Beer Freshness question

Ain't gonna kill you, but at this point the name will certainly be fitting.

 

There is no general rule of thumb that covers all beer styles.

See this thread:

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/beer-freshness-depending-on-style.395841/

 

Sorry, It's probably quite deteriorated from what the brewer had intended.

 

return it to the store.

worse than buying outdated milk.

 

There are a number of factors to consider. Ideally, you want to drink all beers as soon after packaging as possible. This beer is over seven months old and is a hoppy beer, which doesn't age well. How much exposure to light did it have? How many temperature changes, if any, did it go through?

In my opinion, it's doubtful that it'll hurt you, but won't be nearly as enjoyable as a six-pack of that beer that was less than 6 weeks old. So it's a relative experience.

 

Was it in a fridge? If so, it's definitely fine to drink, but the flavors will be faded. Outside of the fridge, 99% sure it's fine, but just probably won't taste great.

 

You can drink it. It won't hurt 'ya or anything like that, but beer, like bread, starts going stale as soon as it's packaged and anything 8 months out has been subjected to transport, storage and store display conditions that may have sped up the staling process, so buyer beware. My rule three months tops for relatively high ABV brews and less for others.

 

I think the general rule is drink it as soon as possible. As for expiration, I think some claims have been exaggerated, as beer does not grow mold or spoil like milk and bread do after a month... That being said, it will probably lose some hop intensity and be rather malty, but cheers to you if you don't mind that.

 

For this particular beer and date, just throw them away. I just passed on a Sucks from 138 16 last weekend and thats more than 138 days younger than yours.

 

Like everyone else has said, it's not going to hurt you to drink it. In fact, if you are new to this craft beer culture, I'd drink at least a bottle of it as a learning experience; it will help you remember to check dates in the future before you leave the store. If your store offers single bottles, and if they have a fresh bottle of this beer (yeah, right!!) get a single to drink for comparison purposes. If you like hoppy beers, you'll be amazed at the difference, especially if the old beer has been stored on the store shelf instead of the cooler.

 

Did you drink the beer? If so, how did it taste to you?

Cheers!

 

Though most other beers should be drunk sooner than later, stouts handle age better. A lot of people believe that stouts only get better with age, but the dissenting opinion is that the taste of an aged stout changes, but is degraded from what the brewer intended. Then some brewers are advising aging. So I guess for stouts you have more leeway to age it, but any resulting change in taste might be tasty in your opinion, or ruined in the brewer's opinion.

 

How interesting that this topic just popped up. I just bought a beer a couple days ago, and sat down to enjoy it today - and after I popped the cap I noticed a yucky black gunge on the inside of it, then I saw it actually went a half inch or so down the inside neck of the bottle too.. wasn't sure that beer would actually mold.. so I'm gonna take a wild guess that it was most likely from an improper cleaning of the bottle before bottling or there was some type of contaminant. According to the bottled date it is only a few months old, has anyone ever had a similar experience? Luckily I kept my receipt, so I'll see if I can go back and get a different one.

 

Probably neither one.

Did it look like the picture in first post of this thread?

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/whats-this-snot-like-stuff-in-my-beer.102906/

 

Kinda, I was scared to pour it! but the gunk under the cap definitely had that same congealing yuck. and the inside neck of the bottle was dried chunks of the same stuff. It was a bottle of Bridge Brewing's Bourbon Blood Orange Wheat Ale. I took it back to the store I got it, and inspected the other 4 bottles they had. When you held them to the light you could see floaty specks and spackle on the neck of each one. And they didn't "wash" away if you swirled the bottle, they were dry and gross looking. I should have taken a picture. And unfortunately this was not my favorite craft beer store, so they don't have a beer sommelier or anyone with a lick of knowledge about crafts who would know if this was concerning. I ended up trading it for something else... I'll go to my usual store this week and look at their stock and see if they have the same type of bottles. At least there they have a sommelier who knows his stuff, and will have no issues cracking the top to inspect it if it has any anomalies.

 

OK. Well you may want to read through that thread.

My current guess is that that congealed yuck is probably congealed protein. Don't know quite why that happens but its not unheard of. From the pictures I've seen it mostly stays in the beer (unless for some reason the beer has been been on its side during storage).

But you can also reassure yourself that the primary effect is its grossness. Pathogens that can make humans ill don't survive the brewering process and the alcohol in the liquid.

 

Thanks drtth... that's great to know. I was uncertain, and because it looks nasty I err'd on the side of caution. I'm going to give another crack at that beer, but I will try a different source. I'm glad to know that it is probably fine to consume despite the appearance of the yuck. lol.