Out of Date BEER

[snail59]

How far out of date would you guys drink a mass produced beer :wha: . My local beer wholesalers where I get some of my homebrew supplies from has an offer on some out of date beer in swing top bottles :thumb: . The beer is only a couple of months out of date and at 10 for £10 thats cheap 500ml swing top bottles even if the beer is s**t

 

[jamesb]

It depends on the beer, there's some I wouldn't drink anyway but those I would, I'd certainly try a bottle. If it tastes fine, drink it.

I certainly wouldn't worry about a couple of months.

 

[unclepumble]

The date will be the best before date, which means nothing, If it is a use by date it is a different thing altogether & I would not touch it, as this is usually only found on stuff that will kill you or make you seriously ill.

It will be just fine.

UP

 

[dennisking]

Got some cans of carlsberg in the garage left over from xmas 08. My son in law drank one a few weeks ago, he could find no difference in taste [still crap]. It was about 7 mounths out of date.

 

[blue8]

I was in a similar position a few months back, having spotted some very cheap beer (ASDA organic lager iirc) in sturdy swingtop bottles in the local store and promptly cleared the shelf. I soon realised they were well past their sell by date (4 months for some, nearer 12 for others), having been tipped off by a slight funk to the taste. Being aware of the difference between 'best before' and 'use by' dates as mentioned by Uncle P. above I got through them all in due course and can report no ill effects beyond those usually associated with drinking beer :). Though I never did get an 'in date' bottle to compare taste-wise there was a noticable difference between the 4 and 12 month out of date batches, suggesting the taste had deteriorated. However, both were still perfectly drinkable and the bottles have since proved their worth.

On a similar topic: I vaguely remember hearing years ago that the best before date on beers is determined by the point at which the manufacturer can no longer guarantee that their strength is no more than the %abv advised on the packaging. I've always been slightly dubious about this, but perhaps somebodyhere could shed light on this?

Regards - Dave

 

[ohbeary]

Ho ho ho, I was given 2 crates of out of date Guiness, well out of date by a couple of years, the pub was closing and they were from the back of the cellar!, tasted fine and no ill effects

 

[chiefstoker]

I guess it will be fine, I once foud some cans of scrumpy jack in my garage that i know where at least 7yrs old, still drank them - luvverly :thumb:
Also, I have had meat in my freezer for several years and eaten that, absolutely fine...

If I suddenly stop typing you know I've just croa

 

[chrisp]

What i cant work out is why do the have dates on mineral water, if it takes years for the water to pass through the chalk etc, how come once its bottled you have to drink it in a year??

 

[CptnCrackoff]

Didnt i red somewhere that plastic can be penetrated partilly by air over time? maybe i didnt, maybe i did but thats not got anything to do with it, basicaally i dont know! :

 

[Marsie]

Didnt i red somewhere that plastic can be penetrated partilly by air over time? maybe i didnt, maybe i did but thats not got anything to do with it, basicaally i dont know! :

I believe that the PET bottles are coated to stop ingress of Oxygen.

 

[CptnCrackoff]

Oops.

I would also like to point out my keyboard is playing up again, if my posts dont make sense, its not because i'm.. :drink: :drink: :drunk:

 

[Aleman]

Didnt i red somewhere that plastic can be penetrated partilly by air over time? maybe i didnt, maybe i did but thats not got anything to do with it, basicaally i dont know! :

I believe that the PET bottles are coated to stop ingress of Oxygen.

That coating also wears off with time . . . basically they can only be guaranteed to be 'airtight' for one use . . . however the level of gas permeability over time is very low . . . certainly you would have no worries storing beer in PET for 3 months . . . and I've had beer in a King Keg for 12 months with no obvious degradation.