I saw some DFH Indian Brown Ale on shelf this week with a bottled on date of April 13th, 2012. I had this beer for the first time last month and loved it, it was on tap. What is the shelf life of brown ales? How will this almost 5 month beer taste, debating whether to grab a sixer or not.
not optimal, but you should be in good shape. While browns should also be consumed "fresh," they aren't hop focused so the issue isn't as big of a deal. 4.5 months on a brown should be ok... One man's opinion.
Agreed with above. For DFH Indian brown, 5 months isn't a big deal and it wouldn't stop me from buying it. But I wouldn't let it go too much longer.
5 months is probably fine, but remember DFH India Brown Ale is a really hop-forward brown ale. maybe the hop flavors have muted a little bit.
Thanks everyone. I figured these are on the border line. Typical problem, far too many craft beers on the shelf, not enough customers, beer gets old.
I think some browns can really go longer if need be, if they aren't really hoppy browns. I've seen barrel aged brown ales, and they seem perfectly fine to me.
A friend of mine told me about Samuel Smith nut brown ale so just picked up a bottle. Used the fresh beer only site when I got home and deciphered the cryptic code and looks like this one is a year old. Oh well, let's see how it tastes.
DFH is hoppy, but it is also a caramelized, malt bomb. It is excellent fresh, but I'm sure it would be great cellared as well. Just an awesome beer. I've had a 2 year old Bell's best Brown and I thought it was awesome.
