He was wrong, and here's why: craft beer contains ingredients that have the potential to change over time, especially when exposed to environmental hazards including UV light, oxygen, and extreme temperatures. Most macrobreweries pasteurize their beer prior to packaging in cans and bottles. Pasteurization takes place at high temperatures, which is one of the hazards associated with off flavors in beer. This explains why cases of Bud Light have shelf lives of over a year, but it also explains (partially) why cases of Bud Light taste
Depending on style, unpasteurized beer (which will almost always have some amount of living yeast still inside of it) should have an expiration date of 1-6 months, with more robust styles like porters and stouts lasting a year (or longer). UV light and oxygen in the bottle are the major players in beers expiring- clear-bottled & green-glass-bottled beers will experience UV-induced hops breakdown much more quickly than brown-bottled or canned beers. Cans actually present the best option for sealing a beer from the outside elements. It's too bad that for so many years, so many brewers have been filling them with really crappy beer, giving the cans a reputation for making beer taste really metallic, which is an off-flavor associated with the beer, not the can. UV light is actually the main culprit in skunking beer.
Oxidation can also create off flavors in the bottle or can by combining compounds from elements already in the beer. (A good reason to never age a beer bottle on it's side- the more beer coming into contact with oxygen, the higher the chance that off flavor compounds will develop.) Temperature fluctuation can accelerate oxidation, and depending on the temperature can create even wilder flavor compounds. Never freeze beer. Not only will your cans explode or your bottle top pop and flood your freezer with icy beer foam (yum), your beer will not taste the same when it thaws. And it will most likely be flat.
So how do you ensure that the beer you are buying is fresh and free from off-flavors?
Know where your beer comes from. Are you buying a mass-produced beer from a factory in Mexico, bottled in clear glass that has been unrefrigerated, exposed to sunlight or under fluorescent lights for a few months? Next time, pick up a lager from a local microbrewery. You'll be amazed at how much better it tastes. It will cost you around $1.50 a bottle.
Check expiration dates. They're usually printed on the bottle or the label. Pick up the beer and look at it. Is the bottle dusty? Is the cardboard stained and torn? Is the label faded?
Know your styles. Some styles are meant to be enjoyed right away. Some can maintain their flavor for a longer period of time. Some actually improve with age.
Get to know the folks working at your favorite liquor stores. They'll tell you what's freshest, and they'll keep you up to date on new shipments of beer. If they don't, find a new liquor store.
Beer: Stone Enjoy By 9.13.13
Style: IPA
ABV: 9.4%
IBUs: 88
This isn't a Wisconsin beer, but it's one that I know well. Stone Brewing Company is the largest craft brewery in San Diego County (which currently boasts 71 micro-and-nano breweries), and they consistently push the envelope when it comes to style and distribution. Lately, their beers have been hit-or-miss for me (bottled version of Smoked Porter w/ Vanilla was a hit while Vertical Epic 12.12.12 was a miss) but this one is special.
Enjoy By... was first brewed about a year ago, and was only available in the Southern California market. The idea was to brew a super-fresh IPA (or a IIPA, really) that could compete with likes of Russian River's Pliny the Elder and the IPA's & IIPA's being churned out by smaller Cali breweries like Societe, Beachwood & (especially) Alpine. Now don't confuse fresh IPA with fresh-hopped IPA- fresh-hopped denotes an ale that has been brewed with hops fresh off the vine, and usually come out in the fall after the hop harvest. While some fresh IPA's are also fresh-hopped, most are made with hop pellets, dried whole cone hops, and/or hop oils. The name is derived from the idea that some IPA's need to be consumed shortly after being brewed for maximum hop flavor. Hops do break down in beer over time, and these finely calculated recipes (Enjoy By boasts at least 14 different varieties in various forms) tend to mutate in flavor by the time they are a month old. So, the Enjoy By date is one month after the bottling of the beer.
In what has proven to be a masterful marketing campaign, Stone set up a website where drinkers can vote for which cities in their distribution area would get Enjoy By next. After the cities are determined, Stone sets up strategic distribution plans to ensure that each region receives beer that isn't more than a few days old. So this bottle of Enjoy By 9.13.13 was brewed in San Diego some time in mid-late July, fermented and dry-hopped until 8.13.13 when it was bottled at their Escondido brewery and put on a truck. It probably took 2-3 days to reach Chicago, and it was in a refrigerated case until Veronica bought it two weeks later. It is fairly rare to get a fresh West Coast IPA in the Midwest, so kudos to Stone for pulling it off (and kudos to Vern for bringing a bottle home and not imbibing of it on the train).
Appearance: Golden, with a touch of amber around the deeper parts of the glass. Hay bale sunset at the end of summer. This beer is much clearer than it appears in the photo. Just like the beers it was designed to emulate, (Pliny the Younger and Alpine's Bad Boy, especially) you can almost see the hop oils saturating this liquid. Great foam head and sufficient lacing. 9/10
Aroma: The best thing about this beer. Everything you would expect, you can almost pick up on elements of each aroma hop Stone tossed into this beer. Homemade pine candy, no alcohol in the nose, and everybody's happy. Simcoe, Citra & Nelson abound. I remember reading something (I could have sworn it was on the bottle for the first batch) that mentioned essential oils from hops being used in the brew, too. Seems like a shortcut to me, so I'll knock off a point. Still, it smells amazing. 9/10
Flavor: A true Cassius Clay beer. Hits you up front, in the middle, and at the end with hops. Just enough golden malt to maintain some balance and give it enough body to keep a drinker interested. Sure, this is a bitter beer, but the grain bill presents enough sugar to keep it sweet. Stone probably could have traded some of that sugar for another ABV point to make this a true IIPA, but then the hop balance might not cover the heat. All in all, a well calculated flavor that tastes just like I expected it to. No surprises, but a happy drinker. 7/10
Mouthfeel & Finish: Aroma and flavor take center stage here. The beer feels alright, with adequate carbonation. There is some oily residue left on the tongue, and everything this beer touches will get sticky. While this isn't a problem, it isn't my favorite way to end the evening. I would have preferred a bit drier feel, which could probably be achieved with a longer fermentation period or a slightly lighter malt bill. You'll have to brush your teeth before bed, which destroys the great hoppy finish. And rinse your glasses before falling asleep- they'll be covered in ants by morning. 6/10 & 5/10
Overall: This is a beer that I have been happy to drink two or three times a year. Stone has succeeded in putting out a quality fresh IPA that deserves a spot on the shelf next to the best hoppy regional beers, if only for a few weeks at a time. Whatever you do, drink it as soon as possible- it changes character from week to week. And if you find that your bottle is still full on the Enjoy By date, you'd best get out a few glasses and do away with it. 36/50
