How Long Does Beer Last In The Bottle?
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Dazza_devil
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That may depend on how it's stored and what type of beer it is.
yeah sorry - should probably cover that off.....
my examples are Neil's Centenaramillo Ale, an English bitter, a simple honey wheat, and just about to bottle a LC Pale Ale clone
They're kept at a pretty steady 20 degrees in the dark.
I understand that the characteristics will change (Neil suggests that the aroma of his will drop off after 8 weeks) but essentially I'm trying to understand if the beer really takes a turn for the worse after x months (just a rule of thumb will be helpful)
cheers
bum
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Beer in glass will last longer than beer in PET. Too many variables to generalise how long beer will last in either. They do say beer should last for up to a year or so in PET if that helps at all.
Just drink it all now to be on the safe side. :icon_cheers:
Just drink it all now to be on the safe side. :icon_cheers:
Dazza_devil
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I save a tallie and a stubbie from all my batches now with the intention of drinking them at around 12 months so hopefully they won't be off. I reckon 2 years they would still be OK. I find hop flavour drops off ater 4 -6 months. I also have some higher alcohol stouts and porters that will probably improve up to 5 years with a bit of luck.
Nick JD
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My beer tends to get better up to 2 months, and "less better" after that.
That sounds weird. Probably better to say that at 6 months old it tastes better than at 3 weeks - but it's a clean, lower flavour/aroma, lower malt taste. But clean and crisp.
IMO, the magic maturation for a 5%, bottle conditioned pale ale is 6 weeks.
Basically, the older it gets the more it tastes like megaswill! Probably because everything has dropped out of suspension, the yeast has cleaned up every weird flavour and some of the good ones ... and it's essentially been filtered by gravity.
These days I don't keep longer than 3 months. No real reason to.
That sounds weird. Probably better to say that at 6 months old it tastes better than at 3 weeks - but it's a clean, lower flavour/aroma, lower malt taste. But clean and crisp.
IMO, the magic maturation for a 5%, bottle conditioned pale ale is 6 weeks.
Basically, the older it gets the more it tastes like megaswill! Probably because everything has dropped out of suspension, the yeast has cleaned up every weird flavour and some of the good ones ... and it's essentially been filtered by gravity.
These days I don't keep longer than 3 months. No real reason to.
warra48
I've drunk all my homebrew and I'm still worried.
I don't understand the reason why, but a lot of my brews don't hit their straps until they're about 2 to 3 months old, and then drink well for some months.
Just today I drank a longneck of an APA brewed on 12/7/09. It still has a very recognisable Cascade aroma in the glass, although the bitterness has dropped off from earlier. It's very smooth, and all the rough malt edges have rounded out. I enjoyed it.
Hefeweizens I start drinking about a week post bottling, and they're mostly gone with 5 to 6 weeks from brewing.
Just today I drank a longneck of an APA brewed on 12/7/09. It still has a very recognisable Cascade aroma in the glass, although the bitterness has dropped off from earlier. It's very smooth, and all the rough malt edges have rounded out. I enjoyed it.
Hefeweizens I start drinking about a week post bottling, and they're mostly gone with 5 to 6 weeks from brewing.
Hi all
After my uncle died we were given some coopers stout that were at least 2 years old. Absofreakingloutly fantastic! I personally think that stouts are much better the longer they are left but i have never had a bottle of anything that has lasted more 3 months.
They were discussing this same topic on local AM radio here in Adelaide around xmas and they had callers that had consumed beer that was up to 8 years old, mainly stouts. That is obviously the extreme end of things but one common thread was that the callers all seemed to agree that they needed to go into a cold fridge for at least a day or two before consuming them. Im not sure what the reasoning was behind that though.
After my uncle died we were given some coopers stout that were at least 2 years old. Absofreakingloutly fantastic! I personally think that stouts are much better the longer they are left but i have never had a bottle of anything that has lasted more 3 months.
They were discussing this same topic on local AM radio here in Adelaide around xmas and they had callers that had consumed beer that was up to 8 years old, mainly stouts. That is obviously the extreme end of things but one common thread was that the callers all seemed to agree that they needed to go into a cold fridge for at least a day or two before consuming them. Im not sure what the reasoning was behind that though.
RobboMC
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We found some old PET bottles in the back of my father-in-law's garage taht are 3-1/2 years old and it's pretty badly oxidised
and almost undrinkable. I regularly drink the last bottle of a PET batch on it's 1st birthday, i.e. 12 months in the bottle without major deterioration.
Recently had a stout a mate found in his garage that was 12 years old in glass, and it was drinkable but crappy beer,
but back in those days he made crappy beer anyway so can't tell if it deteriorated or not.
and almost undrinkable. I regularly drink the last bottle of a PET batch on it's 1st birthday, i.e. 12 months in the bottle without major deterioration.
Recently had a stout a mate found in his garage that was 12 years old in glass, and it was drinkable but crappy beer,
but back in those days he made crappy beer anyway so can't tell if it deteriorated or not.
earle
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I still have some bottles of ginger beer I bottles in 1997. Was a brigalow kit which explains why they didn't all get drunk. Opened one up last year or the one before out of curiosity. Still drinkable but then brigalow ginger beer doesn't have far to go to reach the bottom of the barrel taste wise.
Parrothead
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About a month ago I came across a glass longneck of a chocolate porter I'd brewed in 1999. It was stored in my basement, where the temp averages @ 63F, or about 17C during the year. It was still drinable - although the chocolate essesnce was barefy there, and the hoppiness was down, but it was OK.
beergutbruce
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As long as you want it to. The last old brew I had the other day was one my dad made at least three or four years ago and the water he made it from was from an old rain water tank. After tasting that I dont think there is a time limit on any home brew. It was bloody beautiful. I still have one stubby left and will be saving it for a very special occasion.
I have had beer in bottles for up to 14 months. Darker beers seem to age better. Like others have noticed the bitterness does reduce with age and all beers do tend to become more mellow much as a wine does with age.
I think about 3 months is about optimum. My scale of drinkability is from 3 weeks on with little chance of beer getting past 6 months. I do not have a controlled enviroment but they are kept from light.
Going to a TAD system means storage in Pet bottles so the 6 month period should be ok. Time will tell.
As a new member of the forum I would like to say Hi! and am ready to take in any advice I can get. I have been brewing since the 1960's and other than my early days now only use kits with sometimes added ingrediants.
Cheers to all
Terry
I think about 3 months is about optimum. My scale of drinkability is from 3 weeks on with little chance of beer getting past 6 months. I do not have a controlled enviroment but they are kept from light.
Going to a TAD system means storage in Pet bottles so the 6 month period should be ok. Time will tell.
As a new member of the forum I would like to say Hi! and am ready to take in any advice I can get. I have been brewing since the 1960's and other than my early days now only use kits with sometimes added ingrediants.
Cheers to all
Terry
