placed it in my refrigerator. This was a very happy chance encounter!!

One other piece of advice: once beer is purchased it will benefit from being stored cold (refrigerator) once you get it home. Cold storage of beer resists staling (oxidation).

Cheers!

 

I too have gotten heavily into craft beers within the last year. Go with the recommendations from everyone above. They'll help you experience the better side of craft for sure.

If you have a couple of local stores, try to get to know the owner/operator.. or check to see if they email notification for newly arrived beer. I'm fortunate enough to have 2 stores within 10 minutes of me that provide similar info..1 sends an email 1-2 times a week with the names of the newly arrived beer.. while the other store has a 'dated' list on their website (I will speak to the top dog on that today).

I typically won't buy a beer if it's not stamped with a BO or BB date, unless I know it's new. If you see dust on a bottle.. well that's a sure sign it's been sitting there for a little while. Enjoy!

 

Watch out for stores that will put out old beers near or during their scheduled release date. For example there might be beer on the shelf from last Christmas that didn't sell so they put it out this year during Christmas time in hopes that people will overlook any date and just buy the beer. You might find a 2016 bottle of Mad Elf next to a 2017 bottle.

Also if there is a "new beer" area you want to make sure that the beer is new. Some beer stores will slip a few items on those shelves to get rid of old stock. People will walk into a store and go straight to that shelf, pick up whatever is there, and pay without checking.

If you are buying from a place that sells sixers just make sure you check all of the bottles in the pack for dates and make sure none have been swapped out with an older one. It's a good practice to check six packs even if you aren't interested in the date because some shoppers will play mix and match. They'll throw more expensive beer in cheaper packs to save a buck.

 

One thing I have been seeing a lot is that stores put out 1-2 fresh 12 packs and then under them they are old. I grabbed some Founders Rubaeus and it was like 4 weeks old, next pack under was over year old. On multiple visits I saw same thing, so they are mixing old and new to trick people into buying the crap. That just warps me because its not even being dumb or ignorant about shelf life, its being deceitful to the customer.