How long does beer last?

[Sixgun Sheridan]

Some of you guys probably need to look in a mirror to see how long that beer has lasted...

[Amigo]

The majority of my brews will begin to show a flavor profile change at six months...although most don't last that long. Sometimes I bottle near the end of the keg and if they sit around for long enough, the changes are rather surprising...no longer taste like they were intended. I do have an English Barleywine recipe that actually takes a minimum of nine months of aging before it begins to taste like it should and have had some of that recipe hold solid up to three years later (longer story on why that particular keg was around that long...but it still medaled at the 3 year point). 

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

I know someone who saved a six pack of Billy Beer for ten years. When he opened it, it was just as good as the day it was brewed.  That’s not a good thing.

[T.K.]

Most beers these days are pasteurized  (Budweiser is) and as long as its kept in cool place it should be good for years. Coors on the other hand is not pasteurized that's why it's advertised as "cold brewed" it must be kept refrigerated or it will spoil very quickly, and it tastes really nasty when its spoiled. That's why Coors delivery trucks are refrigerated and Budweiser trucks are not.  It's also why you never see huge displays of Coors stacked in the grocery store at superbowl time like Budweiser.

 

[Sedalia Dave]

 

8 hours ago, Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 said:

I know someone who saved a six pack of Billy Beer for ten years. When he opened it, it was just as good BAD as the day it was brewed.  That’s not a good thing.

 

Fixed it for you. 

[El Chapo]

I make beer and I have beer that I bottled in January of 2019 that still tastes as good as when I made it, or at least it doesn't have any perceptible flaw that I can notice.  It is a stout so the strong/roasty flavors may be concealing any age-based issues.  Beer is a natural product and the taste will change over time, especially for pale ales because hop flavor disappears quickly.  That is why before prohibition, a lot of people would drink at their local pubs rather than consuming commercial beer that was produced months ago, canned/bottled, and transported over long distances before consumption.  And before the days of packaged beer, the only way to consume carbonated beer was going to be at a pub where it was served by pumping it by hand or by gravity from a cask.

 

Other than styles like old ale or barleywine, oxidation destroys beer, so drinking it as fresh as realistically possible will make for better taste.

 

The most popular American styles of commercial beer don't have a lot of taste to begin with, so any off flavor is going to stand out.

 

As to how long commercial beer lasts or how they get their expiration date, I don't have an answer because I have never been in the business of making beer.

 

It is commonly believed that nothing dangerous enough to make you sick or kill you can live in beer once alcohol is present, but I have no idea if that is a myth or if it became "common knowledge" because it's true.

[DeaconKC]

I don't drink but I have an urge to watch "Smokey and the Bandit" now...