3 year old Young's oatmeal stout

I picked up a 500ml Young's oatmeal stout over the weekend just to try it to see if I might like to brew a "clone" recipie, and as I was pouring it, I noticed the best before date was October 05.

I was less than impressed with it. It was a little bland, not very creamy.

Would three years past the best before date ruin a beer like this, or is this typical and I just don't like oatmeal stouts?

The date could affect it, depending on the storage. Young's isn't terrible, but not a great example (IMO).

I love British beers, but it's hit-or-miss in the states. My local haunt used to carry Fullers (pale and porter were my 2 fav's), and I and others regularly purchased it... fresh and yummy. I picked up one a year ago from a different locale, and I actually dumped it. Stale, old, terrible.

Try a fresher one! Call it research!

Yeah. A beer like that shouldn't be that old. I'm thinking there's no way it was cellared properly or anything and even then, the alcohol content isn't where it would need to be to keep that beer up.

I have rarely had good experiences with imported bottled beers. Most places do not know how to store it or handle it. Youngs Oatmeal only has 5.2% ABV, so it's not going to age well regardless. In this case I'd say it's the beer and not you.