Is my beer fresh?

Look for a date? Packaged on or less than optimal, best before date.

 

Always read the date.

If there is no date don't buy any.

If the date is a best by date don't buy any unless there are more than 2-3 months left before the bb date.

If the date is a bottled on date don't buy any older than 2-3 months after the bottled on date.

If you are buying Imperial Stouts or Barleywines ignore these guidelines.

 

80 degrees is too hot for beer storage and is definitely having an effect on the flavor and longevity of your stored beer, if you don't have a cooler place to keep it besides your fridge, then it may be time to buy less.

 

Or anything barrel aged. Or smoked beers, or sours.

 

"as high as 80" in a basement in NJ? I'd guess it's normally 70 or less. right? My basement here in MN never, ever, gets that warm.

While what @drtth and @Beer_Stan suggests is correct, if you're buying from TW, your storage is similar to how TW treats the beer prior to purchase anyway.

 

You need to up your game, so much great beer out there. Are you near any local breweries? If so buy there and don’t worry about freshness of dusty bottles at stores.

 

If you have a basement then you probably have room for a dedicated beer fridge. Look around for a small used one, or a wine keeeper if a case will be the max that you keep on hand. Also consider a small chest freezer at the right price because you can buy an external temp control device for $20-$30 that will keep a freezer anywhere from 30-60 degrees, depending on how cold you like your beer.

 

An 80 degree basement?!? Are you near a volcano or hot spring?

 

Haha. He's in New Jersey, a state with awesome distribution. And from what I've read, not big complaints aboot old beers on the shelf, unlike, err..ahem..Pennsylvania.

 

Tips to fresh beer;

• Check dates and with lighter colored and lower ABV beers, drink as fresh as possible. Color isn't an absolute indicator of stability, but generally true that lighter beers degrade faster than darker beers
  
• Don't store for long - buy smaller amounts more often and keep it refrigerated
• If you can't store it under 70 degrees and in the dark, don't store it
• Get a thermometer for your basement, probably not as hot as you think
  
• Beers don't improve with age, they change, and whether you like the change is highly subjective. Some good beers have been ruined with aging
• Don't make any assumptions about beer freshness based on the volume the store sells, since it may not have come from the distributor fresh
• Never drink a beer in sunlight in a clear or green glass or bottle. It can skunk in a couple of minutes

 

A basement at 80 degrees doesn't sound right.. Put that case in the crawl space at the back where that little door goes onto the turf. But watch out for those high hopping hoondors (Camel Crickets).

 

Plenty of good advice above, nothing to add to that. Beer temp is your choice, I like my beers to start cold, so mines set to as low as I can get it, I’d prefer 35-36 degrees. I don’t like cold stouts and porters, but I store them cold, and I drink these at 50 to start. Personal preference.

 

Even if you exaggerated the temp a bit a lot of beer is bottle conditioned and putting it back in warmer temperature will have an effect on the yeast and spur further fermentation and can produce flavors/CO2 levels that might not be what you want overall besides off flavors that I mentioned before. The fridge is a better idea or some kind of swamp cooler in your basement that can bring those temperatures down to at least 50-60 degrees in the summer as I'm sure you're fine the rest of the year.

 

My advice might be very different from a lot of what you'll read here (other than check the dates).

My first piece of advice is not to stress about this. If you are enjoying the beer you are drinking, then continue to do so. Just enjoy your beer for what it is. Trust your own experiences over "Google." If you are storing your beer at home for "15-30 days" then you shouldn't have to worry too much about it.

My second piece of advice is: I am of the opinion that if you drank the same beer at a brewery (and yes, that is probably impractical), the beer will taste different (rather than strictly "better"), and the difference will have possibly more to do with your surroundings, activities, and other things you've drank than freshness and optimal storage.

Lastly, check the dates of what you are buying and don't buy anything more than half a year old.

 

Just curious about the 6 month window, by choice or circumstance? You’d be all set here 6 month old beers are on the shelf in volume. I’m always curious about guys who don’t mind older beer, but I’m a serious fresh freak, so no offense intended. I just can’t drink 6 month old ipas, I can smell the hop fade and malt. I kinda wish I had a more forgiving palate, but I just don’t. FWIW I consider 2 month old beer to be fringe depending on style, lots of times I skip beers that are over 30 days, but that’s just me.

 

What does hop fade smell like? Just wondering... (and, just kidding...)

 

Half a year is a nice easy number that can be used as a general guide without needing a spreadsheet. I'm sensitive to age too. Last night, I opened a tripel and I just couldn't enjoy it because I thought it was too damaged from age. My wife said "I can't distinguish that." I think people tend to put too much stock in their rules regarding styles (and the differences between)... but if it works for you then don't fight it. I find the obsessiveness with freshness with only IPAs (rather than any beer) to be looney tuney, but I am definitely not a day in and day out IPA drinker. I've had some pale lagers hold up way better than some stouts or whatnot. I think brewing and packaging practices matter but people tend to only think in terms of style, ABV and color.

 

I thought the title of this thread was is my breath fresh... and I'm not even drinking yet.