Does beer get old/spoil?

Beer does change and it will not be the same as it is fresh. Hops fade fairly quickly and you really want to drink all IPAs within a few months. Some beers do age well, high abv beers. Stouts barleywines etc and sours, but the majority are best fresh.

No beer doesn’t spoil. You won’t get sick drinking old beer, it just won’t taste the same as it was fresh. If you want advice on cellaring beer there is a forum for it here.

 

Beers change with age, not often beneficially, and while refrigeration can slow that, it can't stop it or reverse it. IPAs are notorious for not keeping well, and some folks consider IPAs stale after 2-3 months. Others will only drink them on tap. Dark beers such as stouts, porters, quads, etc handle aging much better, some lasting many years. Other styles fall somewhere in-between. Often, some flavor fades over time, enhancing other flavors. If you're into craft for the hops that IPAs offer, you won't want them to fade.

That beer will be drinkable, but not as good as it would have been fresh. Always check the dates on IPAs when you buy them, as some unscrupulous stores will sell them months past the date where they should be pulled and returned to the distributor. Few stores actually pull old beer, assuming some schmuck will buy it without checking. Don't be that schmuck!

 

90 minute with age is really good. Chill it and drink it.

I still have a few 90's left from 2012.

Enjoy

 

Under your bed?

 

At least it shouldn't be lightstruck.

 

Some beers do contain bugs or infections and time is not friendly to them. But there should be no harm in cooling it down to 40degrees and see how it smells or tastes.

You'll know an infected beer when you smell or taste it.

 

Beer will age quicker when warm
Something super hoppy like that will keep. One time I forgot about a can of Miller high life for two months and it turned into vinegar, but almost no hops in that lol

 

@Beer-Neanderthal JUST DRINK IT.

Your handle an avatar are also great, welcome to BA

 

90 minute and 60 minute are some of the only IPA that are drinkable after time. I pulled a few years old bottle of 90 minute out of my relatives fridge a while ago and it was drinkable.

 

Age can definitely wither a beer. Absent infection it won't kill 'ya or anything but the experience of drinking it bounces between unlikable to downright unpleasant.

 

Beer does not spoil but it does indeed oxidize/go stale over time.

Below is something from a Brewers Association pamphlet:

“Quality

Beer quality is measured by a complex set of sensory characteristics that include appearance, aroma, taste and texture. These indicators of beer quality build a sensory profile specific to your brand, and are what craft beer consumers come to enjoy and expect from your brewery.

Maintaining and preserving consistent quality in turn builds brand loyalty. Understanding how that beer sensory profile can deteriorate with age is critical to delivering a consistently fresh product.

Beer is a delicate, perishable product, and in most cases it is at its best before it leaves the brewery. That means the minute it leaves the brewery, chances increase that its quality will decrease. And the further it travels from the brewery, the more difficult it becomes to maintain that quality. Therefore, everyone involved in the production, distribution and service of craft beer shares a responsibility for familiarizing themselves with, and maintaining, product freshness.”

Cheers!

 

I just drank a Dec 2017 (9 month?) Kona Longboard Lager last night. It was easy to drink/didn't seem very off or anything, just kinda no aroma and no flavor so it wasn't very satisfying. 1st time I had one of these so not sure if it is like this normally or because of 9mo. age. Scores are kinda low for this one, so I'm guessing its just not that good. For what it's worth, I was slightly above the rDev score.

 

Old beers never die they just fade away.

 

Given your avatar, and question: https://www.beeradvocate.com/commun...n-israel-say-researchers.588125/#post-6178105

 

Never heard of anyone being killed by a beer infection either

 

I actually prefer a 90 minute aged 18 months over a 90 minute fresh. cheers!

 

Me neither but I figure why take a chance.