Don't get fresh with me

Beer is a foodstuff. As with most foodstuffs, beer is perishable. It deteriorates as a result of the action of bacteria, light, and air. With some beers such as the big macrobrew companies this is important because their products do not have the higher alcohol or a higher hop level that many craft breweries have and will break down faster. Some imported beers and craft beers can actually age like wine if they have a higher alcohol or hop content since these act as preservatives. Even the biggest beer will eventually break down and become oxidized and develop a sherry type flavor and this is quite acceptable and is often looked for by beer aficionados. The Boston Beer Company was among the first to use freshness dating, as far back as 1985. Anheuser-Busch has followed suit with its much-publicized "born on" dates and I will say this for them, unlike some of the other big macrobreweries they do come in and check their products on a regular basis and they will pull any product that is getting close to it's expiration date.
Breweries have a couple of different ways that they can use to extend shelf life. The two primary forms of stabilization are sterile filtration, in which the beer is passed through a filter that will not let through anything larger than 0.5 microns; and pasteurization, where the beer is heated briefly to kill any microbial wildlife and yeast. Both approaches are widely used and both can change the flavor of the beer. A third, traditional option for preparing a beer for its journey which is a polar opposite of pasteurization is to bottle condition the beer by actually letting the yeast continue to grow in the bottle, the yeast eats up any remaining oxygen in the bottle and helps preserve it.

Imported beer can have a rough ride on its way to your glass. First, it must undergo a sea voyage, hopefully in temperature-controlled containers. After sitting in the customs warehouse, it must pass through an importer's warehouse and then sometimes passes on to a regional wholesaler before being to a local distributors warehouse before coming to the retailer. In the best case, the beer will have temperature-controlled storage all the way through and the place where you purchase the beer will also keep it cold. Buying a beer sitting out on a store floor means that the beer will not last as long or be as fresh as one that has been kept cold. Beers produced for consumption in European Union countries are required to have an expiration date on the packaging. In some cases where the beers will age over time some Belgian breweries have made a farce of this requirement by saying that their beer is best drank before 20 years out.

What, if any, difference does packaging make? Surprisingly, it can be quite a significant factor. If you have ever wondered why most beer bottles are brown or green, the answer is simple. The full spectrum of daylight can have undesirable effects on a beer in a rather short period of time. The ultraviolet portion of the spectrum is especially harmful; promoting chemical reactions that produce "off flavors" that will take the edge off the freshness of a beer. Dark glass greatly inhibits this photochemical effect, whereas clear glass leaves the beer within vulnerable to being light struck or has we all know what it does to Corona and become skunky.

So what can you do as a consumer to avoid being shortchanged with stale beer. Well, you can buy your beer at Papago but I know this isn't always possible or maybe for some unknown reason you need to buy beer someplace else. So try to purchase beer from reputable specialty stores with enthusiastic and knowledgeable staff. Check the bottle cap to see if there has been any seepage. And check the date if you have any question.

The following is a small list of some cellarable beers where you can ignore the best before date. First off, all Belgian lambics can be aged for 20 or more years. If a craft brewer has an anniversary beer, such as Stone does every year they can most likely be aged since they are usually higher in alcohol or hops. Anchor's Christmas beer also fits this mold. A couple of great imports to age are Chimay Grand Reserve Blue and Unibroue Quelquechose and one that just became available again in the state after a couple of year absence is Thomas Hardy Ale.

Prost, Ron