How long does beer keep?

most alcoholic beverages get better with age

The shelf life of beer (including lager) is dependent mainly upon the alcohol strength (stronger beers lasting longer) and the hopping level (more heavily hopped beers last longer). Some weaker lightly hopped beers start to deteriorate after about 4 months. Stronger beers will not suffer noticeable deterioration until more than a year after bottling.

I recommend that you get the stuff drunk soon. I don’t think it would do you any harm to drink it much later (I have often drunk beers that have been found stuck away in friends houses when they have ‘suffered’ several years storage and they have never done me any harm, but you can certainly tell the difference in taste (and not for the better!)

– Majikthise.

Spirits mature and improve with age in the cask, but do not continue to improve in the bottle.

Wines also have a high enough alcoholic content to improve with age, but most beers are just not strong enough to mature noticeably with age. Furthermore they will soon start to deteriorate.

Beers are best drunk fresh, leaving only enough time for the sediments to “settle out” of “live” beers.

my lager in my cupboard has a best before date on it and its june 2011 and i only bought them 2 months ago..

drink up renee

Adding to Majikthise said, India Pale Ale was brewed for the long trip from England to India. The high alcohol and hop levels preserved it for the long trip. Bottle conditioned beers keep longer than usual beers. The life yeast in the bottle keeps it fresh. I have homebrew from 2 years ago (don’t drink as much since I’m trying to loose weight) which are still at their peak even though they are not particularly strong beers (A Koelsch and a Negro Modello clone).

About 1year

In Brussels, you can find Trappist beers like Chimay from 1993, in great condition and delicious to drink. The shelf life of beer depends primarily on the ingredients and the alcohol content. But some beers are best left for at least a year before drinking. Determine these factors before deciding whether or not to drink it in a rush…it may be better to let it sit longer.