Is 35 year old beer drinkable?
April 30, 2009 8:47 PM Subscribe
I found an old bottle Anchor Steam porter in my basement today that had a copyright date of 1974. Possibly stupid question, but would this be drinkable? The cap does not seem to have been disturbed or altered at all.
Drinkable, probably. Beer doesn't breed things like botulism. But unlike wine, beer doesn't get better with age and it will be skunked. You're better off getting a fresh bottle.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 8:57 PM on April 30, 2009
posted by kuujjuarapik at 8:57 PM on April 30, 2009
I've seen someone drink a 15 year old can of beer. It was not pleasant to watch.
posted by milkrate at 9:06 PM on April 30, 2009
posted by milkrate at 9:06 PM on April 30, 2009
Some beers can age, others can not. I've had a vintage Schneider Aventinus from the late 80s (this was a few years ago) which was actually pretty good. An Anchor Porter does not have the sugar or hop content to keep it from going bad. I wouldn't recommend drinking it. But yeah, there's a misconception about all beer having a short shelf life, this isn't true.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 9:09 PM on April 30, 2009
posted by MaryDellamorte at 9:09 PM on April 30, 2009
Beer goes bad between six to twelve months.
But unlike wine, beer doesn't get better with age and it will be skunked.
Wrong and wrong. This does not apply to all beer, but in the case of an Anchor Porter, it does.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 9:10 PM on April 30, 2009
But unlike wine, beer doesn't get better with age and it will be skunked.
Wrong and wrong. This does not apply to all beer, but in the case of an Anchor Porter, it does.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 9:10 PM on April 30, 2009
You could call Anchor Steam and trade it in for a less skunked beer.
posted by pwally at 9:12 PM on April 30, 2009
posted by pwally at 9:12 PM on April 30, 2009
On a different note, you should take a picture of it. I would be interested to see an Anchor label from the 70s. After years of being submersed in the world of microbrew and craft beers, not much excites me anymore when it comes to beer. This would excite me though.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 9:16 PM on April 30, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by MaryDellamorte at 9:16 PM on April 30, 2009 [1 favorite]
I'm with pwally - call the company. They might take some kind of interest.
Also, just to drive home the fact that beer does age, I had a vertical tasting of Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot (hoppy and boozy) a couple of weeks ago, going back to 2002. It was best at 1 and 2 years old. Mary's guidelines are spot on. Most beer is meant to be gone soon, but some are worth aging. Same is true of wines, incidentally.
posted by McBearclaw at 9:37 PM on April 30, 2009
Also, just to drive home the fact that beer does age, I had a vertical tasting of Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot (hoppy and boozy) a couple of weeks ago, going back to 2002. It was best at 1 and 2 years old. Mary's guidelines are spot on. Most beer is meant to be gone soon, but some are worth aging. Same is true of wines, incidentally.
posted by McBearclaw at 9:37 PM on April 30, 2009
I saw some 'Sam Adams Triple Bock' at the BevMo and thought, "Hey, I like dark beers and haven't heard of this. Should be delicious." Well, it turns out that, though I didn't know it at the time, it was actually from more than ten years ago, and by the time I tried mine, it tasted like half soy sauce and half maple syrup.
posted by blenderfish at 10:09 PM on April 30, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by blenderfish at 10:09 PM on April 30, 2009 [1 favorite]
But unlike wine, beer doesn't get better with age and it will be skunked.
Another vote for not true, Thomas Hardy's Ale is one of the most well known beers for laying down. Indeed: "A beer is most suitable for laying down if it contains a sediment of living yeast and some residual sugar and is not pasteurised." Of course when this doesn't apply it'll probably taste like a yak's arse, I think this might be the case with the beer in question.
posted by ob at 10:36 PM on April 30, 2009
Another vote for not true, Thomas Hardy's Ale is one of the most well known beers for laying down. Indeed: "A beer is most suitable for laying down if it contains a sediment of living yeast and some residual sugar and is not pasteurised." Of course when this doesn't apply it'll probably taste like a yak's arse, I think this might be the case with the beer in question.
posted by ob at 10:36 PM on April 30, 2009
The label of regular Anchor Steam Beer has a copyright date of 1968 regardless of when it was bottled, so it's likely that the beer isn't as old as you think.
posted by zsazsa at 10:48 PM on April 30, 2009 [2 favorites]
posted by zsazsa at 10:48 PM on April 30, 2009 [2 favorites]
FYI, Anchor Steam is not the brewery, it's a specific beer they make. The brewery is called Anchor Brewing or Anchor for short. "Anchor Steam Porter" does not exist, it's just "Anchor Porter."
posted by MaryDellamorte at 10:54 PM on April 30, 2009 [2 favorites]
posted by MaryDellamorte at 10:54 PM on April 30, 2009 [2 favorites]
Zsazsa has it. Looking online, all the Anchor Porter labels have the copyright 1974 on them so I doubt that the bottle you have is actually from 1974.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 11:00 PM on April 30, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by MaryDellamorte at 11:00 PM on April 30, 2009 [1 favorite]
I'm not making any promises, but a picture of the beer bottle would probably be helpful in verifying how old the bottle of beer actually is.
posted by koeselitz at 12:00 AM on May 1, 2009
posted by koeselitz at 12:00 AM on May 1, 2009
blenderfish, if you want some more, drop me a line. I found three bottles of the '98 Bock when I moved out of my apartment yesterday.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 4:46 AM on May 1, 2009
posted by robocop is bleeding at 4:46 AM on May 1, 2009
Blenderfish - that just means it does age well. It tasted like that when it was fresh.
posted by mollweide at 5:33 AM on May 1, 2009
posted by mollweide at 5:33 AM on May 1, 2009
Beer cannot go bad. It is alcohol. It can lose a lot of it flavor and turn skunky on you. Maybe stale is a better word for it. Think of it as a day old piece of bread that has sat out all night. Could you eat it? Sure but wouldn't a fresh piece taste better? I would save the bottle and start a collection of interesting beer bottles.
posted by Mastercheddaar at 5:42 AM on May 1, 2009
posted by Mastercheddaar at 5:42 AM on May 1, 2009
Beer cannot go bad. It is alcohol.
Is it the alcohol or the bottling that preserves it? I don't think the alcohol content is high enough to make it antiseptic, which is why it can't be left out at room temperature once opened like stronger spirits can.
posted by smackfu at 5:55 AM on May 1, 2009
Is it the alcohol or the bottling that preserves it? I don't think the alcohol content is high enough to make it antiseptic, which is why it can't be left out at room temperature once opened like stronger spirits can.
posted by smackfu at 5:55 AM on May 1, 2009
Beer cannot go bad. It is alcohol. It can lose a lot of it flavor and turn skunky on you. Maybe stale is a better word for it. Think of it as a day old piece of bread that has sat out all night. Could you eat it? Sure but wouldn't a fresh piece taste better? I would save the bottle and start a collection of interesting beer bottles.
Stale? Are you kidding me? There is a chemical reaction that occurs inside the bottle if it's exposed to too much light and there's a reason it's called "skunky":
"When beer is exposed to visible or ultraviolet light, it breaks down the isohumulones in the beer, which comes from the hops, into free radicals. These combine with sulfer-containing proteins to create a chemical called 3-methyl-2-butene-1-thiol, which is essentially the same exact chemical that comes out of a skunk's ass."
posted by MaryDellamorte at 6:09 AM on May 1, 2009 [1 favorite]
Stale? Are you kidding me? There is a chemical reaction that occurs inside the bottle if it's exposed to too much light and there's a reason it's called "skunky":
"When beer is exposed to visible or ultraviolet light, it breaks down the isohumulones in the beer, which comes from the hops, into free radicals. These combine with sulfer-containing proteins to create a chemical called 3-methyl-2-butene-1-thiol, which is essentially the same exact chemical that comes out of a skunk's ass."
posted by MaryDellamorte at 6:09 AM on May 1, 2009 [1 favorite]
by the time I tried mine, it tasted like half soy sauce and half maple syrup.
It tasted like that when it was fresh too. Awful stuff that.
posted by electroboy at 6:46 AM on May 1, 2009 [1 favorite]
It tasted like that when it was fresh too. Awful stuff that.
posted by electroboy at 6:46 AM on May 1, 2009 [1 favorite]
Ok, ok, ok. If I could amend what I said : Most beer doesn't get better with age and will be skunked.
Pedants.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 6:49 AM on May 1, 2009
Pedants.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 6:49 AM on May 1, 2009
Why don't you buy a fresh six pack of Anchor Porter, open & pour your old one and a fresh one, line them up, and see what, if any, difference there is. Take pictures. Let us know.
posted by gyusan at 9:46 AM on May 1, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by gyusan at 9:46 AM on May 1, 2009 [1 favorite]
A few beers are made to age, but usually in cool, controlled, conditions. There's a store in town that sells years-old bottles of Anchor Christmas, for instance. Anchor Christmas is made with a different recipe every year, so some years are more highly prized.
posted by mad bomber what bombs at midnight at 11:13 AM on May 1, 2009
posted by mad bomber what bombs at midnight at 11:13 AM on May 1, 2009
You can age brews like Unibroue products and various Belgians for years. Porter doesn't have the hop or yeast to last like those, though.
posted by converge at 11:41 AM on May 1, 2009
posted by converge at 11:41 AM on May 1, 2009
It tasted like that when it was fresh.
Really? Wow. I stand corrected.
(Why would someone intentionally make beer that tastes like that? I assume someone somewhere likes it?)
Anyway, check out the Stone Vertical Epic Ale program. They do a beer a year for 12 years, and at the end you are supposed to taste some of each.
posted by blenderfish at 11:48 AM on May 1, 2009
Really? Wow. I stand corrected.
(Why would someone intentionally make beer that tastes like that? I assume someone somewhere likes it?)
Anyway, check out the Stone Vertical Epic Ale program. They do a beer a year for 12 years, and at the end you are supposed to taste some of each.
posted by blenderfish at 11:48 AM on May 1, 2009
I seem to recall that Anchor didn't start pasteurizing their beer until the late 80's, which finally made it shippable for long distances - before then, it was pretty much a local beer. If your bottle is really that old, then it was unpasteurized, and it went bad a very long time ago.
posted by The Light Fantastic at 12:30 PM on May 1, 2009
posted by The Light Fantastic at 12:30 PM on May 1, 2009
Response by poster: I posted a picture of the bottle. Crappy cell phone pic is the best I can do.
posted by MattMangels at 12:34 PM on May 1, 2009
posted by MattMangels at 12:34 PM on May 1, 2009
I might be wrong, but that looks like a normal bottle of Anchor Porter.
The copyright date on the label != beer date
posted by jasper411 at 1:00 PM on May 1, 2009
The copyright date on the label != beer date
posted by jasper411 at 1:00 PM on May 1, 2009
Random related story:
two years ago, we finally had to go up to my (then 92-year-old) grandma's house out on Long Island to clean it out and help her move out to Colorado to live near us. My grandmother kept a ridiculous amount of stuff: we found dry cleaning receipts from 1970, for god's sake.
Anyhow, my dad was cleaning out the fridge and found a sixer of Colt 45. 'Uh, mom-in-law: I thought you only drank wine... don't you?' 'Oh yeah,' she replied, 'I just keep those around just in case somebody wants beer.' But, we asked, where did they come from?
'Oh, they were Victor's.'
Victor was my grandfather.
He died in 1983.
Which means that that six-pack of Colt 45 had been sitting in that refrigerator for (at least) 25 years, counting the time when my grandpa had to go to the hospital and couldn't have been around to buy beer.
It freaked me out mostly that you really couldn't tell looking at the cans—Colt 45 cans still look pretty much exactly the same as they did back then, although to pop tops were the old style. Unfortunately, my parents threw them out before I could grab them—they would've been neat to keep on a shelf—but it's not really the biggest loss in the world. Some beers may age well, but I can just about guarantee you without even tasting 'em that twenty-five-year-old cans of Colt 45 do not taste good at all. The one time I tasted Colt 45, it didn't even seem to have handled the aging period between the time I picked it up and the time I opened it very well.
posted by koeselitz at 5:53 AM on May 2, 2009 [1 favorite]
two years ago, we finally had to go up to my (then 92-year-old) grandma's house out on Long Island to clean it out and help her move out to Colorado to live near us. My grandmother kept a ridiculous amount of stuff: we found dry cleaning receipts from 1970, for god's sake.
Anyhow, my dad was cleaning out the fridge and found a sixer of Colt 45. 'Uh, mom-in-law: I thought you only drank wine... don't you?' 'Oh yeah,' she replied, 'I just keep those around just in case somebody wants beer.' But, we asked, where did they come from?
'Oh, they were Victor's.'
Victor was my grandfather.
He died in 1983.
Which means that that six-pack of Colt 45 had been sitting in that refrigerator for (at least) 25 years, counting the time when my grandpa had to go to the hospital and couldn't have been around to buy beer.
It freaked me out mostly that you really couldn't tell looking at the cans—Colt 45 cans still look pretty much exactly the same as they did back then, although to pop tops were the old style. Unfortunately, my parents threw them out before I could grab them—they would've been neat to keep on a shelf—but it's not really the biggest loss in the world. Some beers may age well, but I can just about guarantee you without even tasting 'em that twenty-five-year-old cans of Colt 45 do not taste good at all. The one time I tasted Colt 45, it didn't even seem to have handled the aging period between the time I picked it up and the time I opened it very well.
posted by koeselitz at 5:53 AM on May 2, 2009 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by svolix at 8:56 PM on April 30, 2009