Expired Stone Beer, will it taste as good?

"Just fine", yes. Not as good as it would fresh, but at just a few days past their best by, it'll be pretty tasty.

 

You would be absolutely surprised by how some beers get better with age. Even some simple ales can become phenomenal after 5 to 10 to 15 and so on years depending on proper cellaring.

 

Plus, to their credit, Stone gives Levitation Ale (along with a number of their other hop forward ales) a mere 90 day shelf life period - these days, that is among the shortest in the industry.

Lots of well-known US "craft" brewers would consider that beer still "fresh" - or, more properly, perhaps, still "salable" - for 1, 2 or 3 more months.

(And, for imports, lots of beers don't even make it to the retail shelves within that period).

 

It isn't as if the best thing you can do with it is throw it out because it's "expired" by Stone's standards. Still obviously worth drinking especially because that date isn't very long ago. I have had Ruination a few days after it's best by date and have still been very happy.

 

That should be fine. As good as it was a month or two ago? No. Still tasty? Yes. It's only a few days, not several months.

 

One time, I misplaced a bottle of AleSmith IPA with my stouts and other beers I was holding on to. By the time I found that bottle it was something like 6 months past the recommended consumption date. I was pissed I made that mistake and thought it would taste horrible. I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed it actually.

 

I once bought some expired ruinations and levitations because they were on sale for a dollar a piece. They were still very enjoyable

 

I've tasted the following Stone beers, all several months past their "enjoy by" dates:

Arrogant Bastard
Oaked Arrogant Bastard
Ruination
Enjoy By
RuinTen

All were still phenominally awesome beers to me, and if there was any difference between them and their fresher selves, it was too minimal to notice. I actually thought the 8-month-old Oaked Arrogant Bastard I had was MORE flavorful than the previous fresher one I had (though it's not that surprising since DOES have some aging-friendly qualities, like some maltiness and a fairly high ABV).

Enjoy by dates are generally pretty flexible, in my opinion.