How long will beer last?

[SewerRanger]

So a long long time ago (say a couple of months now). I brewed up a nice batch of beer, put it in the primary, added yeast, etc. and promptly forgot about my beer until last weekend when I discovered it under a blanket in the summer kitchen. The lid was still on and the air valve somehow still had liquid in it. What are the chances that my beer is still good?

 

[Yooper]

It depends- at warm temperatures, autolyzing might be a concern. I'd open it and take a whiff. If it smells ok, then I'd taste it and see.

At relatively cool temperatures, it should be fine. The only concern would be the length of time on the yeast cake. If it doesn't smell bad, though, it'd be fine.

 

[david_42]

Summer kitchen in Baltimore? It probably got way too hot, but as Yooper says, if it smells ok & tastes ok, it's good. Autolysis is really obvious and the only time I've had it was when I left a bucket on the back stoop in the summer.

 

[SewerRanger]

Summer kitchens stay cool in the summer. That's why they're there. It's been generally cool in my house (we got AC after all). What would autolysis look like?

 

[mmb]

Summer kitchens stay cool in the summer. That's why they're there. It's been generally cool in my house (we got AC after all). What would autolysis look like?

It would smell like you've stored 20 dead skunks in a trash can for the summer at 100 degrees. You'll be able to tell.

Months as in two, three, or eight? As you go longer on the yeast cake, chances of off flavors increase. If it doesn't knock you off your feet when you open it, give it a taste and see what you have. Nothing "deadly" can live in the beer so you'll be fine.

 

[SewerRanger]

I don't like the way you said deadly!

 

[Ecnerwal]

Couple of months, you said. Should be fine. As all have said, if it smells/tastes OK, it is OK.

Prime, bottle, and move on to the next batch.

 

[mmb]

I don't like the way you said deadly!

It can't kill ya or make ya really sick.

That type of deadly.