How long do lagers last?

Generally speaking I’d say yes a more forgiving a style as to age than say IPAs and Pale Ales. But storage conditions count, beers stored cool and dark is better, and the type of containers count too. A nod to cans over bottles, a nod to packaging that protects the bottles, then Brown bottles, Green, Clear in that order. I still draw my line at 3 months which for me eliminates mostly all imported beers, as I can get local stuff only days old.

 

That beer in particular is pretty hoppy/biter in comparison to others in the euro lager style. It’s comparable to German pilsners if not a little more so than that. If there was a drop off over time it would just mellow out. I really like that beer for this reason but unsure if having one “old” would make it sweet

 

Lagers (e.g., Helles, Pilsner, Euro-Lager, AAL,...) like most beers are best consumed fresh. How long a given brand will be 'good' for is based upon a number of factors:

• How well was the beer packaged as regards TPO (Total Packaged Oxygen)?
• How was the beer treated during transport & storage? Refrigerating during transport and storage will extend shelf-life since it slows down oxidative reactions.
  
• Canned beers totally keep out air (oxygen) so they are beneficial in this regard.
• etc.

The other factor is how sensitive is an individual beer drinker's palate to the effects of oxidation. Some of the off-flavors that can occur in an aging Pale Lager are honey-like sweetness, cardboard, etc. Some people will be more sensitive to these off-flavors vs. others.

Lots of BAs like to belittle Anheuser-Busch but their QA/QC is tops in the beer industry. AB recommends that you consume a beer like Budweiser within 110 days (less than 4 months) from packaging. A reference point worth considering.

Cheers!

P.S. Below is a chart I have often posted concerning how well a beer will hold up over time as a function of storage temperature; the temperature is in degrees C:

 

Most Euro lagers hold up well due to how they're packaged. The exception seems to be Jever, although it is drinkable at 6 months- it just loses its magic.

For the rest I try not to push them beyond that 6 month threshold; which is pretty much the "shelf life" halved. At that point there's usually little to no discernible difference.

 

I should mention. I live in a high polish demographic and the store I used to work at couldn’t keep this in stock plus keg sales. The cans are very extremely good so it’s easy to find fresh near me. But I don’t know about the bottles

 

I agree with a lot of that except for when it comes to stouts or porters. I’ll easily drink those a year old sometimes more.

 

Oh I agree on those, I’ve aged stouts up to 4-5 years and I understand sours and the like age longer that that. I was only talking about lagers and hoppy ales.

 

interestingly enough I did a quick comparison of that beer just last week. I had December bottles and an old august one. It was obvious to me which was which, snappier smell and bite on the December bottle,but to be honest they weren’t as different as I thought they’d be. Had I not been trying to figure out which was which I’m not sure, results may have been different.

By the end they melded together to be honest, the beers being so similar accelerated that I believe.

 

Would you have a guess as to what the percentage of sales were for can vs. bottles? Was there any prejudice from a segment of the customers against buying canned beers?

Cheers!

 

The cans we would get iirc about 15-20 cases a week. Around Christmas it was like 30. We sold about 10 cases of O.K. a week. Cans. If they didn’t sell well one week, he’d hold off and within two weeks we’d be done. But Of the bottles we sold the 16-? 19? Ounce loose case it was like 12 or 15 beers. it was like 2-3 cases a week. It was the most popular euro import we sold.we sold 2 kegs of it a month. Which wouldn’t seem like a lot but it sold equal compared to modelo in keg. On the other hand, salva vida and port royal cans from I believe Nicaragua? Sold about the same but much harder to get from the distributor.

it’s odd. Sometimes Lech would sell out I remember a guy purchasing literally 5 cases at a time, cleaned us out and asked for more. The polish lagers are an odd beast. We’d go from selling no Zyweic at all for two weeks to that third week being out of stock all at once. They buy in bulk so I assume it takes some time to drink their it and that’s when we don’t sell. Then all at once lol.

I’ll add I do remember if we didn’t have canned okocim then they’d buy another canned beer. They scoff at the bottles lol

 

Interesting. So, the Euro-Lager customers are similar to the modern craft beer (e.g., Haze Bros) crowd.

A decade+ ago craft beer drinkers would frown on the can format, viewing that as the format of BMC drinkers. Today, can is KING!



Cheers!

 

I understand cans keep out oxygen but I have been coming across cans of local IPAs/Pales that have been pouring murky brown in color and seem less bright and seem off compared to the same beer on draft. Can the issue be the canning line in use allows oxygen to be introduced into the beer right before being sealed ? The beers are New England style in nature and fresh under a month old. What could be going on ? I wish not to name the beer or brewery as I have already brought this to their attention and am awaiting response.

Heres one of the beers:

 

I think it’s QA issues on canning line @DEdesings57 not a hazy ipa but I also bought a local brewed beer that was low filled, not by a huge amount but noticeable. It was oxidized and less carbed than the rest of the four pack. Different scenario but the QA at smaller places just doesn’t seem to be where it could be. Just wanted to comment as well since I had a similar issue recently too.

 

Yes sir they ask me for it I’d say yea so and so drivers whenever but we have bottles they’d refuse and pick another canned option.

 

Yep I am also familiar with those issues. Usually those under-filled cans are not supposed to be sold to the public but one does slip from time to time. My gripe is when the whole 4-pack has the issue which recently I got burned on by two different breweries this past month alone, which sucks. I wonder what specifically is happening on the canning line that is causing the problem. I think your right about QA and I truly believe the issue is originating on the canning line somehow. Not sure if there are settings that can be adjusted that affects Total Packaged Oxygen like @JackHorzempa mentioned before or if they just need a better canning line?

 

Short answer: yes.

Longer answer below:

Juicy/Hazy IPAs are especially sensitive to oxidative reactions. Consequently there is a need (requirement) for an extremely low TPO value be achieved during canning.

Do you happen to know whether the brewery/brand you pictured was canned via a mobile canning service? FWIW I am leery of breweries that utilize a mobile canning service since I have multiple concerns:

• How well was the system calibrated/setup post transport to the brewery?
• Does the mobile canning service utilize a DO (Dissolved Oxygen) meter to test/ensure that the packaged oxygen spec value was achieved? And if the first can does not meet spec do they immediately stop the canning process and rectify the canning line/
• etc.

Now, even if the brewery owns there canning lines this in and of itself does not guarantee that a low TPO value was achieved during the canning process but at least with a fixed/permanent installation there are less variables here.

Please let us know what you learn from the brewery in response to your query.

Cheers!

 

Do you happen to know whether those two different breweries own their canning lines or do they utilize a mobile canning service?

Cheers!

P.S. One other drawback of using a mobile canning service is that you need to schedule them in advance (sometimes way in advance). If the beer to be canned is not ready for canning (i.e., needs a few more days of further conditioning) the brewery has two options:

• Cancel to canning appointment and reschedule (which could be another 1-2 weeks into the future, tying up tank space)
• Can the beer anyway since their is a business need to empty the tank.

Cheers!

 

Well, it's all over the place, but I cracked a Pfriem Export Lager from 2018 (not kidding) and it was delicious last week. Not even refrigerated, just kept in my basement and forgotten. Thanks, Lager!