Assuming it's kept fairly cool and out of the light--does anyone know how
long beer will remain fresh? I've started saving a six pack of the Anchor
Steam Christmas Ales the past couple of years for drinking side-by-side at a
later date with friends, but if these beers are getting weird in the bottle
after a time, there's no point.

Is there a general guideline for this?

Thanks for any input--

"disavowed" wrote in message
...

Assuming it's kept fairly cool and out of the light--does anyone know how
long beer will remain fresh?

It really depends on the beer. In general, the higher-alcohol beers will
keep better and longer than average-strength beers. As long as you keep the
temp cool and consistent and the bottles out of the light, average beers
should be good for at least six months. Stronger beers are often designed to
be laid down for years, and will be just fine. Note that no matter how well
you care for beer, it's going to change over time. Hop components lose their
volatility, and there's always a bit of oxidation. And for
bottle-conditioned beers, the yeast continues to slowly work at the beer,
changing its character slowly over time.

I've started saving a six pack of the Anchor
Steam Christmas Ales

By the way, Anchor is a brewery, and Anchor Steam is one of the beers they
brew. Anchor also brews a beer called Our Special Ale, which they sell at
Christmas.

the past couple of years for drinking side-by-side at a
later date with friends, but if these beers are getting weird in the
bottle
after a time, there's no point.

There's no harm in giving them a try every year. And it is the sort of beer
that lends itself to those sorts of vertical tastings. If they've obviously
gone bad, ditch them.

-Steve

the past couple of years for drinking side-by-side at a
later date with friends, but if these beers are getting weird in the
bottle
after a time, there's no point.

There's no harm in giving them a try every year. And it is the sort of
beer
that lends itself to those sorts of vertical tastings. If they've
obviously
gone bad, ditch them.

Having done this myself, I must add that Anchor OSA is NOT one of these
stronger beers designed to be aged--I believe it clocks in at around 5.5-6%,
if that. They won't necessarily "go bad", but their flavors, particularly
the spices, will lessen over time. They're better enjoyed fresh, and I
certainly don't hesitate to lay down bottles from batches to do annual
tastings. But do NOT expect them to "age" and get better a la the famed
Thomas Hardy's, George Gales Prize Old Ale, or J.W. Lees Harvest Ales.

On Sun, 19 Dec 2004 21:15:34 GMT, "disavowed"
wrote:

Assuming it's kept fairly cool and out of the light--does anyone know how
long beer will remain fresh? I've started saving a six pack of the Anchor
Steam Christmas Ales the past couple of years for drinking side-by-side at a
later date with friends, but if these beers are getting weird in the bottle
after a time, there's no point.

Is there a general guideline for this?

It mainly depends on whether the beers are bottle conditioned (that
is, contain live yeast) or pasteurised. Pasteurised beer will steadily
deteriorate in flavour even if stored well, and should probably be
drunk within a year of purchase (or observe the 'best before' date, if
there is one). When these beers get older they taste worse, but may
still be perfectly drinkable. They won't do you any harm in any case.

OTOH, BC beers will continue to mature in the bottle. This isn't a
steady process - sometimes they'll get worse for a time and then get
better. A really old BC beer (say 10 years old) will probably taste
completely different than it would have done when fresh, but some
develop amazing complex flavours as they age.

HTH, Paul
--
Paul Sherwin Consulting http://paulsherwin.co.uk

On Sun, 19 Dec 2004 21:15:34 GMT, "disavowed"
wrote:

Assuming it's kept fairly cool and out of the light--does anyone know how
long beer will remain fresh? I've started saving a six pack of the Anchor
Steam Christmas Ales the past couple of years for drinking side-by-side at a
later date with friends, but if these beers are getting weird in the bottle
after a time, there's no point.

Is there a general guideline for this?

It mainly depends on whether the beers are bottle conditioned (that
is, contain live yeast) or pasteurised. Pasteurised beer will steadily
deteriorate in flavour even if stored well, and should probably be
drunk within a year of purchase (or observe the 'best before' date, if
there is one). When these beers get older they taste worse, but may
still be perfectly drinkable. They won't do you any harm in any case.

OTOH, BC beers will continue to mature in the bottle. This isn't a
steady process - sometimes they'll get worse for a time and then get
better. A really old BC beer (say 10 years old) will probably taste
completely different than it would have done when fresh, but some
develop amazing complex flavours as they age.

HTH, Paul
--
Paul Sherwin Consulting http://paulsherwin.co.uk

On Sun, 19 Dec 2004, disavowed wrote:

Assuming it's kept fairly cool and out of the light--does anyone know how
long beer will remain fresh? I've started saving a six pack of the Anchor
Steam Christmas Ales the past couple of years for drinking side-by-side at a
later date with friends, but if these beers are getting weird in the bottle
after a time, there's no point.

Is there a general guideline for this?

I'm not going to bother with any general guidelines, but I'll give you
some data which is probably more useful:
last year I had a 5 year old bottle (1998) of "Anchor Brewing's Our
Special Ale" and it was really nice.

"Expletive Deleted" wrote in message
nn.edu...


I'm not going to bother with any general guidelines, but I'll give you
some data which is probably more useful:
last year I had a 5 year old bottle (1998) of "Anchor Brewing's Our
Special Ale" and it was really nice.


Thanks to all of you who offered feedback, as well as correcting my naming
error of the brewery/beer. Honestly, though, I don't see the name "Our
Special Ale" anywhere in the description on Anchor's website, but I probably
just missed it somewhere.

Thanks again, and I'll just have to decide if I want to save them for later
with a possible flavor change, or enjoy them now.

"Alexander D. Mitchell IV" wrote in message
news:Zwnxd.4
Having done this myself, I must add that Anchor OSA is NOT one of these
stronger beers designed to be aged--I believe it clocks in at around
5.5-6%,
if that. They won't necessarily "go bad", but their flavors, particularly
the spices, will lessen over time. They're better enjoyed fresh, and I
certainly don't hesitate to lay down bottles from batches to do annual
tastings. But do NOT expect them to "age" and get better a la the famed
Thomas Hardy's, George Gales Prize Old Ale, or J.W. Lees Harvest Ales.

Oh, Sandy, I'd disagree. Older OSAs develop a wonderful creamy character
that I highly prize. I've been drinking off some 1994 for a few years, and
it has yet to head downhill.

--
Lew Bryson

www.LewBryson.com
Author of "New York Breweries" and "Pennsylvania Breweries," 2nd ed., both
available at www.amazon.com
The Hotmail address on this post is for newsgroups only: I don't check it,
or respond to it. Spam away.

disavowed wrote:
Thanks to all of you who offered feedback, as well as correcting my naming
error of the brewery/beer. Honestly, though, I don't see the name "Our
Special Ale" anywhere in the description on Anchor's website, but I probably
just missed it somewhere.

No, you didn't miss it. They seem to call their holiday beer
"Christmas Ale." The name "Our Special Ale" is on the label.
--
Joel Plutchak "Never try to teach a pig to sing; it wastes
plutchak at [...] your time and it annoys the pig." -anonymous

I've started saving a six pack of the Anchor
Steam Christmas Ales

By the way, Anchor is a brewery, and Anchor Steam is one of the beers they
brew. Anchor also brews a beer called Our Special Ale, which they sell at
Christmas.

I don't think referring to Anchor's OSA generically as Anchor's Christmas
beer is causing any major confusion. Don't be such a beer geek.