I'm going to try making a batch or two of beer. I've only done mead before this. I've already promised some mead to a friend. I want to make him some beer as well. But it will be around the first of September. How long will beer last in a bottle before it goes bad? Is it better to use normal bottles with caps? Or get the ones with plugs?
How long will beer last in a bottle
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FirstAidBrewing
Well-Known Member
Howdy,
Lots of caveats to this question... as a general answer, you should be able to get six months out of a bottled beer if you use brown bottles and keep them in a dark place. A stronger beer (>9%) will actually benefit from this. The catch here is anything hoppy. Going that long, you will lose some hop flavors and it won't be quite the same.
What were you planning on making?
Lots of caveats to this question... as a general answer, you should be able to get six months out of a bottled beer if you use brown bottles and keep them in a dark place. A stronger beer (>9%) will actually benefit from this. The catch here is anything hoppy. Going that long, you will lose some hop flavors and it won't be quite the same.
What were you planning on making?
antony
Well-Known Member
just heads up, hefe's are best young in my experience. Six months out it won't be the same beer as six weeks. It'll still be good, just different (at least with hefes & hoppy ales). Best of luck, it'll be good regardless.
Subdivisions
Well-Known Member
shouldn't be any difference if you are transporting them. Now if you're sending through the mail then cap
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harry_the_face
Well-Known Member
Heffs are definitely best young make it 2-4 weeks before you want to drink.
While beer isn't difficult, it's not mead and if you've never made a batch of beer before, I'd make one now. Then taste it, and see where you can fix mistakes before giving some to a friend. While some first batches aren't bad, very very few are 'good' and something you may want to share with others. I'd brew a few batches first, so that I could ensure something decent for sharing before promising a batch in September.
I think bottled beer can last way longer than 6 months. Some of the beers I make take that long to condition and mature in the bottle. I really depends on the beer more than anything else.
I've found that low alcohol hop forward beers, think IPA's, are best when they are young and the hop flavors (the aroma hops more than anything else) are at a peak. This occurs when the beer is young. Older beers, those more than 6 months old, will lose a lot of the aroma hop additions. This isn't to say they turn stale or are undrinkable. The aromas simply degrade and are not as noticeable as they once were.
Time has an immense impact on the taste of beer. In the case of home brewed beer this can often be a saving grace. Beer brewed with plenty of mistakes can, with age, become simply wonderful brews. I've scene more than a few of my beers go from ick-to-slick simply through the passage of time. In other words, beer I wouldn't give to my dog has transformed into some of my most coveted beers with time.
So how long does beer last in a bottle? If you are talking about home brewed beer, I'd say a very long time. I would say somewhere between years and decades. Depending on the style. High alcohol beers can easily go for decades and be developing new and complex, and desirable, flavors the whole time. Even low alcohol beers can benefit with age. I brewed an awful beer many years ago that was 5% abv. 3 years later I'm still pulling out bottles to taste. 3 years ago you wouldn't be able to stand the smell, let alone the taste. Now, it isn't bad. It isn't great, but it was absolutely infected on top of being brewed in the worse conditions imaginable. The fact that even it is now palatable (its better than Bud-Light), says something about how age and home brew compliment each other.
Don't be fooled or buy into the "freshness dating" marketing of the big brewers. Their beer may need that, after all, they use over 200+ ingredients for their beers. Home brewed beer is a completely different animal. It is natural, it is good, it doesn't have more ingredients than you have fingers. And as such, it keeps for a very long time. As long as you have a solid air-tight seal on the container, don't worry about it. Time will not harm it. It might change it, but it won't harm it.
I've found that low alcohol hop forward beers, think IPA's, are best when they are young and the hop flavors (the aroma hops more than anything else) are at a peak. This occurs when the beer is young. Older beers, those more than 6 months old, will lose a lot of the aroma hop additions. This isn't to say they turn stale or are undrinkable. The aromas simply degrade and are not as noticeable as they once were.
Time has an immense impact on the taste of beer. In the case of home brewed beer this can often be a saving grace. Beer brewed with plenty of mistakes can, with age, become simply wonderful brews. I've scene more than a few of my beers go from ick-to-slick simply through the passage of time. In other words, beer I wouldn't give to my dog has transformed into some of my most coveted beers with time.
So how long does beer last in a bottle? If you are talking about home brewed beer, I'd say a very long time. I would say somewhere between years and decades. Depending on the style. High alcohol beers can easily go for decades and be developing new and complex, and desirable, flavors the whole time. Even low alcohol beers can benefit with age. I brewed an awful beer many years ago that was 5% abv. 3 years later I'm still pulling out bottles to taste. 3 years ago you wouldn't be able to stand the smell, let alone the taste. Now, it isn't bad. It isn't great, but it was absolutely infected on top of being brewed in the worse conditions imaginable. The fact that even it is now palatable (its better than Bud-Light), says something about how age and home brew compliment each other.
Don't be fooled or buy into the "freshness dating" marketing of the big brewers. Their beer may need that, after all, they use over 200+ ingredients for their beers. Home brewed beer is a completely different animal. It is natural, it is good, it doesn't have more ingredients than you have fingers. And as such, it keeps for a very long time. As long as you have a solid air-tight seal on the container, don't worry about it. Time will not harm it. It might change it, but it won't harm it.
BlkWater_brewer
Well-Known Member
I had brewed a particularly high ABV Barley Wine wayyyy back. I thought it was all long gone. About 9 years later while cleaning out part of the basement preparing to move, I found a 6 pack buried. Opened it up and was still nicely carbed and if memory served me very smooth.
Otherwise I'd say, I'm hard pressed to keep most beers longer than a month or so.
Otherwise I'd say, I'm hard pressed to keep most beers longer than a month or so.
coldbrewnoob
Active Member
Pulling beers outbof a 5% batch 3 years later, chadwick im going to have to call bull**** on that. If you drink it that slow you dont need to brew it. However, you do have a valid point, store bought dating is different in how they mistreated it. From ultra-vilot light to being shaken and stired during delivery and stocking, add heat, and lots of oxidation occurs. But the freshness of beer is what really makes it great vs big mfg's. If you go to a big brewer like shiner and tap a fresh keg its millions times better than regular stote bought. Or kegs somewhere else not fresh.
High alcohol beers and high hops beers last longerthan others, but they do change over time.
Imo, best way is to sample at various intervals and determine when your beer or beer style is at its peak.
High alcohol beers and high hops beers last longerthan others, but they do change over time.
Imo, best way is to sample at various intervals and determine when your beer or beer style is at its peak.
Gnomebrewer
Well-Known Member
I'm currently drinking a 1yr and 2week old English Brown Ale that I found a couple of lost bottles of. It's better than it was a year ago (but mysteriously cloudy/chill haze....didn't have it when fresh).
So, at least a year.
(not for hef's though).
So, at least a year.
(not for hef's though).
hio3791
Well-Known Member
I think Chadwick's response is misleading. Beers shouldn't take years to come together. A well made beer can be enjoyed in as little as 14 days. As Yooper mentioned, you have time on your side. You can brew a few times to learn the process and from your mistakes. Good luck!
From my experience, if it is less than 4% (no matter the style), try drink it within 3 months. Between 5 and 6% and you can leave it for six months safely. I have had mixed experiences with beers between 6-7% that I have aged for longer - some have been very good a year later others and other less so (also mixed experiences within the same batch). Anything I have managed to keep for more than a year that is over 7% has aged well. The oldest beer I have now is a 7.3% stout, bottled in Jan 2014 and still tasting very good.
Gnomebrewer
Well-Known Member
Poor old 4 to 5% beers are always left out...
I didn't mean any offence to 4-5% beers, its just that none of my beers have come out in that range
My guess is you want to drink those pretty fresh too.
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