Shelf life of Bottled Beer

[Lanfox]

What effects the shelf life of bottled beer? And in ideal situations what can i expet for maximum shelf life?

 

[mmb]

What effects the shelf life of bottled beer? And in ideal situations what can i expet for maximum shelf life?

Depends what type of beer, how highly hopped it is and what the conditions you store it in are.

I "lost" half a case of a Red Real Ale for close to a year after brewing and it had a very different profile then when it was new. It was a medium hopped beer with a slight malt flavor, but after finding it in the cellar and cracking one open, the hop had faded into the background and the malt was heavy out in front.

Generally, higher gravity beers age better than low gravity. Higher hopped beers age better than lightly hopped beers. Cool, dark, dry places such as under the basement stairs or in a cellar are better for aging than warm places like an attic in summertime.

I'm sure someone will correct me, but for a standard Ale or Lager I would keep it under a year. IPA maybe longer. IIPA and barley wine I would age for up to around a year and half. But honestly, how can you manage to keep beer for that long?

 

[cheezydemon]

Lol, I have taken to using packing tape and "hiding" beer from myself if I want to keep it for a long time.

Basically I would agree with mmb.

 

[Revvy]

Beeradvocate has some good info.

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/101/store.php