Calling all beer experts.

How long can I keep a beer in the fridge and it remain good?

Does it matter the type of beer, the style of beer, bottled or canned?

The vast majority of beers are intended to be consumed soon after birth. How long does "soon" last? Assume all variables to be favorable ... fresh when purchased, bottled or canned with optimum efficiency, and not mishandled previously ... then we must know the style. Hops certainly do help to preserve, but I wouldn't expect a Kolsch to last as long as a Double IPA, and past a few months, the vibrancy of the IPA's (or a Barley Wine's) hops almost certainly will begin to fade even if the quality remains good otherwise.

As for temperature, I'd rather hide the bottles in an opaque container at cellar temperature than store forever in a cold fridge.

I didn't answer the question, did I?

Variables are numerous. Bottles I intend to keep go into the basement, and I try to clean out the fridge regularly, perhaps 4 - 6 weeks (by drinking them or cooking with them).

How long can I keep a beer in the fridge and it remain good?

Does it matter the type of beer, the style of beer, bottled or canned?

That's like asking how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop...

One........Two........Three. Three days is all a beer will last in the fridge. (At least that's all it lasts in MY fridge).

My father in law just gave me some Bud Light in a can that went out of date in 06 that he had stored in his fridge. It tastes just like the crappy swill that it tastes like when fresh. I did once have a 10 year old lowenbrau in a bottle that was the most putrid thing ever and it was definitely "bad". This sounds like a job for Mythbusters. I have heard that "skunked" beer(warm,cold,warm,cold) was a myth but cannot remember ever trying it myself. I did have some Guinness activated cans go bad once from heat damage. The activator thingy just would'nt work for some reason. I doubt any of this helps but what I always stand by with leftover food is to look,smell,taste. If it tastes good to you than eat or drink it.

Skunk beer isn't a myth. In my experience, if I buy beer cold and then it gets warm, perhaps in the car or in a cooler long after the ice melts, then rechill it it always tastes horrible.

:oops: My father in law just gave me some Bud Light in a can that went out of date in 06 that he had stored in his fridge. It tastes just like the crappy swill that it tastes like when fresh. I did once have a 10 year old lowenbrau in a bottle that was the most putrid thing ever and it was definitely "bad". This sounds like a job for Mythbusters. I have heard that "skunked" beer(warm,cold,warm,cold) was a myth but cannot remember ever trying it myself. I did have some Guinness activated cans go bad once from heat damage. The activator thingy just would'nt work for some reason. I doubt any of this helps but what I always stand by with leftover food is to look,smell,taste. If it tastes good to you than eat or drink it.

This is why I asked the question. I just tried a BBC Nut Brown that I know is at least 2 years old and it tasted fine. I just couldn't figure out why. I was cleaning out my beer fridge and thought I better try one of these "old" beers and see what it taste like.

Wow! "Keep" beer? Try three minutes to three hours around here!

Beer is meant to drink, and sometime prepare foods with (not cook), not to keep in closets, fridges, etc.

That is my philosophy and opinion and stickin' to it! LOL

Skunk beer isn't a myth. In my experience, if I buy beer cold and then it gets warm, perhaps in the car or in a cooler long after the ice melts, then rechill it it always tastes horrible.

Skunked beer is correct, but it isn't from aging. There is a specific chemical reaction that occurs when sunlight strikes hop oils, creating a new compound that tastes -surprise surprise - skunky!

Brown bottles shield most of the UV, green bottles let through more (hence the becks and Heineken flavors), and clear are the worst. Don't let your glass of beer sit out in the sun! The green german beer guys (becks, heineken, etc) started blasting their beer intentionally with UV to create the same flavor. Hey, I knowm, Heine is from Amsterdam - been on the brewery tour , whatever.

Moral of the story, keep your beer out of the sun!

How long will beer last?

Indefinitely. But it definitely changes.

Beer is like food. People don't realize that. But it is perishable, and should be consumed within a few weeks (for most brews). High alcohol beers are the exception, and they can age for years. But most beers are best within a couple of months of production. That's why you should support your local breweries.

There are so many variables. For example, you buy a beer in a bottle from the store. Well, how long has it been sitting on the shelf? How long was it sitting in the distributor's warehouse before it even made it to the shelf. It could be 2-6 months old when you pick it up. Big difference there.

How good was the bottling line at the brewery? How much oxygen was introduced during the bottling? I've seen some hugely different numbers while studying this. BIG difference in how long it lasts.

How was it stored before you got it? Warm or cold (cold is better) Some distributors and retailers suck for storage conditions.

Alcohol level, hop level, etc. The style of the beer is so important. A light American beer sucks always, so whatever, but a quality lighter brew simply cannot last long (month, two months), whereas a barley wine or imperial stout can age for years. Both alcohol and hops are natural preservatives...

Hope I've shed a touch of light here....I could talk for hours on this subject....

Skunked beer is correct, but it isn't from aging. There is a specific chemical reaction that occurs when sunlight strikes hop oils, creating a new compound that tastes -surprise surprise - skunky!

The compounds are technically called humalones, and they're also present in cat urine. I wonder if Corona fans would drink cat urine if you stuffed enough lime in it?

The oldest beer I've ever had was 13 years old. It was an English Strong Ale that I got from Rich O's Christmas Shoppe last year. Bottled in '96, and still delicious.

As mentioned by Nimbus and Roger, there are so many variables that affect shelf life of beer. Although the style of beer and alcohol content can extend the viable shelf life of some, all beers suffer flavor stability when subjected to heat exposure, UV light, and time. Storing beer in a fridge (while perhaps not ideal in regards to serving temperature) will absolutely extend the shelf life. Fridge conditions practically eliminate 2 of these evils.

For anyone who wants to get really geeky about it, there is a formula known as the Arrhenius equation which simply states that for every increase of 10 degrees Celsius, chemical reactions take place 2 to 3 times faster. If we want to apply this theory to beer, lets take a look at a beer that is stored at 20 deg C or room temperature. At this temp all major domestic brewers apply a shelf life about 3 - 4 months. Raise the temp up to 30 deg c and the realistic shelf life is now about a month. Raise it another 10 deg to 40 and you have a little over a week. That's why the beer you kept in your garage last week now tastes awful. Conversely, if you lower the temp from 20 to 10 deg C you have retarded the staling effects by 2 to 3 times. Your beer should now be stable for 9 months. Drop it another 10 deg (or close to fridge temp) and your beer shouldn't stale for well over a year.

The unfortunate thing about this is that the theory rarely extends to real life circumstances. As Nimbus mentioned, by the time you buy your beer you have no idea how it was stored. Shipping beer cold is expensive and done very rarely. Did the distributor store it in a temperature controlled environment or was it left outside their warehouse cooking in the sun? How about the retailer? Kept in the cooler or in some hot back room? All this doesn't even begin to take into consideration what's going on in the brewing process to eliminate compounds like dissolved oxygen that can accelerate staling.

Bottom line, the best way to mitigate these issues and keep your beer tasting fresh is to put that beer in the fridge as soon as possible.