Shelf life

[VipertheIV]

A former coworker of mine is partners in a vineyard and they are interested in adding a small brewery to their project. He and the other partners tried what homebrew I had available and liked it. I felt kind of like those people on shark tank. Anyway, they kept a bottle of each to try again later and see how it lasted. He wrote me yesterday saying they are concerned with shelf life. I know certain styles and higher abv lens themselves to a longer shelf life, but what is typical for an ESB, porter, bourbon vanilla porter, and a hefeweizen? I know hefe are better young and should be drank in first few months. Are they ways to prolong shelf life without compromising flavor and beer integrity? The long term goal would be to brew for these guys.

 

[mjohnson]

The best thing you can do to extend the shelf life of beer is to handle it properly. Keep it cold and out of the light. I think that most craft breweries put the born on date so you know if its old. Fresh beer almost always tastes better than really old beer (with exceptions of beers designed to age). In my mind, fresh is < 6 months.

If they are hoping to brew and then keep the beer around for a year while they sell it, that might not produce the best results.

Thats my $0.02

 

[VipertheIV]

.

If they are hoping to brew and then keep the beer around for a year while they sell it, that might not produce the best results.

Thats my $0.02

Yeah, this is what I thought. I will ask them about how it was stored before they drank it recently

 

[mredge73]

Hop bitterness decreases with age; so hoppy beers should always be consumed fresh.
Imperial brews tend to get better with age as the "hot" flavor and bitterness decreases and the Malty flavors become more pronounced.
Check out this Burton Ale where it is intentionally over hopped due to the planed 2 years aging before consumption.

In summary, as long as the cap remains properly sealed (no rust, no oxygen, no light) beer should not "spoil" but the flavor profile will indeed change giving you a new beer.
Heat accelerates this change so keep them cold.

 

[2bluewagons]

As others have said: oxygen, heat, and UV are the enemies. Taking all possible steps to limit exposure of finished beer to oxygen (e.g. splashing during bottling), and keeping bottles in a cool, dark place will maximize shelf life. There is some evidence supporting the fact that bottle-conditioned beers hold up better as well, as the yeast will scrub small amounts of oxygen out of the beer.

The other factor would be sanitation, most beer likely has some level of contamination. The longer that (hopefully very small) amount of contamination has to work, the more likely it is to be a noticeable taste difference.

I think the main problem here is that your potential employers are thinking too much like winemakers. I guess it depends on the beer market they are going after, but seems to me that they should spend time marketing this product for consumption instead of aging. The majority of beer is not really meant to be aged, but instead gulped down by thirsty consumers who appreciate good beer. Obviously the beer shouldn't turn to crap within a normal storage period, but talk to them about making a good product that can be made and SOLD and then remade and RESOLD in a predictable timeline.

Just my two cents, from musings of my own on the subject...

 

[VipertheIV]

Confirming and giving me confidence in my answers to them thus far. Thank you guys. And cheers