Trust the Best By date

Same way one knows that a bitter on cask has passed its prime or not been cared for properly and so moves on to a different pub.

 

Well, a beer on cask past its prime smells of vinegar as the acetic acid become prevalent. That will never happen to a bottled beer as it doesn't have the exposure to oxygen.

If you can tell a bottled beer is bad after 3 months, you are a beer hero. I will pin that medal on your chest.

 

Having spent the evening drinking cask beer and the 30 years I have had drinking it, I would say I have have a reasonable amount of knowledge. Admittedly I am 20 years short of some but I think I have a fair idea.

 

But no one (scratch that...) few people are claiming 3 month old beer is "bad" - only that it is no longer fresh. The reputable breweries in the US typically want their beers off the shelves after a period of 3-6 months after packaging because they feel that after that point the beer is likely not in the best condition and they don't want it sold.

And who are we to argue with the brewer?

 

Then why do they put a 1 year best before on their beer?

And define fresh. If it is not fresh then it is surely bad? Fresh is,an American disease which seems to be speeding around the world. Never had that problem in Europe until now.

I have seen 3 months on some hoppy beers here too but it is all finger in the air.

 

Well my beer fridge runs between 50 and 55, so not at 38 like a regular fridge. It is either that or it sits on a shelf at 70 degrees

 

When that’s the case I’ve been known to open the pack, can’t help myself. But cheers to breweries like Firestone Walker who put it on the top in clear to see black ink, no stupid codes to decipher, or whoops no date at all.

 

Mine too it set itself at 50, but I like to drink them colder, so into the freezer for 10 minutes. I’d prefer them at 35 degrees if I could do that.

 

seems to be mostly european beers with 1 year out best by dates. And the scale doesn't have to go directly from fresh to bad. It most likely goes from fresh through a spectrum of decreasingly bright/increasingly dull phases until finally getting to bad

 

Exactly. A three month old beer most likely isn’t bad, it’s just not as good as it was when it was fresh. Depends on the style too, the more hops the more it shifts in that time period too. I just hate that hop fade point where it seems to turn malty, and you can smell it. I’m super sensitive to this of all things given my uneducated palate.

 

depends on the packing line too. Seems like a beer that isn't dependent on the flavors of lots of late additions of aroma hops and is packaged on a high end bottling/canning line will be plenty tasty and true to brewer's intent for 6 months or so

 

There’s lots of variables besides age, there’s packaging, light, temp, the beer style itself and technique, the individual hop. But the fact is fresher the beer the less those variables will impact the beer. Beers are only dated out a year for marketing purposes I suppose, you can't really expect a fresh beer canned to be the same as a 6 month old beer even given ideal circumstances. Than add another 6 months to that, or more for Jever. It’s a lot to ask even under ideal circumstances

 

I am a drinker of good Micros, German and Belgian beers. The dates are more of a guide than a drop dead date. It also matters on the beer style and ABV. The beers with a ABV under 7% tend to get flat or skunky before beers over 7%. The beer style which doesn't seem to hold to this theory is German Kellerbeers, especially Monschof. I've had those beers a year past their dates and the beer still has a good head and taste.

 

Over here at least, New England IPAs can lose much of their hop aroma/flavor within a couple months.

And if I'm paying upwards of $22 per 4 pack, I want that beer at it's peak.

Imagine paying out the nose for bakery fresh bread that's actually a day or two old.

Sure it's not so stale that it's too hard to eat, but it sure isn't like it was the day of baking.

 

Similar reasoning. We've tested the beer with our team and it is still high quality after 15 months. The style also has lower amounts of volatile flavors (they we do see a decrease is mild sulphur character that can be really pleasant and 'fresh').