"Can I drink it?" Beer/COVID-19 Edition

March 29, 2020 4:41 PM

Some law-flouters left two unopened, foil-sealed bottles of Modelo in my local park, in which they are prohibited from gathering. Would you, in light of coronavirus, drink them?

I cleaned up the park yesterday (using gloves), and tidied up the remnants of a technically illegal beer-and-taco party. Inside the 12-pack box were two unopened, foil-sealed bottles of Modelo pilsner. I took them home and they've now been in my garage fridge for 36 hours.

On one hand: coronavirus.
On the other: free beer!

What would you do, MetaFilter?

posted by Dr. Wu to Health & Fitness (49 answers total)

I would have tossed them but you do you.
posted by Cuspidx at 4:51 PM on March 29, 2020 [2 favorites]

I would wash the bottle with soap and water, and drink it.
posted by i_am_a_fiesta at 4:51 PM on March 29, 2020 [12 favorites]

No but I also wouldn’t have drunk them a month ago.
posted by supercres at 4:51 PM on March 29, 2020 [52 favorites]

I googled that fine beverage and it seems to be worth about $1.30 per bottle. $2.60 for two, $3 or so if you round up for taxes.

I would not risk a 14-day respiratory illness for $3 of free beer, let alone a potential hospital bill
posted by kimberussell at 4:52 PM on March 29, 2020 [9 favorites]

I am usually in the "eat it" camp, but I would not drink them even if we weren't in the middle of a global pandemic.

I mean, perhaps I'm showing my privilege here, but when it would cost 3 dollars to buy new bottles, abandoned park beer seems like a no to me.
posted by chrisamiller at 4:53 PM on March 29, 2020 [13 favorites]

Yeah, I would. I’d wash the bottles thoroughly again with soap and water, open them, pour into clean glasses, and drink.
posted by minervous at 4:54 PM on March 29, 2020 [8 favorites]

Response by poster: Potentially relevant here is the survival rate of this or any virus in a refrigerated environment. Fridge is probably about 40 degrees F, I'd guess.
posted by Dr. Wu at 5:00 PM on March 29, 2020

I don't think this is about the virus, no amount of soap and water will wash off the shame of drinking the forgotten beer of these wayward partygoers. They may never know about it, but you will. Is that something you want to live with?
(also I think the virus survives better at low temperatures but I'm no expert on viruses)
posted by Lanark at 5:11 PM on March 29, 2020 [13 favorites]

I’d drink it, but I’d wash it and pour it into a glass first. Beer’s more pleasant from a glass anyway
posted by aubilenon at 5:18 PM on March 29, 2020 [2 favorites]

I'd wash them with soapy water and enjoy from a glass.
🎵the bottle was dusty but the liquor was clean🎶
posted by Gray Duck at 5:23 PM on March 29, 2020 [7 favorites]

Survival chances are a mix. For viruses, cold and dry are good, hot and wet are bad. The fridge would be cold and wet. I vote no, downsides exceed upsides ($3).
posted by SemiSalt at 5:35 PM on March 29, 2020

I mean, if you drank a beer you bought at the grocery store, it would have been handled by unknown numbers of warehouse workers, grocery workers, and customers. I don't see why the park beer would be any riskier, given that the bottles are sealed. Wash it with soap and water, and drink out of a glass to be on the safe side.
posted by Blue Jello Elf at 5:42 PM on March 29, 2020 [29 favorites]

Yeah wash the bottles, wash your hands, fridge and drink.

To those who are like FOIL SEAL??? The foil is over the bottle cap. The bottles are sealed, just like if you got them out the cooler at the quik-e-mart.
posted by toodleydoodley at 5:56 PM on March 29, 2020

Wait, you’re seriously thinking about drinking beer that you found in a park, during a pandemic, no less? I think that’s completely, utterly, irretrievably wacko. Why on earth would you risk getting grievously ill, and potentially causing others to be, for a bottle of perfectly average beer?
posted by holborne at 6:03 PM on March 29, 2020 [6 favorites]

I’d drink ‘em if I had to for some reason (dying of thirst, no money?) and I wouldn’t worry about The ‘Rona, but I think you get more karma points if you donate them to a lush and buy your own damn beer.
posted by spacewrench at 6:04 PM on March 29, 2020

I mean, if you’re going to drink Mexican beer during this, Modelo probably isn’t the one I’d pick...
posted by kevinbelt at 6:07 PM on March 29, 2020 [6 favorites]

Lemme get this straight. You found two bottles of beer of unknown provenance in a public park and you're asking whether it's a good idea to drink them at all, let alone in light of a global pandemic? All to save yourself $3?

That's insane feels like a lot more risk than I'd be willing to endure, and I'm really amazed that others don't think so. Like yeah, it's perhaps unlikely that they've been adulterated or mishandled, but you don't really know anything concrete about them and it's not like you're gonna be able to complain to someone's manager if this doesn't work out for you.
posted by Aleyn at 6:18 PM on March 29, 2020 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: This is a more interesting conversation that I thought would result from my question.
These beers are not important to me. They're worthless, honestly. But I like beer. And these are doubly sealed. No human hands, presumably, have touched the beer itself, at least since bottling. I personally don't see much risk but also don't intend to do anything stupid.
posted by Dr. Wu at 6:19 PM on March 29, 2020 [3 favorites]

Gonna be honest: drink and blog.
posted by aramaic at 6:21 PM on March 29, 2020 [2 favorites]

ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff no.

I hate Modelo. So, easy.

But I wouldn't even if it were a beer I liked, tbh.

I mean, if you’re going to drink Mexican beer during this, Modelo probably isn’t the one I’d pick...

Yes, I also prefer Bohemia or Dos Equis. :P
posted by snuffleupagus at 6:25 PM on March 29, 2020

It's sealed beer. As long as you wash off the outside, technically i don't think it'll kill you. This isn't 5-second rule or dumpster diving for bread or whatever.
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:27 PM on March 29, 2020 [8 favorites]

Best answer: I don't see how this is any different from buying them at the grocery store.

Wash the bottle and your hands, drink the beer, and don't think twice about it.

Serious Eats did a pretty in-depth explainer on Food Safety and Coronavirus.
posted by danceswithlight at 6:29 PM on March 29, 2020 [9 favorites]

Best answer: It’s a sealed beer, it fine. Remove foil and wash with soapy water before uncapping if you really want to. The paranoia in this thread* is off the charts.

*Tylenol murders? If that’s a current concern, I’m not sure how you’ve made it through the last four decades without starving to death.
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 6:51 PM on March 29, 2020 [21 favorites]

Cold doesn't kill coronaviruses. They can live for up to two years in a freezer.

But you're probably okay if you wipe off the bottle with Lysol, pour the beer into a clean glass, and wash your hands. If you want to be extra safe, let the bottle sit in your garage (not in the fridge) for four days, since that's the conventional wisdom on how long it lives on glass.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 7:25 PM on March 29, 2020 [1 favorite]

I mean, as a person drunk off of margaritas out of a quart sized takeout container, I could wash with soap and water and drink.
posted by MadamM at 7:37 PM on March 29, 2020

Just drink them. The coronavirus is a respiratory disease, so realistically you could probably lick the bottles all you want without any COVID-related issues. If you want you can wash with soap and water but realistically you should be doing that anyway.
posted by Slinga at 7:52 PM on March 29, 2020 [2 favorites]

Another vote for "this is no different than sealed beer at the grocery store." I'd maybe let them sit for a few days, same as people are doing with packages they receive or groceries they bring home, then wipe them down, chill and drink!
posted by aka burlap at 8:07 PM on March 29, 2020

LOL, I have worked in a brewery and packaged beer - I don't know what sort of never-touched-by-human-hands beer the rest of you are buying, but I would drink them - just wash the bottles off or lysol them first. The paranoia on this thread seems to come mostly from squick-factor rather than any real threat.
posted by autolykos at 8:10 PM on March 29, 2020 [10 favorites]

I will own up to my squick factor in drinking abandoned bottles found in a public place.

It's still Modelo, though. That can't be remedied.
posted by snuffleupagus at 8:12 PM on March 29, 2020 [4 favorites]

That's two fewer alcohol units I'd have to buy that week.
posted by bendy at 8:13 PM on March 29, 2020

Response by poster: Good points on letting it sit in the garage for a week or so, and then re-refrigerating it. That should, yeah, take care of it.

And, look, I know that Modelo is no great shakes. But it ain't bad with a taco.
posted by Dr. Wu at 8:30 PM on March 29, 2020

For everyone saying these are no different than beer from the grocery store that has been handled by multiple people in the supply chain, consider this: We can be fairly confident that supermarket beer is being handled by people who are operating with at least a modicum of caution. However, we also know it's highly likely that these abandoned park beers have been under the care and custody of people who Seem Not To Give A Shit. I say either obtain your beer from the beer store (my recommendation), or let these possibly contaminated beers sit untouched at room temperature for three days before you do anything with them.
posted by kitty teeth at 9:12 PM on March 29, 2020 [1 favorite]

I would be suspicious of random abandoned park beer under the best of circumstances, but I'm quite an anxious/paranoid person about these kinds of things.
posted by kinddieserzeit at 1:09 AM on March 30, 2020

I say drink it.

There is essentially no further risk in drinking that beer if you wash the bottle without splashing (you did incur a very slight risk by going to the park and cleaning stuff up, of course).

But you might incur a little extra risk by not drinking it if you go to the store sooner than you would have to get beer, or to an extra aisle you wouldn't have to get beer, or spend extra time in the store getting beer, and etc.
posted by jamjam at 1:15 AM on March 30, 2020

have fun drinking ur teenage pee prank
posted by poffin boffin at 1:36 AM on March 30, 2020 [4 favorites]

I’d leave them outside in fresh air for a few days, wash the bottles afterwards, then drink up, provided the bottles are confirmed 100% sealed and smells safe/normal. Check the expiration dates, however, if there are any.

Just my two cents. :)
posted by dubious_dude at 2:05 AM on March 30, 2020

I wouldn't be concerned about contagion, but Modelo comes in a clear bottle, and these have been sitting out in the sun. Best case is two bottles of concentrated skunk.
posted by uncleozzy at 5:52 AM on March 30, 2020 [1 favorite]

My husband has 100% drank "found" unopened beer during a city-wide celebration. Or two. There's nothing wrong with drinking these, provided you give it at least 5 days in case viral particles came into contact with the bottles and you have a personal tolerance for Modelo.
posted by DoubleLune at 6:10 AM on March 30, 2020

have fun drinking ur teenage pee prank

Given how ridiculously simple and cheap it is to re-fill, re-cap, and re-foil bottles, this was my first thought, too.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:17 AM on March 30, 2020 [2 favorites]

Y’all apparently have much more ambitious local teenage prankers than I do.
posted by a box and a stick and a string and a bear at 7:22 AM on March 30, 2020 [3 favorites]

It's possible that the folks who left the beers left them for someone who wouldn't have to go onto metafilter to ask whether to drink them or not. There's plenty of people who wouldn't have to think about this as long as you. Put the beers back for the more in need.
posted by Wood at 8:02 AM on March 30, 2020

I'd wash them off with soap and water, fridge 'em up again and drink. And I like Modelo, all you haters! Get outta here! It's party time!
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 8:08 AM on March 30, 2020

I like Modelo as much as the next guy, OTLC, but two rando bottles sitting in the middle of a park for who knows how long? Ummmm...nope.
posted by Thorzdad at 9:01 AM on March 30, 2020

Heh, these are always so funny to me.

Modelo is a perfectly reasonable beer if you like that style, although Constellation's corporate ethics are shite. I'd feel more ethical about drinking a free one.

And like many here who aren't immunocompromised, I'd absolutely just wash these with soapy water and drink them a couple days later, after a sniff test to make sure they weren't skunked. The virus isn't magic. Is it worth the risk? Probably not. Is the risk quite tiny with proper precaution? Yes.
posted by aspersioncast at 9:45 AM on March 30, 2020

I've had food poisoning from bad beer....and considering the state of the world right now, I wouldn't risk Mystery Beer from the Park. If you do somehow need medical treatment, your local doctors may be overwhelmed with COVID-19, and this would be a strain on resources.

If we weren't in a global pandemic, I'd say go for it - but caveat emptor.
posted by spinifex23 at 9:48 AM on March 30, 2020

As a general policy, if the question is "should I drink this?" The answer is no.
posted by Billiken at 10:35 AM on March 30, 2020

This is the best thread ever. I'd wash them with soapy water, let them sit in the garage for a week, and never drink them because my brain would never stop whispering what if?
posted by goatdog at 6:55 PM on March 30, 2020 [3 favorites]

I am literally recovering from covid right now, and I would drink them. I would also have drunk them pre-pandemic.
posted by (Over) Thinking at 1:48 PM on March 31, 2020 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: I can't imagine that anyone is still following this thread, or that anyone cares, but I thought I'd give an update, anyway.

Shortly after posting this thread, I set the beers out on the workbench in the garage and let them sit there for nine or ten days. Then I put them in the fridge about four days ago.

Yesterday, I washed the bottles in soap and hot water. I found that the bottles were TRIPLE-sealed: capped; cap wrapped in foil; foil taped to bottle with paper label. All three systems were intact. I poured each beer into a clean glass, and drank them.

The bottles did not contain pee. They contained beer. The beer went well with my burrito.

I strongly believe my health has not been compromised, but I'll report back if anything changes.
posted by Dr. Wu at 11:32 AM on April 15, 2020 [4 favorites]