Expert: Spencer W Thomas - 6/7/2002

Question
Hello!
I had this debate with my father in-law, and would like to know from an expert:
How long can you keep homebrew for before it goes "bad"?  I was suggesting that homebrew, if stored in good conditions, can easily be kept for 3-4 years.  He was convinced that it is only good for 6 months or so, like store bought beer.  Any ideas?  Thanks!

Luc Richard
Moncton, NB
Canada

Answer
I'm going to agree with both of you on this.

It depends very heavily on how the beer was treated as it was being made and bottled. Generally speaking, homebrew can have a shelf-life much longer than that of commercial beer, because it is a "living product," containing live yeast. The yeast in the bottle can help to stabilize the beer.  I'm not sure that I'd go up to 3 or 4 years, except for those "big" beers.  A normal 4-5% beer will not last that long without some damage.  One member of my homebrew club has not brewed in at least 10 years, but keeps bringing beer to the meeting that is 10, 13, 16 years old.  All of this beer has very obvious aging characteristics, but it's often still drinkable and even enjoyable.  But you would never mistake it for fresh beer.

On the other hand, I've seen badly treated homebrew go "off" in just a couple of months.  This would usually be beer that suffered oxidation during preparation or bottling, and that has not been kept cool.

I think, all things being equal, homebrew has a longer potential shelf-life than highly filtered "dead" commercial beer.

=Spencer