As I’ve mentioned, I recently brewed some of my own beer. Supplies were dwindling fast and there were more people who we wanted to be able to try it. We needed to get some more beer in the house, and fast.
Those of you who have been reading Hop Talk for a while already know that I generally eschew my local beer retailer. He has a decent selection, but more often than not when I buy something that’s not quite mainstream it is far too old to drink. As a result, I’ve been making the longer trip to a larger retailer who, so far, hasn’t had the same problem with old beer on the shelf.
So much for that.
It was last Saturday night. The wife and I were out, alone (a rarity), and decided to stock up on beer before we rescued the babysitter. (I’m joking. My kids are wonderful and love their babysitter.) Anyway, my wife has been on a pilsner kick lately, so we got a couple that are brewed locally. I also picked up a holiday beer (Mad Elf). She pointed out several styles from a brewer I hadn’t tried before. My favorite style is Extra Special Bitter, so when trying a new brewery I like to try their ESB first. (I like that this retailer gives a discount when you buy four or more six-packs.) I didn’t bother to look for any “brewed on” or “best by” dates because, well, I’d never had any trouble here before. And none of the bottles were dusty.
Several days pass. I enjoy a Mad Elf or three, and maybe a beer from a previous purchase. Then, on Wednesday, I decide to give this new ESB a try.
Pop the cap and pour. Whoa! That is way over-carbonated! Did I pour carelessly? Check the aroma. Hmm…that doesn’t seem quite right. Well, I am fighting a cold and my sense of smell is pretty dodgy anyway, so let’s move on. Nope, that doesn’t taste good at all.
It’s only now that I think to look at the label. Let’s see…they notch the month and date of brewing…
February. 2003.
Now, granted, the whole “best by” thing is just a guess, and how long after the brewing date should it still be good? Six months? Nine? A year? Apparently not 3½ years.
Even more ironic is the fact that recently some 137-year-old beer was found in Burton-on-Trent and tasted great.
But three-and-a-half year old beer from Colorado? Maybe if it had been in a vault rather than a store shelf.
Of course, I got no sympathy from my wife at all. As I gathered the other five bottles to dump them in the sink, she asked me: “You always check the date on the milk. Why didn’t you check the date on these? Are you trying to say that milk is more important to you than beer?”
No dear, of course not. I’ll be sure to check next time, though. In the mean time, I’m going to drink some of your pilsners.
