beer shelf life

[Barefoot]

i was looking to add beer into the food store. did some quick googling and found that cold beer (on average) is good for 8-12 months if refrigerated and warm beer much less.

funny, i always thought that warm beer would last much longer. i just wonder if these suggested "shelf lives" are more about taste or if they can actually make you sick. when i was growing up i drank one of my fathers collectible beers that was i think about 20 yrs old (boy was he pissed ;) ) without any ill effects. though, being 13-14 yrs old doesn't make you a connoisseur of beer tastes.

anyone have any real experience with old beer?

i guess it could be fun to "rotate stock" every few months.

enjoy!

[crashdive123]

While old beer probably does not "go bad", it certainly does not taste as good as fresh. If you're stocking, stick with liquor.

[Barefoot]

i don't know....i am not a liquor fan and this stock rotation party is sounding better and better.

[crashdive123]

Learn how to brew your own and you will never run out.

[canid]

crash has it.

it breaks down about like this: the chances of food poisoning organisms ending up live in in a given bottle or can of commercial [and non specialty, there's no telling what might be growing in your average organic, live culture craft brew after a couple months] beer are verry low, but it is still a possibility, these beers are only pasteurized, not sterilized. fortified wines and malt liquers would be better for that, but could you stand drinking them in the first place?

assuming no pathogen contamination, a good beer is likely to taste like @$#%@ after a year and a #$%# beer is likely to taste about the same.

i have heard bud-light dinkers tell me they can tell how fresh a can is, but i have drinken a 2 year old refrigerated can and been able to tell no difference because my palette is not tuned to beer i don't like in the first place. two unpleasant things will often taste much the same.

i say you are better off storing/growing grain/sugar, as you can always make your own beer, and if you are in a jurisdiction where it is not a fellony, liquer.

[Barefoot]

i did some basement brewing in college with kits. of course, none of it ever turned out to be all that great. it certainly would be a good skill to be able to freestyle some good blond or brown ales.

made a lot of moonshine in my time as well which i really enjoyed. i haven't messed with it in several years but have been thinking about building a small still to play around with in the basement. could be a good bartering tool if the shtf and as it turns out i came across a free (very large) pressure cooker the other day.

[Ken]

I've brewed a few times with mixed results. My son brews about once a month, and I've been impressed. However, I cannot fathom the concept of beer surviving long enough to go stale in my home. :D

[canid]

stainless or aluminum? don't even think about trying to distill spirits in an aluminum pressure cooker. alzheimer's disease and other toxicologic considerations aside, the smell will drive you out of your home for days.

last week i tried to distill mead vinegar in an aluminum pressure cooker [for no good reason, i knew better]. the house still smells like rocket fuel.

beer and mead are my favorite of the libations i make. there's a learning curve, but it's not too bad. it's well worth the time and little bit of money for the sense of accomplishment and enjoyment alone. the trick is to miniize your costs, as buying commercial 'kits' do not guarantee a good beer any more than modle airplane kits guarantee that you know how to do a clean glue-up and the costs are about the same as buying craft beer from a microbrewery.

[pgvoutdoors]

I'm not sure what the shelf life of beer is but when I use to drink it didn't last long on my shelf. :D

[Beans]

Where is "Runs with Beer"? He should know

[Ken]

I've been thinking. (Yes, I CAN do that.)

Isn't the term "Beer Shelf Life" an oxymoron?

[canid]

hardly. i drink a lot of live culture, unfiltered beer.

in the sense, even the beer that is only finished a day or three before it is all gone undergoes up to a couple weeks of finishing before it is ready to be drunk [or before i am]. it usually weathers this probationary period on a shelf in my room.

live culture + shelf aging = shelf life. therefore, the shelf life of my been is a maximum of 2 weeks 3 days...

[Rick]

They stocked rum for months on ships of the Admiralty (and other countries). I'd think that stuff would last forever.