How long does it take for a beer to go off? Does beer go off? Well, the answer to both of these questions varies, depending on a number of factors. And if you know a bit about the topic, you may be able to snag a deal on “expired” or “near expired” stock as I recently did.

It seems to be common student wisdom that foodstuffs are still good for a wee while after the best before date. After all, when money is scarce we don’t want to let good food go to waste, nor good beer for that matter. So what are the indicators that a beer is still good? Well, beers with higher alcohol tend to be safer in that regard. Alcohol itself has preservative powers, so stronger beers (I generally think of this as 8% ABV or higher) tend to age quite gracefully, like wines and spirits are also known to.

However, just because the stronger beers are perhaps safe from microbial pests it doesn’t necessarily mean that the flavour won’t change. In some cases, it should improve, but for other beers not so much. I find that generally speaking, beers that rely on the malt for their key flavours (such as the strong stouts I love so much) are likely to improve with age. However, hop flavours tend to mellow with age, so if you have an imperial IPA where the hop flavours are the main thrust, you might want to drink it sooner rather than later, before the edge is dulled off the hop bitterness.

I’ve generally found that beers in between these two extremes, such as Belgian ales and some of the stronger British options, tend to do well with age. And this is the category in which I recently scored a good deal, in a few bottles of Fuller’s Golden Pride, a strong British barley wine. In fact, Fuller’s also does a vintage ale which I believe is based on the Golden Pride – and the vintage ale label states that despite legal necessity to put a best before on the bottle, the beer should continue to improve after it. As such I intend to keep a bottle or two tucked away for a rainy day, to see how it goes.

But of course I had to see how it tastes at the moment. Golden is actually quite a good descriptor for the beer, both in colour and flavour. There’s a bit of a toffee scent, and nice caramel flavours. It’s a very well rounded beer, full of flavour without the 8.5% ABV asserting itself too much. I’d highly recommend trying it, or perhaps the vintage ale if you can get hold of some. The other beers in the Fuller’s range are all good in fact (I’m particularly fond of the ESB).


– Stephen
1 August 2011