How fresh is keg?

[californiakulak]

I just loaded my first keg into my kegerator and was wondering how to tell how fresh it is or a sell by date or any marking that would indicate its age.

[californiakulak]

I called the store and they said that they got it from the distributer yesterday. They also assured me that they gaurantee all of there kegs. I tried to contact the distributer but got a machine. Am I just beng paranoid? Surely the major beer distributer for a large city wouldn't remove an expiration date to sell an old keg would they?

[cubby_swans]

I've never seen a keg without a 'fill date' or 'best by' date on it. What kind of beer is it? As far as if it's good or not, if it tastes good, then it's good. Kegs that have been kept cold generally don't go bad due to spoilage for quite some time. Flavor profiles tend to change over months, and that's usually what is referred to as far as a recommended use by date. Flavor changes are not always bad. I know people that have had kegs on tap for 6 months with out any spoilage.

Also, just because the store just got it from the distributor yesterday doesn't mean much. I got a keg of an Ale the same day the distributor dropped it off. I noticed when I got home that it was 3 months old, and the beer was absolutely great.

[californiakulak]

The beer is Firestone Pale Ale. You say that you have never seen a keg without a fill date? That is very disturbing. Where on the keg would I look for this fill date or use by date?

[cubby_swans]

Every craft beer I've gotten (and that's all I get) comes with a little cardboard/paper disc that slips around the top of the keg where the coupler attaches to. It usually denotes the type of beer and the fill date or best by date. Maybe Firestone doesn't do that. But I'd be surprised. Is there somewhere on the keg that even tells you what kind of beer it is?

I've had
Boulevard Wheat
Arcadia IPA
O'Fallon 5-day IPA
Schlafly Hop Harvest
Schlafly Dry Hopped APA
Boulevard Single Wide IPA
Founder's Centennial IPA

among a few others. They've all had a fill date on them.

[El Geordie]

The date might not be spelled out but it'll usually be in a format that can be easily decoded. - there'll be a bunch of numbers.

[californiakulak]

There is a cardboard disk around the top of the keg that says the type of beer and some other stuff but there is no fill date. I contacted the local Firestone distributer and they assured me that they don't sell old beer. The woman was very nice on the phone. When she found out that the keg that I am worried about is Firestone she said that they get a shipment every couple of days and that they only order what they think that they'll need. I will tap the keg tonight with confidence.

[Mike167]

bud beers have a born on date sticker on the side, the keg will be fresh for 50 days after that if kept at 32-34F. Miller has a expire date (like 06299) stamped in ink on the keg top, beer will be fresh until 6/29/09.