How long does beer last?

[Alpo]

I don't want to hear, "It lasts less than a day at my house". This is a serious question.

 

Several years ago some maker - budweiser? - started putting a date on the bottom of their cans. That way you could look and see how old the beer was, and know that it had gone bad without having to taste it, and throw it out and buy a new beer. Great marketing plan. Some other company was pushing the fact that their beer cans were lined with plastic, so you didn't get "skunky beer taste" from old beer.

 

Book I'm reading. The guy goes to visit his mother. She offers him a drink, and he asked for ale. She says "I don't believe we have any ale", and step daddy pipes up and says, "we will from now on".

 

Now that's great, but he doesn't live in the same town so he can swing by to visit every week or so. It might be 6 months, it might be 2 or 3 years between visits. So they buy a case of ale, and he doesn't come to visit again for a year and a half, will it still be good? How long does beer last?

[Subdeacon Joe]

On a shelf In a cool,  dark place it can last 6 to 9 months past the expiration date.   Refrigerated it can supposedly go two years beyond that date.

 

It might not taste very good,  but it isn't dangerous to drink.   

 

 

[Singin' Sue 71615]

Open...or unopened?

[Wallaby Jack, SASS #44062]

37 seconds after the ffsssssst sound ....

[Pat Riot]

I have learned the hard way not to drink beer that is past date. I would not drink refrigerated beer 3 months past placing it in a fridge or any where else for that matter. 
It may taste okay but stay near a restroom the next day. 

[Crooked River Pete, SASS 43485]

IPA was originally brewed in England and shipped to India, they bumped up the hops and found it would make the trip. So how long does it take to sail from England to India?

[Chili Ron]

Howdy.

Some beer is marked with a best by date, some not.

Last I knew Coors marks theirs with a brew date. 

It lasts as long as it lasts.

Its all about storage and this is a good question to ask

manufacturers.

Good luck.

Best

CR

  

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

14 minutes ago, Crooked River Pete, SASS 43485 said:

IPA was originally brewed in England and shipped to India, they bumped up the hops and found it would make the trip. So how long does it take to sail from England to India?

Six months

[Rye Miles #13621]

I’ve had beer for as long as 6 months or more in the fridge and it was okay but I’m not a beer aficionado.  

[Billy Boots, # 20282 LTG-Regulator]

2 hours ago, Singin' Sue 71615 said:

Open...or unopened?

OK SS you started it....in hand out of hand, cold day or hot day.

Alpo, I apologize for Sue....and myself.  I do think even in a frig after 12-15 months it can often taste a little different.  Brands might even make a difference.

[Alpo]

I found two cans of Budweiser in the refrigerator that my brother had left there. The date on the bottom of the cans was over 10 years old. I texted him and asked him when beer went bad. He said beer didn't go bad. But he's a Marine. What does he know?

[Singin' Sue 71615]

12 minutes ago, Alpo said:

I found two cans of Budweiser in the refrigerator that my brother had left there. The date on the bottom of the cans was over 10 years old. I texted him and asked him when beer went bad. He said beer didn't go bad. But he's a Marine. What does he know?

It makes a good hair nutrient at 10 yrs old!!!

Rinse with it!!!

[Finagler 6853 Life]

Beer past its date isn't a problem here.  If it does age, I use it for cooking brats or bread.  Yummy.

 

Something I don't understand is this Yeti company that makes a can cooler that supposedly will keep your brew cold for half an hour.  If you can't drink your brew in half an hour, you have a problem.

 

5-6 brats - one package. Don't go cheap. Cheap brats use more fat.  Local butcher made, Klements, Johnsonville, Usinger (love those).  If you are par boiling, you don't need to pay for the fancy beer brats.  Really, any good sausage can be done this way.  Italian sausages are great like this.

one can of beer and water to cover.  use two cans of beer if you are feeling foxy.  Just cover the brats.

Half an onions sliced so it slivers

Boil for 15 minutes.

Put on grill to get some nice grill marks. 5 minutes or less.

Serve on a toasted bun  and your favorite condiments.  My preference, in this order. Kraut, good mustard (yellow if you have to) and lastly ketchup.  Try without the ketchup for a new treat.  Dill pickles on the side.

Your sausages will always be moist and delicious.

[Alpo]

Something else my brother told me about beer. If you get it cold, then let it warm up, it becomes stale. Instead of throwing it out, he would use it when he was grilling. When grease dropped on the coals and flared up, Daddy had a squirt bottle full of water. He would give a little squirt on the fire and put it out. My brother said he would use this stale beer to put the fire out. Beer steam would rise up and infuse the meat.

 

Ain't never tried it myself.

[Singin' Sue 71615]

Beer can chicken!!! Season that bird and cook it with that can up its yawhoo!!!

[watab kid]

i end to drink mine within a week of purchase so i cannot really say but ...back during the beer strike of the early 70s there was beer shipped before it was ready and that didnt keep till delivered - dont ask me how i know but in spite of st pats day green beer is hard on the digestive system 

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

My home brew could go sixty to ninety days

 

after Jimmy Carter made it legal, of course.

 

 

[Subdeacon Joe]

12 hours ago, Finagler 6853 Life said:

My preference, in this order. Kraut, good mustard (yellow if you have to) and lastly ketchup.  Try without the ketchup for a new treat.  Dill pickles on the side.

 

Mustard on the bun, then the sausage. then the kraut.  Try a curry catsup if you must have catsup.  KOSHER dill pickles on the side.  Maybe slice some long ways on a mandolin and put on the bun after the mustard.

[Muley Gil SASS # 57795]

I haven't been much of a drinker for a number of years, but do enjoy a good beer when I'm grilling. I bought some German wheat beer a number of years ago (Paulaner Hefe-Weizen) and have kept it refrigerated. I drank one on the 4th of July and it still tastes fine.

[Buffalo Creek Law Dog]

Back in 1978 I was at a police conference, and they took us on a side trip to tour the local brewery of a well known beer, it may have been Molsons, I can't exactly remember. They said beer is best within 40 days of bottling and after that it slightly diminishes in quality but not that noticeable at first for the occasional beer drinker but, a connoisseur would notice the difference between fresh and slightly stale beer.

I'm a wine drinker, but have had the occasional beer that is past its best before date and unless it was really old, I couldn't tell the difference.

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

It is important to understand that all of our tastebuds are different.

[J.D. Daily]

On 8/7/2021 at 7:44 AM, Subdeacon Joe said:

 

Mustard on the bun, then the sausage. then the kraut.  Try a curry catsup if you must have catsup.  KOSHER dill pickles on the side.  Maybe slice some long ways on a mandolin and put on the bun after the mustard.

The best dills are Grillos from Boston MA.  They are sold at COSTCO & Safeway.  They are better than Farman's "The King Pickle" kosher dills.  Since they are refrigerated they are crunchy.  Also they aren't salty.   My semi annual trip to COSTCO includes getting a least a half dozen 1 5/8 lb tubbs.

[Subdeacon Joe]

22 minutes ago, J.D. Daily said:

The best dills are Grillos from Boston MA.  They are sold at COSTCO & Safeway.  They are better than Farman's "The King Pickle" kosher dills.  Since they are refrigerated they are crunchy.  Also they aren't salty.   My semi annual trip to COSTCO includes getting a least a half dozen 1 5/8 lb tubbs.

 

My go to pickles are Mt. Olive Zesty Kosher Dills.  If I  can't find those I  got their Kosher Dills.  After that, Safeway house brand Kosher Dills.

 

I've been disappointed with every brand of refrigerated pickle I've tried.   Too salty, or tough, or flavorless.  Or, if none of those things,  no better than the Mt. Olive pickles and 3X to 5X the cost.

[Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933]

This is off a beer brewer's website --

 

Curious about shelf life? Remember the 3/30/300 Rule: A Firestone beer stored at 98 degrees F for 3 days is equivalent to one stored at 72 degrees F for 30 days or one stored at 35 degrees F for 300 days.

 

 

[Finagler 6853 Life]

My Mrs. makes a dill pickle to die for.  Modified off a recipe we got from a guy from work.  Better than a NY deli.

 

[Doc Shapiro]

Depends on the beer and how it's kept.  I had (had being the operative word) a stout that I kept for about 3 years before I finished it off.  Kept in a cool dark place.  The bottle was dark too.  That does make a difference.  Something like Bud may not keep, but several dark beers age well, like wine.

[Jabez Cowboy,SASS # 50129]

12 Gulps .....

 

Jabez Cowboy

[Wallaby Jack, SASS #44062]

5 minutes ago, Jabez Cowboy,SASS # 50129 said:

12 Gulps .....

 

Jabez Cowboy

 

 ....... amateur ......  

[Jabez Cowboy,SASS # 50129]

Yep that's a fact !!!

 

Jabez Cowboy 

[Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967]

Somewhere around here in a box with other treasured mementos is an unopened can of Burgermeister, purloined directly from the brewery about 1970.

 

I would seriously recommend leaving it unopened.    

[Hendo]

On 8/6/2021 at 3:34 PM, Alpo said:

 

 

Book I'm reading. The guy goes to visit his mother. She offers him a drink, and he asked for ale. She says "I don't believe we have any ale", and step daddy pipes up and says, "we will from now on".

 

Now that's great, but he doesn't live in the same town so he can swing by to visit every week or so. It might be 6 months, it might be 2 or 3 years between visits. So they buy a case of ale, and he doesn't come to visit again for a year and a half, will it still be good? How long does beer last?

If you read faster, will he come back to visit sooner?

 

Asking for a friend....

[Dantankerous]

6 hours ago, Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 said:

Somewhere around here in a box with other treasured mementos is an unopened can of Burgermeister, purloined directly from the brewery about 1970.

 

I would seriously recommend leaving it unopened.    

 

Yup.

 

I've got an unopened can of Billy Beer around here someplace. No way is that getting consumed.

[Noz]

If it is still in my house unopened it is fine to drink.

[J.D. Daily]

On 8/8/2021 at 8:46 PM, Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967 said:

Somewhere around here in a box with other treasured mementos is an unopened can of Burgermeister, purloined directly from the brewery about 1970.

 

I would seriously recommend leaving it unopened.    

That beer would look and taste like rusty water.  The beer sold in the PX's & clubs in VN was only drinkable with couple of shots tomato juice.  The juice was required to hid the rusty flavor from the steel cans.  It also required refrigeration before serving or poured over ice.  In 1970 & 71 there were only a couple of brands in aluminum cans.  Shipping by slow boat unrefrigerated & storing in uninsulated warehouse for who knows how long destroyed beer & white wines.  Didn't drink much beer nor more than one bottle of white wine.

[Badger Mountain Charlie SASS #43172]

Depends on who is at the party, Alpo.