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Posted: 9/29/2014 11:52:22 PM EDT
Beer. Natures perfect food.
 Essential for relaxing on a warm summer's night and sleeping with chubby women. SHTF checklist item # 1 for many non-preppers. So, when the (insert your favorite apocalypse scenario here) happens, how long will commercial brews last, shelf life wise. Say for example bottled Budweiser kept in a generally stable, room temperature environment. Still good after 6 months? A year? 2 years? At what point does it become basically undrinkable...anybody know?
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Posted: 9/29/2014 11:57:29 PM EDT
[#1]
Quoted:
Beer. Natures perfect food. Essential for relaxing on a warm summer's night and sleeping with chubby women. SHTF checklist item # 1 for many non-preppers. So, when the (insert your favorite apocalypse scenario here) happens, how long will commercial brews last, shelf life wise. Say for example bottled Budweiser kept in a generally stable, room temperature environment. Still good after 6 months? A year? 2 years? At what point does it become basically undrinkable...anybody know?I think Bud goes sorta off in 3 months or less... |
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Posted: 9/29/2014 11:57:33 PM EDT
[#2]
Chubby women...ha...true!
My guess is we'll see neighborhood brew masters popping up. But I think other forms of liquor would be far more popular as it's less difficult to make as far as I know. Hell, a girl I went to undergrad with made applejack just by letting her cider ferment behind the fridge for a while. Then there's pruno... As for how long it'll last, I've had beer that was indeed kept at room temperature well past it's expiration date (or whatever they call it)...it was fine. Not sure what would be pushing the limits though. I've got a Christmas edition Budweiser bottle from the early 90's at my parent's house. -Emt1581 |
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Posted: 9/30/2014 12:25:25 AM EDT
[#3]
~6 months seems to be the most common answer, but depends on the beer and storage conditions. Beer doesn't last long around my place, so no personal experience aside from drinking months-old homebrew. It was as terrible as the day I brewed it :)
I suspect year-old canned beer stored at room temp would be fine, but maybe taste a bit off. Five years old and all bets are off. Still probably better than my last batch of homebrew, though.... |
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Posted: 9/30/2014 12:35:08 AM EDT
[#4]
My opinion:
Regular ole beer that has been pasteurized is ok for 6 months in glass, less if in cans. However, draft beer in a glass bottle, which is filtered, not pasteurized, if kept cool will improve and still be great after 2 years. The yeast is still alive although mostly filtered out. There will eventually be a white sediment of dead yeast in the bottom of the bottle. It is harmless. I did not have the patience to keep it longer than two years. |
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Posted: 9/30/2014 12:42:26 AM EDT
[#5]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
My opinion: Regular ole beer that has been pasteurized is ok for 6 months in glass, less if in cans. However, draft beer in a glass bottle, which is filtered, not pasteurized, if kept cool will improve and still be great after 2 years. The yeast is still alive although mostly filtered out. There will eventually be a white sediment of dead yeast in the bottom of the bottle. It is harmless. I did not have the patience to keep it longer than two years. Mostly accurate. If anyone wants to worry about alcohol for SHTF, they should be stockpiling components, yeast, sugar, water supply. For 90% of us, the inability to solve the problem of purchasing a beer, cold, in a can, is a 'first world' problem. Alcohol, however, is a problem that we have solved for thousands of years. TRG |
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Posted: 9/30/2014 7:50:33 AM EDT
[#6]
If the beer is in bottles be sure to keep them out of the light. Light will break down the beer over time. Heat is another beer killer. Most commercial beer is pasteurized to make it shelf stable.
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Posted: 9/30/2014 11:04:54 AM EDT
[#7]
Quote HistoryQuoted: . Most commercial beer is pasteurized to make it shelf stable. "natural" beer by definition does not support bacteria, and will last for a couple years (at least) in a cooler/dry/dark environment. It will change in flavour profile as some yeast will be active, which IMO usually makes it much better. BTW just learn to brew its very easy. I have nearly 90 gallons sitting in my basement. |
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Posted: 9/30/2014 4:53:12 PM EDT
[#8]
Not sure if it might vary with different brews.
Ive had Sopporo Silver sit at room temp for over a year, was fine. edit: large cans |
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Posted: 9/30/2014 9:11:54 PM EDT
[#9]
I have some cans of bud light with manufacture date of 2/2012
drank one a couple weeks ago, it was just fine (as far as bud light goes, anyway) |
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Posted: 9/30/2014 9:45:25 PM EDT
[#10]
It varies....
I'm an avid homebrewer. Some stuff, usually the lighter beers, have a fairly defined, relatively short life. A typical hoppy session ale seems best within 90 days, and 60 is better yet. (I use this as my excuse for consuming the entire batch!). Heavier ales, along the lines of various dark, full bodied 'winter' ales, often need some mellowing time. They get better after 3 or 4 months conditioning in the bottle. They are wonderful to at least six months. I cannot vouch for anything beyond that, since I've never have beer for more than six months. Typical mass produced lagers and ales vary some, particularly with differing storage, but I do know that I've had a five year old beer, and it was undrinkable. fro |
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Posted: 9/30/2014 10:02:00 PM EDT
[#11]
I'd bet that storing any beer at slightly above freezing temperature provides the longest shelf life.
The changes that degrade the quality of beer are all chemical in nature - and the vast majority of all chemical reactions are temperature-dependent. Lower temperature = slower chemical reaction time = longer shelf life |
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Posted: 9/30/2014 10:09:14 PM EDT
[#12]
Bottle Conditioning
Unibroue I still have bottles left from the runs they made for Trader Joes ... 2011, 2012 and 2013. They do indeed get better with age. Looking forward to the 2014 coming out ... Unibroue quality on the cheap! 
If you've never had a proper belgian before, you owe it to yourself to give one a try ... Blue Moon is not a good representation of the style, I also hate that beer. |
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Posted: 9/30/2014 10:34:35 PM EDT
[#13]
No shelf life per say. 
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Posted: 9/30/2014 11:20:33 PM EDT
[#14]
For long term SHTF (>4-6mo) you'd better become a whiskey drinker. My personal poison (other than a good brewsky) is scotch. The stuff lasts forever in all but the most terrible of storage conditions!
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Posted: 10/1/2014 12:22:26 AM EDT
[#15]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
No shelf life per say. I came here to post that - hard liquor keeps much better as does wine. |
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Posted: 10/1/2014 6:12:42 AM EDT
[#16]
Whiskey lasts forever in the bottle and it will get you all of those things except the taste of ice-cold beer.
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Posted: 10/1/2014 11:43:22 AM EDT
[#17]
Beer, wine and alcohol are not a factor in my preps. My energy goes elsewhere
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Posted: 10/1/2014 4:18:11 PM EDT
[#18]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Beer, wine and alcohol are not a factor in my preps. My energy goes elsewhere Even if you don't drink, or drink much, it's a good barter item to have around. 375 and 750ml sealed bottles. |
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Posted: 10/1/2014 6:28:25 PM EDT
[#19]
I called my buddy who is fairly high up in the Budweiser hierarchy, and he says beer stored properly is good for about one year.
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Posted: 10/2/2014 3:42:47 AM EDT
[#20]
I`ve had Guinness in the bottle that was in my frig for over 2 years. Tasted great. I`ve got a few canned Bud lights in there now that I bought in august last year. I`m sure they are fine. I don`t drink much.
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Posted: 10/2/2014 6:01:20 AM EDT
[#21]
Higher gravity beers that havent been pasteurized will last many years when stored in cool dark locations and improve/mellow with age. The caps start to fail on beer that's in bottles. A "live" beer that is in lined cans should last even longer than bottles - many years.
Quote HistoryQuoted:
no, its pasteurized to keep the flavour constant and kill the yeast. Lagers are very sensitive to being transported warm, and the yeast will do bad things to the flavour profile when warmed too much. "natural" beer by definition does not support bacteria, and will last for a couple years (at least) in a cooler/dry/dark environment. It will change in flavour profile as some yeast will be active, which IMO usually makes it much better. BTW just learn to brew its very easy. I have nearly 90 gallons sitting in my basement. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
. Most commercial beer is pasteurized to make it shelf stable. "natural" beer by definition does not support bacteria, and will last for a couple years (at least) in a cooler/dry/dark environment. It will change in flavour profile as some yeast will be active, which IMO usually makes it much better. BTW just learn to brew its very easy. I have nearly 90 gallons sitting in my basement. |
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Posted: 10/2/2014 1:02:39 PM EDT
[#22]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Even if you don't drink, or drink much, it's a good barter item to have around. 375 and 750ml sealed bottles. Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Beer, wine and alcohol are not a factor in my preps. My energy goes elsewhere Even if you don't drink, or drink much, it's a good barter item to have around. 375 and 750ml sealed bottles. not for an alcoholic
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Posted: 10/2/2014 2:36:58 PM EDT
[#23]
Unibroue markets several beers that can be aged for years
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Posted: 10/2/2014 8:16:19 PM EDT
[#24]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Higher gravity beers that havent been pasteurized will last many years when stored in cool dark locations and improve/mellow with age. The caps start to fail on beer that's in bottles. A "live" beer that is in lined cans should last even longer than bottles - many years. |
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Posted: 10/2/2014 8:22:20 PM EDT
[#25]
Stock up on distilled spirits.
Trade it for stuff you need and use your new wealth to grow what you need to brew your own fresh beer. 
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