Beer lasting a year?

[jlopez77]

I picked up a 1/4 BBL of Yuengling Lager yesterday at my local store. I asked the guy "how quickly do you go through the kegs"? He said the light beers usally go quicker than the Yuengling, but the Yuengling can be good for up to a year. I've always read beer last anywhere from 2- 4 months. Can this be true? Or is he making it up so I buy the beer? Thanks for any help.

[psychodad]

It isn't going to be fresh after a year.

[monkey710]

Should be an expiration or born on date on the keg. Check before you purchase.

[TheSlavik]

If beer lasted a year... I'd have more than just a 1/2 barrell on tap...

[jlopez77]

Should be an expiration or born on date on the keg. Check before you purchase.

I couldn't find a date on it, but the beer has always tasted fresh when buying from there.

[jhon]

I found this article here on this site about how long you can keep beer:

http://www.micromatic.com/beer-questions/how-long-keg-beer-remain-fresh-aid-44.html

[monkey710]

If there are any identifying markings/numbers on the keg, you can call the brewery and they can tell you.

[Scott Zuhse]

Yuengling lager is a non-pasteurized product in the keg and the shelf life probably is close to 50 days. After this time, the flavor will begin to diminish.

After picking it up from the store, due to shipping and inventory period, expect no more than 30 days. The fresher the product, the better it will taste.

[jlopez77]

I knew it wouldn't stay fresh that long. It was some young kid that said it anyway. I usually drink it with in 30 days anyway. Thanks for everyone's help.

[LasKid]

30 days seems so short. I love beer, but I don't drink as much as I used to. I guess I'll stick with the 1/4 bbl since I'll mostly be drinking it myself...I'll probably reconsider that size once my buddies get wind of the new kegerator at my house! Can't unveil it until there is a cold keg inside though!

[Skinsfan1311]

30 days seems so short. I love beer, but I don't drink as much as I used to. I guess I'll stick with the 1/4 bbl since I'll mostly be drinking it myself...I'll probably reconsider that size once my buddies get wind of the new kegerator at my house! Can't unveil it until there is a cold keg inside though!

It'll last longer than 30 days.

I've had brewers tell me that, as long as it's cold and under pressure, that keg beer will last 6 months, easily, with little effect on the flavor.

Last summer I had a 1/2 keg of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, that was already 2 months old when I tapped it. It tasted great, and I'm very particular.

You'll be surprised how fast you go through a sixtel, especially when your friend stop by!

[Scott Zuhse]

The shelf life is normally determined by flavor panelist at the brewery as to what they deem acceptable. These folks not only have high sensory skills, they are trained on how to use them. Their expectations are probably much higher than ours in regards to the quality of their products.

Where we may be quite satisfied with the flavor, they would deem it undesirable.

[cubby_swans]

The shelf life is normally determined by flavor panelist at the brewery as to what they deem acceptable. These folks not only have high sensory skills, they are trained on how to use them. Their expectations are probably much higher than ours in regards to the quality of their products.

Where we may be quite satisfied with the flavor, they would deem it undesirable.

And then there are some people who apparently have no taste buds whatsoever.... Take one of my friends, for example. He got a keg of Bud Light for New Years Eve. He couldn't find one, but I managed to get one for him. So I picked it up, payed the deposit, etc, and brought it over to his house. We used a plain old hand pump party tap. New Years eve was on a Monday night this past year.

So ANYWAYS... I called him the following Sunday to see if he was home and I could pick up the keg to return... to which he informed me that he was still drinking off of it. He finally finished it on a Wednesday night, like 9 days after we tapped it. Man that beer had to be gross. I've tried in the past to drink beer out of a Keg on a Sunday that had been tapped on a Friday. And THAT beer was bad.

[Scott Zuhse]

Possibly we could all donate money so that we can send your friend to a clinic to seek help for his ruined taste buds. I would not wish the experience of drinking oxidized beer on anyone!

[psychodad]

Last summer I had a 1/2 keg of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, that was already 2 months old when I tapped it. It tasted great, and I'm very particular.

Of course it tasted good. There are hops in that particular beer. Hops are are a preservative for beer. Bud Lights and other American lagers won't keep as well IMHO due to the low amounts of hops in them.