Keeping beer fresh: Aging with dignity or just getting old?

In the world of beer, fresh product isn’t only about product age. It’s about how a beer keeps. And how a beer keeps (or ages) has a lot to do with the beer itself (style), where it was brewed, and its storage conditions. It’s all about how the beer’s been cared for before it reaches your lips.

I taste beer, young and old. I’ve tasted a 20-year-old Liefmans Goudenband, a 12-year-old Alaskan Smoked Porter, and other aged ales that have evolved into beautiful things. I’ve also sampled 1-1/2-year-old fridge-stored German Oktoberfest imports that experienced little change. But then, I’ve tasted some pretty gnarly old beers too. What comes to mind is a past-date IPA that tasted of pickled beans and cardboard.

I can say this: There’s definitely a difference between “aged” and “old.” An aged ale is dignified; an old beer is just bad.

In Issue #29 of BeerAdvocate magazine, Jason & Todd Alström said it well—

“…beer is a fragile product. It should be treated like any other perishable food. In fact, it’s considered food by many throughout the world—like us. You do ingest it, right? Despite popular belief, beer does have a shelf life. In time, there will come a day when any beer will expire. And there’s nothing worse than tasting a bad brew.”

What beers age best over time?

When a beer ages flavors change, nuances can emerge or fade. It can smooth out and become something beautiful. But it can also go bad. Whether the outcome is good or bad depends on the storage conditions and the beer, plus its style, alcohol-by-volume (ABV) and ingredients.

With age, many robust characters can fade, becoming muted. Beers of lighter flavor characters often have a shorter shelf life. (That “lighter” is in respect to flavor, not color.) Hence, those cold, crisp American lagers are likely the shortest lived outside their element. They, and other session beers, ranging to 5 percent alcohol-by-volume, should definitely be consumed when young.

Robust beers like barleywine and bottle-conditioned ales have some of the longest shelf lives. Most Belgian strong ales, old ales, imperial stouts and porters can also live long.

The bold, vibrant hop character of a West-coast India Pale Ale (IPA) is what people enjoy most. Hence, IPAs are typically drunk young and fresh. With age, hop qualities significantly fade and change. However, I’ve discovered luxury emerging from aged Imperial Black IPAs (also called Cascadian Dark Ale, CDA, American India Black Ales,…). The brash in-your face Sublimely Self Righteous Ale by Stone Brewing Co. transitioned into a rich, lovely deep baker’s chocolate after laying for two years in my kitchen fridge. I’d like to age Uinta’s Dubhe to discover what it becomes, but I keep drinking what I bring home. The flavors are so layered right now, it’s my kind of Sunday beer; where to place these bottles to age? Keeping out of beers targeted for aging can be a dilemma.

Though I can list styles that may do well, the storage and handling of a beer has a great impact on its aging process.

How and where to store a beer?

Storage conditions have a huge impact on whether a beer ages with dignity. From brewing to packaging at the brewery; by distribution channels and warehouses; sitting on shelves at retail stores; finally to your home. That beer is affected by every step until it hits the lips.

While you don’t have much control over brewery and distribution channels, you do have control over where you shop for beer. Most grocery stores maintain their beers under fluorescent lights, while specialty shops may take the extra step of employing UV filters or invest in LEDs. Avoid beer stored in direct sunlight, in sunshine-facing windows. Temperature in these establishments may be warm, cold, or cellar. Look around, observe the beer environment, and ask the beer keeper about how they protect and prolong the livelihood of the beer.

Before the beer reaches you…

Knowledgeable retailers will have insight on how a beer was stored at the distribution center. There are beers we specifically don’t bring in, due to knowledge of it being on their floor for over a year, in a warehouse that may get a bit of summertime heat. A good retailer will take this into consideration when purchasing bulk quantities for resale.

Buyer, it is up to you to be-aware! I’ve seen many post-date beers sitting on shelves under fluorescent lighting in craft beer coolers. This is one reason I’m not crazy about grocery stores branching into craft beer. I’d hate for a person’s first experience with a craft beer to be a bad one. It only takes a single bad experience to turn a person off …for years.

Case in point: Roots Woody Organic IPA is a “new” product in the craft beer section at a local grocery store. We first spotted this in July 2011 and brought it to the attention of the distributor. (The beer had been transferred from one distributor to another before appearing here.) The IPA then disappeared from the shelf, whether that was due to sales or concern, I can only guess. But I did discover its appearance on the shelves again in August. The beer has to be at least 14 months old as the brewery closed its doors in July 2010, more than a year ago. We’ve heard reports of it “tasting terrible” and being “drain pour” from drinkers who shop at both our beer store and the grocery beer departments. I can only imagine the thought of a person’s first experience with craft beer, venturing out of a fizzy-yellow mass-produced lager, into this IPA gone bad.

How you care for the beer…

You have control over how you store your beer at home. For light protection, you can remove the light bulb from the beer fridge or store the beer in boxes or bags.

“We recommend that you store your beer in a cool area, away from direct light, sources of heat and in a constant temperature environment.”
–BeerAdvocate.com

As for temperature control, a refrigerator or cellar cooler unit will do the trick. However, if you’ve got no “beer fridge,” think: Basement, garage, closet. Your goal is to keep the beer cool and dark, with a consistent cool temperature. The ideal cellar temperature is 50–55°F, a bit warmer than the typical fridge, but quite a bit cooler than the typical house. Though you can store some beer at temperatures up into the 60s or down into the 40s, keep this in mind: At higher temperatures a beer’s life shortens, and at lower temperatures the appearance can change. Thus, you’ll want to drink them sooner than a properly cellared beer. And if reviewing beers stored at cooler temperatures, keep the change in appearance in mind when taking notes.

“Higher temperatures and you’ll risk shortening the lifespan of your beer, lower and you’ll induce chill haze (cloudy).”
—BeerAdvocate.com

The main thing to remember: Maintain a consistent cool temperature and keep it dark. Avoid placing your beer stash near heat vents, on the sun-hitting wall of the garage during summer months, in that room with soaring or plunging temperatures. If your beer cellar is simply boxed beer in your basement or garage, keep an eye on the temperature and regularly select bottles to taste.

“Not only will you want store your beers at these specific temperatures, but also you’ll want to serve them at the same. Your strong beers (like barleywines, tripels, dark ales) will be their happiest at room temperature (55-60F), most of your standard ales (like bitters, IPAs, dobbelbocks, lambics, stouts, etc) will be at cellar temperature (50-55F) and your lighter beers (like lagers, pilsners, wheat beers, milds, etc) will be at a refrigerated temperature (45-50F). Usually the higher alcohol, the higher temperature and lower alcohol, the lower temperature
… you get the point.”
—BeerAdvocate.com

And always keep your locally brewed unpasturized beer chilled, and drink those session styles and hoppy IPAs young.

What about freshness dates?

In most cases, you’ll want to heed the freshness date, also known as the “packaged on” or “born on date” that’s imprinted on your bottle of beer. Freshness dates are the best good guide in determining when you should drink your beer.

However, if the beer’s past-date, knowing something about the style as well as previous and current care of the beer is important if you are considering purchasing or drinking.

Why do retailers sell post-date beer?

In the case of the grocery store beer department, noted above, I’d speculate the reason is “inexperience and ignorance.” There is no sound reason to carry significantly expired IPA, let alone multiple brands of IPA, past-date. (In addition to the closed brewery’s IPA, their shelves included readily available IPAs with best-by dates of October 2010, December 2010, and March 2011.)

From the perspective of a specialty beer store owner, I can definitely provide insight. It is true: Past-date beers live on the shelves of many retail establishments.

Of our 1,000+ beers, I can literally count on two hands the number of expired beers on our shelves. That’s about 1%. While I’d prefer that number to be even lower, beggars can’t be choosers when it comes to offering such an assortment.

Why do retailers and bars sometimes offer expired beer? Why not take a stand and say “NO” to all past-date beer? For us, there are two main reasons for this 1%.

(1) To get fresh beer, again!
The longer version of that is: “To help a distributor move through the past-dates, so they will order fresh beer, again!” Sometimes beer can expire in the warehouse of the distributor. Most distributors won’t order new beer until the old beer is sold; many don’t discard expired beer unless it is truly “bad.” Beer that moves too slowly or sits in a warehouse too long is often subject for review to be dropped from a distributor’s portfolio. Because we want to lessen the jeopardy of being dropped, we sometimes bring in past-date beers and price them to move.

This means we perform quality control testing …or I should say “tasting”… on such products. (It’s a rough job, but someone’s got to do it!) Periodically sampling post-date beers and determining if they should be pulled (“bad”), or offered at clearance pricing (“move it fast”).

Before buying post-date beer, ask the beer keeper if they’ve recently tried the aged beer and how it’s changed from its fresher youth. If they can’t provide a description of how it tastes now vs. fresh, perhaps you should avoid the beer. If you decide to take a chance, keep in mind that you’re also moving it to a new storage environment, inducing new temperature and lighting fluctuations on the beer, so should drink it soon. Don’t put past-date beer into your cellar!

(2) To sell import beer, nor not. That is the question.
Import beer is certainly the primary culprit in the case of “expired beer on the market,” IMO. In nearly five years of operating a beer store, I’ve seen tens of imported beers enter the marketplace in expired condition. But if the demand for the beer is there and its regular drinkers enjoy drinking the beer, we offer it. (Though I struggle with this in my personal ethics; I would prefer to have a business where all product is perfect!) Past-date on foreign beers offered in the Pacific Northwest occasionally occurs on beers from across the Atlantic— beers imported from Africa, Central Europe, and Eastern Europe. However, lagers from Central and South America, as well as island regions, periodically arrive near- or post-date.

Check the dates and consider both the style and current storage conditions before you buy. While it’s best to consume beer before the expiration date, beer isn’t as sensitive to expiration dates as milk and may still smell and taste okay, but take heed to the advice from BeerAdvocate magazine—

“So think before you grab any old beer. Buy only fresh beer, consume before expiration and make some noise when you come across bad beers. Your enjoyment and hard-earned cash demand it.”

—but also keep in mind the distribution channels. It takes months for an import beer to travel from brewery, to exporter, to importer, to distributor, to retailer, to you. Thus, when “making noise” be sure to let the brewery know rather than shouting at a beer keeper in a store full of customers.

For freshest beer, check dates and drink local!

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Please note, the author is by no means advocating the purchase of or promoting expired beer in this post. This is simply meant to offer education and explanation as to why you may see expired beer on the shelves of grocery stores and craft beer stores.

Read more about how to store beer on BeerAdvocate.