bloodysafety
Active Member
Calculating the approximate shelf life of beer at a given ABV?
Is there a formula/table for...
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1977Brewer
Free Dan Hess.
Beer + glass + mouth. If it tastes good, it's still good. If it tastes bad, someone else might like it.
Johnnyhitch1
Well-Known Member
Rule of thumb for me is less than 60 days for hoppy beers.
6 months on non hoppy but under 6-7%
Couple years on 8-9% darker beers.
"Shelf Life" is a broad term with beer TBH
6 months on non hoppy but under 6-7%
Couple years on 8-9% darker beers.
"Shelf Life" is a broad term with beer TBH
tuckertonrr
Active Member
My understanding is that beer doesn't really "go bad". There can be freshness issues which might result in off/weird flavors, but not to the level of something which will make it turn rancid (am I wrong??). Hops seem to be a pretty good preservative.
OP
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bloodysafety
Active Member
Thanks for the input guys! I cant seem to keep my beers around long enough for it to really be an issue thus far!
mrgrimm101
Well-Known Member
It's all subjective to your tastes. Typically higher ABV and darker beers will keep better, longer. Imperial Stouts and Barleywines will keep for years and develop further in the bottle.
Even DIPAs will keep for a year or more. With hoppy beers, the hop flavors and aromas will fade over time. After a year in bottle, a huge, hoppy, DIPA will still be good, IMO it just won't be that hoppy anymore. It'll end up more malty and sweet like a barleywine. I just had a year old Founder's Devil Dancer a couple days ago and I thought it was just as good as fresh..different, but still really good. Dogfish Head claims that their 120 Minute IPA will keep up to 10 years in the bottle.
If you're passing up IPAs and hoppy beers because they're older than a couple months, I think you're missing out. Just because the hop flavor isn't at its peak of freshness, doesn't mean the beer is bad. Often they could use some time to balance out the flavors.
Unlike the expiration of other food products, I don't think there is anything in beer that would make you sick if you drank an old beer..it just won't taste as good.
Even DIPAs will keep for a year or more. With hoppy beers, the hop flavors and aromas will fade over time. After a year in bottle, a huge, hoppy, DIPA will still be good, IMO it just won't be that hoppy anymore. It'll end up more malty and sweet like a barleywine. I just had a year old Founder's Devil Dancer a couple days ago and I thought it was just as good as fresh..different, but still really good. Dogfish Head claims that their 120 Minute IPA will keep up to 10 years in the bottle.
If you're passing up IPAs and hoppy beers because they're older than a couple months, I think you're missing out. Just because the hop flavor isn't at its peak of freshness, doesn't mean the beer is bad. Often they could use some time to balance out the flavors.
Unlike the expiration of other food products, I don't think there is anything in beer that would make you sick if you drank an old beer..it just won't taste as good.
Yeah. Traditionally, the higher the ABV, the longer it'll keep. Not so for hop flavors though, in my experiences thus far. Strong ales, barleywines, stouts & the like are all good candidates for storage, but in cool conditions, like a basement.
mrgrimm101
Well-Known Member
True, the hop flavors will fade. But with a big DIPA, the beer that is left is a total malt bomb and is often a bit boozey or fruity. I very much enjoy what some DIPAs will turn into after a year in the bottle.
Yea, cellar temps around 55F is ideal from what I've read. You just don't want the temp to swing up and down too far..about a 20 degree swing is murder for beers. My basement stays around 60F in the summer and around 50F in the winter, so I'm pretty sure I'm ok with my cellar beers.
Yeah, in that respect beers are a lot like wine. They remember the temps...
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