Hello I bought yesterday a pack of trappist beers and noticed only later that the Achel blonde has seemingly expired. I say seemingly because what I think it is the expiration date on the original label does not correspond with the expiration date on the import label. Naturally, I consider the expiration date on the original label to be the rightful one, but I just want to double-check before heading back to the store and ask for an exchange. So, could anyone please just ratify to me if the date that appears on the back label is indeed the expiration date, and not the bottling date or something similar? Here is the link to a perfect example http://www.belgianbeerz.com/products/achel-blond-33cl?variant=227983208 Thanks a lot in advance
You didn't mention the date that's on your bottle, but keep in mind that European dates are DD/MM/YY, not the American MM/DD/YY. Thus, the date in the link you provided is July 9, 2016, not September 7, 2016. Looking at label, it's impossible to tell if the date is the "brewed on" date or the "best by" date. Have you tried emailing the brewery direct? On http://www.achelsekluis.org/pageNL/...w.achelsekluis.org/pageNL/brouwerij.html&gr=3 there's an email address, [email protected]. Alternatively, it looks like there's an email address on the back label, which I can't quite make out. Try emailing them direct and ask. If the date isn't too far in the past, I wouldn't worry about a slightly old bottle of trappist beer. They last quite nicely. In fact, many of them get a little better with a little bit of age.
On the link you provided, there's a "Product Care" section (just below the red "Add to cart" button). It says "Some brewers, however, mention the bottling date rather than the expiry date on their bottles."
Thanks RickBelgique, I just came to realize that judging from that image alone, we might get to the conclusion that it is indeed the "best by" and not the "brewed on" date, since the year it gives is 2016, and we are not quite there yet. It would only have to be the photograph of an actual beer and not some sort of display bottle with a random date on it, but I hope that's not the case. Moreover, I think this link can clarify this issue further: http://colnect.com/en/drink_labels/...ppistenabdij_De_Achelse_Kluis_Belgium-Belgium It is a label catalog entry of an Achel Blonde issued on 2012, and the date on the label of the image says 2015. I think it wraps this up, wouldn't you say so? Yes, I've seen bottles with the bottling date (for example Goose Island Vintage Ale's and Bourbon County), but it specifically says that it is the bottling date. Perhaps such clarification is the norm. With all that being said, the date on my bottle is June 13, 2015. Would you recommend me to drink it anyway, or more than six months after the expiration date is too much to bear?
I really can't say if the 2012 and 2015 dates prove anything definitively. It could be that Achel changed their label some time after 2012. Thus, the 2015 label is could be a slightly update version. Without further info, it's impossible to say for sure. If it were my bottle, I'd drink a June 13, 2015 bottle of Achel. The 8% alcohol does act as a bit of a preservative. I would drink it soon, though. If you're worried about getting a bad bottle, I suggest opening it at a time when the store you bought it from is open. If it is bad, you can take it back right away.
