How long does bottled beer last?

[kylieWylie]

My plan is to produce 4 cases of 24 at least a month for maybe 12 months. I have two five gallon fermenters and will save one case of each style indefinitely. I want to have 400 plus bottles when done thus drinking one case of each kind every month. I don't know why, maybe I need to go on the hoarders tv show. Anyhow, how long does bottled beer actually keep. I am at the very beginning, I only have two cases to save and two to drink right now. I have high hopes though. I have heard that beer lasts about a year to forever. Does it ever go bad? Is it just flavor or opinion? Is this a pointless quest? I will make this my last thread for a while.

 

[MarshmallowBlue]

Short answer: Pale ales and IPAs, wheat beers, won't last. Stouts, Barleywines, sours, Belgian ales, should hold up as long as you are good with avoiding any oxidation.

 

[BeerFst]

Older beers wont get you sick, but they certainly wont taste the same. To add on to Marshmellow, the first beers he highlighted will be the quickest to deteriorate, but again won't harm anything except your taste buds.

darker beers and those with higher alcohol preserve well, but again flavor profiles will shift.

 

[seabrew8]

How old is old? 3 months? What if there refrigerated?

Interesting question!

 

[chudsonvt]

Here is a good article that was published on here, back in November. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/science-on-tap-temperature.html If you look at the intensity vs time chart, this pretty much goes hand and hand for the pales and IPAs vs the darker beers. Aging can be very good for beer styles that are darker and sweeter. However, those that are intended to be bitter will loose bitterness.

Then, wheat beer in general should be enjoyed young. Wits and Weizens do not keep well at all. Drink those within weeks of them being ready, for best enjoyment.

 

[kylieWylie]

That was a fascinating article. It brought to mind a few things. I visited the Florida keys where everything had to be shipped in on one highway and it was always hot. I don't think i got a beer handed to me there that was not slightly skunky, just being honest, i am from a cold climate. However the Corona Familiar fared much better than the straight up corona on that trip every time. Plus, Why? God why did i think this was the way to go. Its not like i would bake two loaves of bread and freeze one for a year and then bust it out like, well der da der, at least i have bread. Might be totally stale and moldy but hey. I have not even tried the lager process and am only doing ales because i can ferment properly at or near room temperature. Plus I well prefer ales to most lagers and i have actually tried a handfull of commercial beer. Kolsch, radler, bock (mmmmmmm). what have you.

 

[chudsonvt]

As a follow-up, I typically brew the lighter beers like pales, IPAs and Ambers. I will bottle these and keep them stored in the basement for another day. I let them sit for up to a few months with no significant degradation. I might loose some hop aroma/flavor, but still very good beer.

 

[MarshmallowBlue]

As a follow-up, I typically brew the lighter beers like pales, IPAs and Ambers. I will bottle these and keep them stored in the basement for another day. I let them sit for up to a few months with no significant degradation. I might loose some hop aroma/flavor, but still very good beer.

True, but OP is talking about up to a year.

 

[Rockn_M]

I would start off with higher ABV beers and then gradually start moving towards beers like wheat, IPA's that typically have a short life.

If you keep them refrigerated they should last a while. I have a Winter Warmer at about 10% that I brewed about 1.5 years ago that taste better now than when I brewed it. Every few months I'll have one to see how it's aged.

Good Luck!

 

[chudsonvt]

True, but OP is talking about up to a year.

Not sure why you mention this. I am aware. I was just following up with my shorter term experience to re-enforce previous communication. IE. at the very least this is what happens to the lighter, hoppier beer over a shorter duration - very relevant.

Have you stored a hop-forward beer for a year and have experience with this? If so, we would love to hear your experience as well!

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

That was a fascinating article. It brought to mind a few things. I visited the Florida keys where everything had to be shipped in on one highway and it was always hot. I don't think i got a beer handed to me there that was not slightly skunky, just being honest, i am from a cold climate. However the Corona Familiar fared much better than the straight up corona on that trip every time. Plus, Why? God why did i think this was the way to go. Its not like i would bake two loaves of bread and freeze one for a year and then bust it out like, well der da der, at least i have bread. Might be totally stale and moldy but hey. I have not even tried the lager process and am only doing ales because i can ferment properly at or near room temperature. Plus I well prefer ales to most lagers and i have actually tried a handfull of commercial beer. Kolsch, radler, bock (mmmmmmm). what have you.

For libations that may be enjoyed years into the future, turn to wine and mead. At least some wines and mead...

 

[slym2none]

...and some beers!

 

[Spartan300man]

I have had some very hop-forward IPAs that started to taste weird after about 5-6 months, unrefrigerated for the majority of that time. I used a couple for boiling Brats and some beer-battered fish, and the remaining couple of bottles went down the drain, they were that 'weird'. The hop aroma was still there, nice head and lacing, but the taste had this funny bite, an alcohol zap and a metalic zing, and I knew it wasn't worth it. And I have been known to drink some funky IPAs, so it wasn't even marginally good.
It was pretty good at 4 months, with that last month being refrigerated.