Is my beer fresh?

[MarcusPatterson]

Hi;

I have always purchased my beer from a large retailer (Total Wine, etc) here in NJ.
The beers I drink most often are:
Long Trail ale (survival pack)
DogFish Head
Sam Adams
Brooklyn
and other fairly well known brands.
I almost always purchase beer in bottles.

I normally don't purchase more than a case (either full case, or a combination of 12-paks and/or 6-paks) at one time, and consume it within 15-30 days.
Normally, I keep my beer stored in the basement, and put a couple of bottles in the fridge at a time for later consumption.
The basement may reach as high as 80F in summer, but is never exposed to sunlight. Not much I can do about the temperature down there, but it's certainly cooler than upstairs.

I have been doing a lot of reading - Google searches, etc - and have more or less come to the disappointing conclusion that I am probably not enjoying the best my beer has to offer. That is, if I were to visit the brewery, and drink the very same beer, it would probably taste a lot better.
Unfortunately though, visiting the brewery to enjoy my favorite beers would be impractical, not to mention very expensive.

My best (educated) guess about the freshness of the beer I am buying is that the more product a particular retailer moves, the fresher the product available for purchase will be. Kind of like what has been said about buying any consumable that doesn't have an unlimited shelf life. I wouldn't buy milk from a 'Quickie mart' because most people don't go to those places to buy milk, so what they have is probably not so fresh.

I guess it pays to be observant when buying beer. Avoid anything that has accumulated dust!
It's probably not a good idea to ask a retailer for a beer you can't find in the store. He may have some - very old - bottles/cans in the back, and will be more than happy to unload them to the unsuspecting consumer...

Any other suggestions?

Thanks.

 

[myndflyte]

Bring back the born on date!

 

[jschein]

Bring back the born on date!

All of the above have a “born on” date or a best by date.
It’s more the distributor than the retailer.
They move old product between retailers. One retailer by me said hey I just got this in you might want to try it, I looked at the bottom of the cans and it was packaged 8 months ago and it was an IPA, so no thanks.
I only go there for to get bourbon barrel stouts that have matured.
Also the listed breweries are all within a few hours of your location and should be fresh

 

[Smellyglove]

I always check the date. It happens quite often that I pass on a beer I look at in the store because of the date. Usually Hefeweizens, german lagers, and Hoppy beers. If it's a hoppy beer I don't even touch it if it's in a bottle, and no hoppy beers which has traveled, only more or less quite local.

A while ago I found a new shop one town away I've never knew existed. He has a huge range of beers. When starting looking at the dates, I noticed some of them were even expired, he had close to 0 turnaround on other than cheap local lagers. Dodged a sour face there if I wouldn't check the date on the hoppy ones I was planning on buying.

 

[mongoose33]

Here's the answer: cheap Craigslist refrigerator. Or a brand-new one.

It's not helpful for beer to go through temperature changes. Further, better to store it cold than hot.

A buddy of mine has a refrigerator in his basement devoted solely to beer. The contents are impressive. He also stores some on shelves, but he probably never exceeds 70 degrees down there.

And the others above are correct: born-on date if you can find one. You'd be surprised at how much old beer is sold even at bars. I've seen Sam Adams bottles for sale that were well past the best-by date, by months, and yet the distributor is delivering that stuff to them.

I'm about at the point that I want to examine the bottle before they pour it for me, just to be on the safe side.

*****

Do you brew? If not, know this: I rarely enjoy a beer at a taproom or bar that is as good as what I have at home, on tap. In other words, my own beer, brewed to my tastes, and ALWAYS fresh.

So if you don't....and it appears you enjoy beer....Homebrewtalk is a good place to learn how to do that.

To whet your appetite:

 

[JimRausch]

MarcusPatterson- I first have to say that I like your taste in beers. I've only had a Brooklyn the one time I visited Yankee stadium, but your others are my standards when I buy beer (I don't buy much anymore, I brew my own!). Beer is almost always fresher and tastier out of a tap, but properly bottled can last a long time. I have bottles that I use O2 scavenging caps and wax the tops and store for years. Most turn out quite well, even 6-7 years later.
Ideally buying a dedicated 2nd hand refrigerator is the way to go. But I do what you do- store the bottles (including my homebrew) in my basement (in Styrofoam-lined boxes), and move into my fridge what I will drink over the next week or so.

 

[kh54s10]

All this worry about how fresh the beer is is going to give you ulcers!

 

[mongoose33]

All this worry about how fresh the beer is is going to give you ulcers!

He should RDWHAHB.

 

[VirginiaHops1]

I always check dates when I'm buying anything hoppy like an IPA, because I tend to buy the expensive stuff and if I'm paying alot for it I think it should be fresh. I prefer my local bottle shop but Total Wine has a really solid craft beer selection now, although their inventory seems to turnover slower.

 

[Bilsch]

Personally I won't buy from total wine anymore as some of the oldest bottles I have ever come across was at their stores.

 

[Lefou]

My local shops are mostly Buy Rites.
Yeah, I'm a stickler for not buying beer that doesn't display an obvious date on the can, bottle, or packaging. If I buy it has to be six months old or less and stored in the cold. No date, no buy, bottom line. I learned my lesson years ago from a sixer of stale Killian's that gave me a raging heartburn for a couple days
Sam Adams seasonals are among my favorites as is Founders lager and porter. Dates are prominently displayed on both brands. The stores usually have extra stocks of IPA/DIPA bottles on the shelves, unrefrigerated, and I refuse to touch them because those styles age badly without refrigeration.
If the German seasonals show up in the fall from September to December, I'm on them. Every now and then the locals will stock Weihenstephaner or Paulaner festbiers and I will buy the O-fest Wiesn by the case or the occasional Sam's Winter lager.

 

[Alex4mula]

When I used to buy comercial beer I stored in dedicated fridge. Yes you can find several of many types/sizes cheap in CL. Once I started brewing my beer fridge is empty. All I drink now is my own or tap from the hundreds of local breweries I have around