Can beer go...bad?

[srpratt]

Assuming conditions are sterile and the seal is tight...does beer flavor change over time? Can it go effectively "bad?" I know folks will cellar some Ivan the Terrible Imperial Stout...but how long does that go for?

Any thoughts or wisdom would be great. Thanks.

 

[CBMbrewer]

google aging beer

 

[Schol-R-LEA]

While beer that is properly sealed and not infected will not go bad, per se, it will eventually peak in flavor and begin to decline eventually. Just when that will be depends on the conditions you are aging it under, and the strength of the original beer. I've had a homebrewed pilsner that was 15+ years old and was still quite good, but that's an exception I would guess. A strong beer like an old ale or a barleywine can age for as long as 20 years, or so I understand.

Note that hop flavor and aroma dissipate in a few months in most cases, so if you have, say, an IPA or a Pils, you usually want to drink them young; the pilsner I mentioned had long since lost most of the hop character, making it more like a helles than a pilsner.

 

[patthebrewer]

I've had a homebrewed pilsner that was 15+ years old and was still quite good

You let a good pilsner be ignored for 15 YEARS!!!!! Shame on you sir!!!

 

[dinnerstick]

just to clarify, beer is never sterile, unless it's been autoclaved or highly uv irradiated or made sterile some other horribly destructive way. i don't say this to be pedantic, i think it's helpful to know that most beer has some, even if a tiny bit, of yeast or other microorganisms, or their spores. some microbes in small amounts (famously various lactic acid bacteria, acetic acid bacteria, or brett) can alter the flavor of bottled beer very slowly in time. oxidation can take a long time to show itself, even if the beer was oxidized before bottling and the bottle contains no more oxygen and the seal is tight.

 

[homebrewdad]

If your sanitation is excellent and your bottles seal well, beer will keep for years and years (I've read examples of beer being opened and drank that was decades old).

Flavors will change over time. You'll lose all hop aroma and flavor with enough age, and the flavors overall may fade, but the beer will remain safe to drink.