not technically a poll: How long does beer last?

[netmouse]

Brendan and I are contemplating the contents of the basement fridge, which includes Bell's Oberon (a summer label) and other beer we know is at least 6 months old. Is this beer past servable? Should we toss it? Neither of us are beer-drinkers, so we don't know.

I wasn't up to making poll options, so please just comment. Thanks!

Comments

[stardustgirl.livejournal.com]

If it has stayed chilled it should be OK. If it got warm at any time it may have "skunked"... give it a sniff.

The last 2 posts on my f-list have been alcohol-related :-D

[pnh.livejournal.com]

It's probably fine.

[kyril.livejournal.com]

Way back when, millera had a bottle of what I believe was expensive beer that he'd been aging for half a year or a year, and wasn't happy when his roommate drank that instead of the one he'd just bought because that one was cold. So I guess I'm seconding with hearsay the idea that it would keep in a fridge.

[yarram.livejournal.com]

I'd say that the biggest danger for beer, besides getting "skunky", is going flat. Flat beer is a sign of two things: (1) improper bottling, which leads to (2) contamination of the beverage. As long as the beer has a good fizz to it, the alcohol and anaerobic environment *should* prevent unfriendly bacterial growth, just as it does in properly bottled and stored wine.

HTH. :-)

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

I bet it's fine.

K.

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

I'm too embarrassed to confess how many times I've served bheer older than that at parties in my home, but I will observe that the only stuff that turned out to be "pour it down the sink now" bad was more in the range of 2-3 years old rather than 9-15 months old. From the time I brought it home, anyway. Who knows how long any of it sat in stock at the store?

[brendand.livejournal.com]

Having worked in receiving at a grocery store (albeit a slightly upscale store), that stuff doesn't sit around too long. It does get properly rotated, so that the old stuff gets put on the front of the shelf, and the new stuff goes in the back. So, I wouldn't think more than a couple months, at most. Depends on how much is kept in stock.

[sleigh.livejournal.com]

Beer isn't wine and doesn't generally get better with age, but six months should be fine.

[sarahmichigan.livejournal.com]

It's probably fine. Some beers do have expiration dates printed on the labels, though they can be hard to read/decode sometimes.

Off topic...

[brendand.livejournal.com]

Wanted to make sure you were aware of this:

Elizabeth Moon in Ann Arbor at Borders
7pm April 6th
From my friend who works at Borders:
http://beckybmw.livejournal.com/106115.html

Супер блог!

[pulchiapav.livejournal.com]

Удивительно, но факт. Ваш ресурс стоит дорого. (http://7wp.ru/)

Интересно почитать

[restivoyroke.livejournal.com]

Елки-палки, уникальная заметка (http://7wp.ru/)