How old is your beer?

IPAs best to consume asap,within 2 months. Sours and high abv stouts can age. Honestly, almost everything tastes better fresh.

 

There are a few references you can use. I kinda like this one since its by brand. Even if its not listed, you can get used to the format and figure it out.

http://beerdates.com/

Oh, and there is an app for code dates, but the developer needs to update it for latest version of iOS.

 

The SN Oktoberfest I have is nearly two months old and I have some Dogfish Sequence that was gifted to me that's about to turn a month old. I always check for dates and generally won't buy anything over three months old.

However: I will buy stouts that are old, but not coffee ones because I've read (not sure how true) that coffee flavor dies quickly.

 

If theres no date, sorry i wont buy it unless im positive its a seasonal release and then i can imagine ok a summer seasonal at earliest cones out in april. Its august 4 months old and i go from there.

 

I used to be all caught up in the beer freshness stuff. I've found this hobby is more enjoyable now that I've relaxed on that a little. I still do check dates, but now as long as it is still before the BIEB date or it is within three months of the bottling date, it is good enough for me.

 

I'm having a Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA bottled on 5/19/17

still tastes good to me

 

I'm drinking my last Sip of Sunshine (6/22/17) and it is still tasting fine at 2 months...

 

6-27-17 It's fine. Just bought some North Coast Old Stock Ale last week with a best by date of Aug 2033. Depends on the style, I have a lot of older beer in my basement. Hoppy beers obviously better fresh.

 

most de cam lambics list a bottle date and a best by in the 20 to 30 year range

 

Anything inside 3 months for an IPA and I'm good with that...mostly. If it's a bottle and close to the 3 month mark I'd pass; cans I'm good with.

 

I only check dates on hoppy beers. Everything else gets free reign. I've only ever had a dud because of brewing practice and not the age of the beer itself.

 

I won't buy any PA/IPA over 6 weeks old from a place that isn't Whole Foods or a quality bottle shop. NYC bodega and grocery store storage conditions are absolute hell on beers.

 

I've told my local breweries that I'll only consume their beer directly from their finishing tanks. Preferably with my head positioned directly under the spout.

 

Are you asking how to determine a best by date if the beer you purchased has a bottled/canned on date?

Cheers!

 

I think he is saying when there is a best by date, who knows how long they consider it to be best by. Is it three months, four months, five? You don't know when a beer was canned/bottled when there is just a best by date.

 

I get what you are saying. It is hard to tell if a beer is fresh or not by the best by date. I dont like how breweries put best by dates on hoppy beers 6 months from the bottling date knowing they do not hold up that long even if kept cold the whole time (which most stores dont do). When most people see a beer that is 2 months until the best by date they would assume it is fresh, but it was actually bottled 4 months ago. I have started to see alot more breweries doing their best by dates 90 days from bottling which is more honest. It seems to be working since people started pushing back against stale beer. This fresh beer only list is pretty good and has alot of breweries on it with info about their dating.
https://sites.google.com/site/freshbeeronly/u-s-beer-list

 

Yup. You would have to contact the brewery and ask what they use for a best by duration. Then you could do the math to figure out the packaging date.

For example, I do this when I purchase Victory beers since I know that this brewery uses a 5 month best by duration for their core beers (e.g., Prima Pils, Hop Devil, Dirt Wolf, etc.).

Cheers!

Cheers!

 

Pretty much the same for me. I recently got a 6er of Lupu-Luau from Dogfish that's dated 2 months ago. I hesitated, but there were only two left in the store (same date). It tastes decent, it's hard to separate my knowledge that it's 2 months old and my experience of tasting it. I'd love to compare to a fresher version (especially a blind comparison).

 

Founders Mosaic: canned 08/09/2017. Nicely fresh.