Home Brew shelf life

[orb]

What have you folks found to be a "Rule of thumb" as re: How long before home brew loses it's peak freshness? I've noticed, for example, that a Belgian Wit, 6 weeks from its Birthday, is slowly losing it's Orange/Coriander overtones. Is this inevitable with speciality-spiced beers? What is your-all opinions?

[barley ben]

That really depends on the type it is. Also how it is taken care of. A highly hopped/high gravity could age for the better for years. It really depends.

[orb]

O.K. So, after it bottle conditions (following carbonation period of 10-14 days), and it's kept cold, and you have minimized the introduction of Oxygen during racking, and you have Oxygen absorbing caps, and its kept in blackness, what other factors would prevent it from being good for years?

[paul84043]

There's quite a gap betweek "at it's peak" and "still good".
I have had quite a few milder beers with an average alcohol content and little or no hop presence (Black and Tan) last for well over 9 months and still tasted fantastic.

THe beer will undergo changes while still young at an alarming rate, but after a few months will settle in for a nice long nap if you let it.

My personal experience is that Homebrew, as long as it's not infected and you don't have an excessive amount of airspace at the top, will keep for a very long time. Well over a year at cellar temperatures, and the big beers, probably several years with absolutely no problem at all.

I have yet to open one up and think..."damn, I waited too long and it's not at it's peak anymore..." It just gets better.

[Caffinehog]

A fantastic way to help ensure longevity is to get oxygen barrier caps. Regular caps are $2.50 for 150 caps, Oxygen barrier are $3 for 100. I only use oxygen barrier caps now.

[sallad]

I have yet to open one up and think..."damn, I waited too long and it's not at it's peak anymore..." It just gets better.

i have said that... i brewed a stout in march that hit its peak around 4-5 months after brewing. since it kept getting better, i drank them slowly and ended up putting a case on reserve til winter. i started drinking them again over the holidays, and they'd lost some of that complex coffee/roastyness. they were still good, but a little more bland and thin than they were in say, september. (this was about 4.8%ABV, so not a real big beer...)

so, i did the only thing i could think of- drink them all, asap!

[Fast_Eddy]

The flavor stability of a brew depends on a number of factors that pertain to the beer's composition and keeping. In general I agree that darker beers and higher alcohol beers seem to keep their taste longer - I wonder if it isn't because they have tastes that cover up off-flavors once they start to form.

My beers never seem to last long enough for me to have to figure it out :(

[Tweek]

Beer will stay drinkable for a long time though. I had a porter that I made about 4 years ago (thought it was 6 at the time) with Stodbrew not too long ago. It only had about 4.5% abv and very little hops. It is not something I would want a ton of or perhaps not even any more of but it was interesting to come across it and try it out. It was really oxidized but it has some redeeming qualites to it. And neither of us got sick, so we got that going for us. :D

[Stodbrew]

Originally posted by Tweek
Beer will stay drinkable for a long time though. I had a porter that I made about 4 years ago (thought it was 6 at the time) with Stodbrew not too long ago. It only had about 4.5% abv and very little hops. It is not something I would want a ton of or perhaps not even any more of but it was interesting to come across it and try it out. It was really oxidized but it has some redeeming qualites to it. And neither of us got sick, so we got that going for us. :D

That porter, after that many years, was quite drinkable. As Tweek said, I wouldn't want a whole lot of it, but it definitely had some nice qualities to it still.