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?

[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/)