QA

Quick Answer: How Long Until Craft Beer Goes Bad

Does craft beer expire?

No. Beer doesn’t expire. As long as it is sealed then you can drink it years or even decades after it was brewed.

How long can craft beer be stored?

Kept in a dark and cold area, like a fridge, bottled beer will last up to 6 months. Stored warm, bottled beer can spoil in as quickly as 3 months. Keeping beer bottles away from light prevents the development of skunky off-flavors.

How can you tell if craft beer is bad?

It has a weird taste (like cabbage or sewage) Despite the fact that there are tons of weird beer flavors out there, it should be pretty clear if the flavor you’re tasting is not intentional. Some common flavors that can indicate a bad beer are cooked cabbage, sewage, sulphur, or just an abnormally sour taste.

Can old craft beer make you sick?

Drinking beer past the expiration date is not ideal, but in the event that you drink a “rotten beer”, just know that drinking a bad beer probably won’t make you sick and it won’t kill you. At the most, you can expect a bit of a stomach ache and a slight feeling of disappointment and disgust.

Is it OK to drink expired beer?

The simple answer is yes, the beer is still good insofar as it is safe to drink. Since most beer is either pasteurized or filtered to eliminate bacteria, it’s extremely resistant to spoiling.

Can I drink a year old IPA?

First, consider where you buy beer. Avoid buying IPA older than three months, and pick beer in a beer fridge over beer on a shelf. If you really love your IPA and want it as bitter-fresh as possible, you may be a psychopath, but buy and drink it before it hits three weeks old.

Can you drink 3 year old beer?

The short answer is that yes, beer expires. But saying the beer expires is a bit misleading, it doesn’t actually become unsafe to drink, it just starts to taste unappealing or flat.

How long will unopened beer last?

The Average Shelf Life of Beer Most beers last beyond the printed expiration date on the package. When stored at room temperature, you can expect beer to last for six to nine months beyond the use-by date. Refrigeration increases this time period to up to two years.

How long does an IPA last in a can?

Shelf Life by Style Light beers: It’s generally best to consume lighter beers, including India pale ales (IPAs), within three months after packaging. IPA beer shelf life can extend to as much as 12 months, but generally, the beer will begin to decrease in quality after the first 120 or so days.

How do I know if my beer is expired?

There is no industry standard as to how brewers date their beers, though most use a “bottled on” format. That style indicates when a particular beer was canned, rather than when it is best by. Often, that date can be found on the bottom of cans, on the side of bottles, or on the case itself.

Can bad beer give you food poisoning?

Beer itself cannot give you food poisoning. In fact, for centuries beer was brewed as the safe alternative to bad drinking water. A common myth is that unsanitary beer lines can lead to food poisoning. But this would be almost impossible.

Can dirty beer lines make you sick?

That’s why it’s always important to keep your draft lines clean. Dirty draft lines can completely change a beer’s taste and even make the drinker sick.

Can infected beer make you sick?

This said, yes, your beer can still pick up infections that make it taste awful and that would surely make you feel sick to your stomach if you drank it. But if your beer has picked up an infection, you will definitely know it — it will smell awful, look slimy, taste disgusting, or all three.

Can you drink 7 year old beer?

Seven years is definitely way too long. So it won’t make you sick or harm you if you want to taste it. But it is extremely unlikely that you will enjoy it. It won’t be harmful, but neither will it taste any good.

Is expired beer stronger?

As a beer ages, will its potency wane too? In a word, no. The alcohol content of beer (and wine, for that matter) is determined during the fermentation process and will not change over time.

What can I do with expired beer?

4 useful things you can do with stale beer Remove stains. Next time you spill coffee on the rug during a groggy Monday morning, reach for some stale beer leftover from your Sunday Funday. Restore wood. Has your coffee table seen better days? Add shine to hair. Time to crack open a shower beer. Ward off bugs.

Do IPA beers go bad?

IPAs are best consumed fresh, ideally within a month of packaging, and preferably no older than three months. This is because the degradation of hops occurs rapidly.

Does IPA age well?

Hops – whether bitter, floral or citrusy – fade with time, so IPAs and other hop-forward beers aren’t great candidates for aging. That said, Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA only gets better with age. Seasonals, which often take advantage of freshly harvested ingredients, and fruit beers are usually best young, as well.

Does IPA go off?

Under ideal storage conditions, the shelf life of IPA is roughly three years from the manufacture date.

What happens when you drink 4 year old beer?

Drinking expired beer is harmless Basically, it’s completely harmless, non-toxic, and totally fine to drink. The only problem is that it might not taste so good, and it’s likely to smell odd and taste stale or flat.