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When you head to the bottle shop to snag beer for a bottle share, special event, or just daily drinking, how do you ensure that you’re getting the best beverage for your money? Especially with the cost of beer being on the rise, it’s more important than ever to make intelligent purchases when shopping for $24 4-packs and $18 bottles.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at three common shopping mistakes, and how they can be avoided:
1. Forgetting about the date
Whether you’re looking for a crisp Pilsner to crush or a juicy New England IPA to savor, knowing when a beer was packaged is a vital piece of information.
It’s important because beer changes over time (typically to the detriment of the drink) in three primary ways:
- Oxidation: Since it’s nearly impossible to eliminate all oxygen from packaged beer, oxidation is a large reason for degradation over time. Have you ever had a beer that tastes like wet cardboard, printer paper, or sherry? If so, the culprit was likely oxygen.
- It’s worth noting that some styles can develop desired qualities through aging/oxidation (barleywine, imperial stouts, wild-fermented beer), but, in general, beer likes to be consumed as soon as possible!
- Hop degeneration: Especially in hop-forward styles like New England IPAs, the intensity of hop character becomes muted or lost over time. The primary culprits behind this tragedy are oxidation (again) and acid hydrolysis. Purchasing a double-dry hopped hazy even a month after the packaged date can result in a less optimal experience than the fresh product.
- Autolysis: While brewer’s yeast is robust, it can (and will) eventually self-destruct, causing a ripple of changes – most notably in flavor. “Flavor changes are readily noted as the general characteristic sometimes termed “yeast bite.” This is generally a sharp, bitter taste with a meaty and sulphury edge caused by some of the amino acids and nucleotides present in yeast.” Although it typically takes prolonged storage to reach yeast’s sunset years, it’s worth noting when perusing bottles on the aisle. Particularly when you’re considering an unfiltered beer that’s old, be aware of the risk of purchasing an autolyzed beer – it’s safe to drink but probably not pleasant.
Interpreting the date
While it’s helpful to know the issues associated with old beer, how do you determine how old a beer is?
- Examine the packaging. Most of the time, a date will be printed on the bottom of canned beer and on the neck or side of bottles. If you’re purchasing a boxed six or twelve-pack, take a brief moment to scan for a date code.
- Determine the type. Is it a “packaged-on” or “best-by” date? This isn’t always clear, so when in doubt I’d recommend assuming the date is “best-by” otherwise you might wind up with some old-ass beer.
- Be familiar with date codes. While some breweries print dates in a standard format (MM/DD/YYYY), others choose to use Julian date codes or something even more obscure. The good news is there are plenty of websites dedicated to unmasking confusing codes – don’t be afraid to do some digging!
2. Buying warm beer
If age is beer’s public enemy number one, temperature is number two.
Every issue that age causes is exacerbated as temperature climbs:
- Oxidation speeds up
- Hop character degrades more quickly
- Yeast’s life-span shortens
Just like how storing meat in the fridge/freezer prolongs its shelf life, storing beer consistently at the proper temperature maintains its quality for longer. While you’re unlikely to get sick from beer stored warm, it’s no doubt that it will be subpar when compared to the same beer stored in a cooler/cellar.
With this knowledge, be cautious of purchasing beer stored at room (or above) temperature. While not all bottle shops can afford to store their entire stock in coolers, pay attention to their storage practices to see if reasonable care is taken. Here are a few questions to ask when evaluating a store:
- Are heavily fruited and hop-forward styles prioritized in coolers?
- Is the building’s temperature cool?
- Is stock sold quickly or do products sit on shelves for long periods of time?
- Is the staff knowledgeable about beer?
3-30-300 Rule
If you want an easy way to remember the importance of temperature, the 3-30-300 Rule has you covered.
It states that beer stored for 3 days at 98°F will age at a similar rate to beer stored for 30 days at 72°F and beer stored for 300 days at 35°F.
While it’s still best to drink most styles fresh, this rule brings a practical understanding to how temperature interacts with beer.
3. Ignoring lighting
Have you ever cracked open a cold bottle with the expectation of a refreshing beer, only to be greeted by a skunky aroma? While some hop profiles wander into the territory of skunkiness, the main wrongdoer behind the scent is 3-methyl-2-butene-1-thiol (MBT).
Commonly referred to as “lightstruck” beer, MBT is produced when hop alpha acids are broken down by UV rays and subsequently react with the hydrogen sulfide produced by yeast.
What does this mean for the everyday consumer?
- Consider packaging: Cans and brown bottles do the best job of blocking UV rays whereas green and clear bottles provide little to no protection. While a select few macro breweries use stabilized hop compounds that don’t skunk (take Miller High Life as an example), most green & clear bottled beer will be highly susceptible to the aroma.
- Take note of lighting: If you’re purchasing bottled beer, avoid pulling stock from areas that receive direct sunlight or UV rays from overhead lighting. The longer those bottles receive that light, the more likely they are to be lightstruck.
Final thoughts
Thankfully, you don’t need to become a supertaster or industry professional to pay attention to the details that matter when buying beer.
By focusing solely on these three areas (date, temperature, and lighting), you’ll waste less money on shitty beer and will get to experience packaged products the way breweries intended.
Cheers to good beer!