'Shelf life' of your beer..?

[peteplus1]

...Presuming it doesn't get drunk in a matter of weeks of course...

What would the shelf life of a brewed beer be? I've recently turned out my first AG (a simple pale) and just wondered how long a beer could be left in the bottle. Having tried them so far at regular intervals, a couple of months down the line I've found them to be better as they go. Although I'm pretty sure there will be a 'drink by' date/rule ... anyone know?

Cheers

 

[stevej]

...Presuming it doesn't get drunk in a matter of weeks of course...

What would the shelf life of a brewed beer be? I've recently turned out my first AG (a simple pale) and just wondered how long a beer could be left in the bottle. Having tried them so far at regular intervals, a couple of months down the line I've found them to be better as they go. Although I'm pretty sure there will be a 'drink by' date/rule ... anyone know?

Cheers

I think you have answered in some way or another to your own question! yes ales get better with age, although dry hopped ales are in general best drank young, if a ale is good how long is it going to last though :lol:

 

[Cwrw666]

I seem to remember reading somewhere that bottled beers keep up to a year and kegged beer keeps up to 6 months. Obviously higher alcohol beers would keep much longer than this, and lower alcohol beers less than this. Don't know what happens after the 1 year time limit though - a slow decline perhaps?
A while back I was visiting a friend and he gave me a can of speckled hen to drink - turned out to be more or less water with brown lumps in it which was when I discovered it was 18 months after the use by date...:lol:
Personally I don't know how anyone keeps beer at home anywhere near that long - I start drinking mine long before it's meant to be ready and it's usually properly conditioned only when I'm down to the last couple of bottles.

 

[Brewberoza]

Theoretically, beer will deteriorate once it is filtered while unfiltered beer (i.e. Homebrew) will continue to improve. What can stop this improvement will be poor hygiene and too much oxygen pickup and weakened yeast.

Stronger beers should age like wine, given proper conditions. Malty beers of any strenght will get better with age but as mentioned above hoppy beers need fresh hops IMO.

If you want some arbitrary numbers try six months for a properly packaged hoppy beer and one year for the rest.

Don't be afraid to, of course, completely ignore this advice.

 

[dad_of_jon]

...Presuming it doesn't get drunk in a matter of weeks of course...

What would the shelf life of a brewed beer be? I've recently turned out my first AG (a simple pale) and just wondered how long a beer could be left in the bottle. Having tried them so far at regular intervals, a couple of months down the line I've found them to be better as they go. Although I'm pretty sure there will be a 'drink by' date/rule ... anyone know?

Cheers

6-8 weeks from bottling for very citrussy/fruity hopped beers. But they can still take nice 4-5 months later, just a bit different. wheat beers tried from 4 weeks to 6 months all were super. my abbey beer has reached its peak 9 months after bottling. 3 months later it is still great but it's flavour profile has change a bit. going to keep some abbey beers and my night-talk beer which is dark but only 3 months old back for at least 6 months to see at what age I prefer them.

I find Brigand beer is nice both less that 6 months months old (sweet & filling) as well as 18 months old. I think the 'aged' version is more powerful and complex but if kept too long gets a bit too licoricey for me tastes.

 

[peteplus1]

Cheers for that. Difficult to keep any for an extended period of time if youve brewed a tasty beer I know! Got 20 bottles of my first AG left which will get stuck into over Christmas. 🍻

 

[BreadMurderer]

I've been a way from home now for nearly 3 years. I left all my homebrew with my brother, which he forgot about of course as it was stored away. I reminded my younger brother that free beer was just gathering dust over at the others house so he promptly collected said beer and proceeded to chip away at it. This was a good 1.5/2 years after they had been brewed, I don't speak for his palate but they were perfectly drinkable apparently, I wish I could have tried them myself to see how much they changed.

 

[McMullan]

Beer is like bread. It's best consumed when it's fresh. Once it's ready it can only diminish over time due to oxidation reactions causing it to go stale. If you're serious about storing for a long time the best thing to do is keep it cool. This slows down the chemical reactions causing the staleness.

 

[GHW]

I had a wherry in a pb for about a year and it was fine. Can't say it improved in that time but it definitely didn't get worse either. I've also only just drunk the last of my galaxy extracts and they were well over a year old, again fine. They'd lost hop aroma but that happens about about 6 weeks in the bottle.

As many people note I'd have thought the more alcohol in the beer, the longer it will last in decent nick.

 

[dad_of_jon]

I had a wherry in a pb for about a year and it was fine. Can't say it improved in that time but it definitely didn't get worse either. I've also only just drunk the last of my galaxy extracts and they were well over a year old, again fine. They'd lost hop aroma but that happens about about 6 weeks in the bottle.

As many people note I'd have thought the more alcohol in the beer, the longer it will last in decent nick.

I'm quoting you so I can explain to my other half why mine have such a large abv! :whistle:

 

[Leon103]

On Thursday I had one of my pale ales that was at least 3 years old. Tasted the same as it was originally. My father did homebrew back in the day and had bottles (screw cap) in the artic. Me and my mates drank them over 20 years later. Just very very strong and flat.

 

[dan125]

Interesting - I entered a 3 month old beer in a recent home brew comp and one of the judges noticed oxidised 'cardboard' flavours. Could be my methods but not sure I'd want to drink it 20 years later. There's absolutely no chance I'd be that patient anyway - lucky of it lasts 20 days!

 

[stevej]

Interesting - I entered a 3 month old beer in a recent home brew comp and one of the judges noticed oxidised 'cardboard' flavours. Could be my methods but not sure I'd want to drink it 20 years later. There's absolutely no chance I'd be that patient anyway - lucky of it lasts 20 days!

A whole 20 days Dan :whistle:

 

[dan125]

A whole 20 days Dan :whistle:

I know - just been trying to convince myself that the APA I brewed a bit late for Xmas (at approx 5.8%) will be fine with just 2 weeks in primary, 4 days dry hopping in 2ndry, then 1 week priming in keg and 2-3 days in the fridge to clear before the big day. I know it would be best left a few more weeks but I can't wake up chrimbo morning and be faffing around with the turkey without a pint for breakfast.

 

[stevej]

I know - just been trying to convince myself that the APA I brewed a bit late for Xmas (at approx 5.8%) will be fine with just 2 weeks in primary, 4 days dry hopping in 2ndry, then 1 week priming in keg and 2-3 days in the fridge to clear before the big day. I know it would be best left a few more weeks but I can't wake up chrimbo morning and be faffing around with the turkey without a pint for breakfast.

Ive drunk it faster Dan than 20 days :lol:

Ive had some great beers that i couldnt wait for so how good they have been if i had waited :whistle:

 

[dad_of_jon]

when your 50+ you'll start forgetting where you put them, so problem solved

 

[stevej]

when your 50+ you'll start forgetting where you put them, so problem solved

That made me laugh Dad:lol:

 

[dan125]

Ive drunk it faster Dan than 20 days :lol:

Ive had some great beers that i couldnt wait for so how good they have been if i had waited :whistle:

Also got an IPA at 6.2% that'll only have been in the bottle for 3 weeks come the big day, but no doubt a sample bottle or two will be required.

 

[stevej]

Also got an IPA at 6.2% that'll only have been in the bottle for 3 weeks come the big day, but no doubt a sample bottle or two will be required.

It would be very rude not to Dan :lol:

 

[stevej]

I myself have done a few ipas lately using Citra omg cant get enough of this stuff lately :grin: