Does beer get old/spoil?

You just made yourself a barleywine. Go ahead and drink it, then let us know how it went. Seriously, it won't hurt you.

 

9% ABV, should be fine. It won't taste exactly like the brewer intended but will have it's own charisma. With that percentage of alcohol it should have aged fine.

 

Beer changes in the fridge, too. Lower temperatures simply slow the oxidation process.

Sure. There's a whole subforum here about it. High ABV and low pH beers tend to age best. Make sure to keep them upright.

 

Maybe I am splitting hairs, but what is the difference between "spoiling" or oxidized stale beer. They seem pretty much the same to me.

 

You're kind of right. To me 'spoiling' is a general term for beer gone bad. 'Oxidized' is a type of spoiling just like 'infected' is another type of spoiling.

 

Then you should feel free to use these two terms in an equivalent fashion.

Cheers!

 

For me spoiled beer is simply something that's too far gone to drink. Infection obviously but my definition also includes something that's flat, stale and so oxidized it tastes like old wet cardboard.

 

"Few stores actually pull old beer, assuming some schmuck will buy it without checking. Don't be that schmuck!" That is a very true statement as anyone has heard. I have been that schmuck many times, but more than a few times I took the beer back and got a fresh case, 12 pack, six pack as the case may have been. Most of the time I keep a look out for that kind of stuff, but sometimes there is no date ofcouse.

 

Or sometimes open it. GUSHER!

 

I think it is the context. When somebody says spoiled to me, I think microbiology (ie, actual spoilage) and potentially harmful to one's health. So an old beer might be stale and oxidized or otherwise suffering in the flavor department, but I would not call it "spoiled" since it's not going to give me food poisoning. It may indeed be "spoiled" in the context of not tasting anywhere near what it should and not delivering the flavor intended by the brewer.

 

Shameless plug for a friend, check this out: https://www.amazon.com/Vintage-Beer-Tasters-Guide-Improve/dp/161212156X

I actually can't stand 99% of aged beer, but this is still a great resource to learn more about it.

 

Some of this is covered in this website's "Beer 101" (see "beer storage") and you may find other useful information.

 

I think of oxidized as stale bread, whereas spoiling it's got mold all over it.

You'll survive stale bread, spoiled you're gonna have issues.

 

The term "spoilage" definitely has a specific connotation that infers microbial contamination, but I don't think that was what the OP had in mind with his question.

 

I'm going off of a more timeline of the item itself. It'll get stale before it gets moldy typically.

 

Agreed. It may not be good, but it is still technically drinkable.

Although I've never died from an infected brew, I've had some that where so bad that death may have been a preferable experience.

 

Bread certainly will, but since beer is packaged in a closed, basically micro-oxygenated, environment, mold isn't going to thrive as the vast majority of molds are obligate aerobes.

 

This. Can we shitcan this thread now?