How long does home brew last?

[Brewslikeaking]

I have 2 boxes of home brew. One is 2 months old and one is 6 months old. They're sitting in the kitchen NOT the fridge and I'm wondering how long they will keep. They have not been refrigerated since bottling but are somewhat in the dark in that they are in Cardboard boxes

 

[Spartan1979]

I have unrefrigerated homebrew that is 20 years old and still good. A lot of it depends on what style of beer it is. Certainly the 2 month old should be still good. The six month old beer may be wonderful or it could be past its prime. You won't know until you taste it. Try it, it won't hurt you.

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah, hop flavors/aromas are the first to go. But, as stated, it does indeed depend on the style. Bittering will keep. Low hop flavor/aroma styles, like lagers, kolsch, hybrid lagers, & the like have lasted 6-8 months for me in boxes under the bottling table in my brewery.

 

[iijakii]

Unfortunately only about two weeks.

Then I'm out.

 

[Hobnob]

I forgot about a refrigerated keg from three years ago. Had three pints last week... Still good!

 

[bobeer]

Definitely depends on what kind of beer it is. Hoppy beers that are old will still be drinkable but they wont be the same beer. Other styles can benefit from age. I had a 3 year old sculpin clone the other day that was still good but it was more like a strong ale .
2 month old beer should still be pretty darn decent.

 

[Microscopist]

I've kept some of my heavier porters at the back of the cupboard for several years and they improve -I don't plan on drinking dark high gravity beers until they've had at least 4 months, especially if they're made with bret

 

[Kh2o]

Unfortunately only about two weeks.

Then I'm out.

same here bud

 

[Brewslikeaking]

same here bud

Well i have a pumpkin ale and the dead ringer ipa from Northern brewer. They're both about 6+ weeks

 

[didinho]

few months for beers lower than 7% alcohol.
few years for dubbel, tripel, barley wines etc.

 

[smokinop]

I brewed a stout several years ago that I didn't even touch for well over a year. Also, one of my first beers I brewed was a blonde ale that I didn't care for so I just stashed it in the fridge. I still have one bottle in my shop fridge, have had a few that weren't bad so either my taste changed or the beer got better with age. I suspect the former.