Beer a year out of date...would you drink it?

24-05-2015 7:56pm #1

Not a big drinker at home, cans bought for Christmas usually end up lasting for months afterwards, if I go to a friends house I'll just stop for cans at an off licence on the way rather than root through the drinks in the house.

Anyway, just found 6 cans of Carlsberg at the back of the drinks press. The best before date is the 22/05/14. My instinct is that they should be grand, anyone here an expert on out of date beer?

eoins23456 · 24-05-2015 7:57pm

I'd say they are fine, drink on!

Aidric · 24-05-2015 7:58pm

Go right ahead. Drank a can of Heineken 18 months out of date recently and I'm still breathing. Had a few dodgy dreams that night but that could be entirely coincidental.

rameire · 24-05-2015 8:00pm

sure the alcohol in the beer will kill any bad bacteria.

tomwaterford · 24-05-2015 8:00pm

Wouldn't drink it myself....but would give it to a friend to drink and observe in case it ends badly

Duckworth_Luas · 24-05-2015 8:01pm

Boil it first

Links234 · 24-05-2015 8:01pm

Toss it, not worth taking a chance on tbh

pq0n1ct4ve8zf5 · 24-05-2015 8:05pm

Be grand I'd say. My uncle's like you, barely ever drinks but of course people always bring some when they're staying, so he and my aunt have cupboards full of the stuff. He sent some cans home with me one time and I only noticed later that they were about 14 months out of date. They were fine though.

whiskeyman · 24-05-2015 8:06pm

Best before means nothing.
as there's no 'use by' date, you'll be grand...

24-05-2015 8:16pm

Links234 wrote: »

Toss it, not worth taking a chance on tbh

That would be my usual reaction, but am staying on couch and can't be bothered going to off licence so it's them or diluted orange for the night...

Tin Foil Hat · 24-05-2015 8:16pm

It won't do you any harm, but it will taste manky.

tomwaterford · 24-05-2015 8:17pm

[Deleted User] wrote: »

That would be my usual reaction, but am staying on couch and can't be bothered going to off licence so it's them or diluted orange for the night...

Or else you might be staying on the white throne for the night??

peasant · 24-05-2015 8:18pm

Wouldn't drink Carlsberg even if it was in date ...having said that your Carslberg probably is still fine to drink, it isn't really beer anyway

emigrate2012 · 24-05-2015 8:25pm

I drank Budweiser in my youth before I knew any better.......can't be any worse than that.

wadk · 24-05-2015 8:27pm

So I came across this thread after opening a beer I bought last night called kentucky kolsch, bought just the one
Tasted ok cold, checked the BB Date 07/2014... swines I could lob the bottle back at them now
Anyway no funny twitches or rumblings yet..

Señor Fancy Pants · 24-05-2015 8:29pm

Jaysis OP, I wouldn't even drink it if it was in date! State of Carlsberg!

Malibu and 7Up is yer man there.

24-05-2015 8:32pm

Truffle Pig wrote: »

Jaysis OP, I wouldn't even drink it if it was in date! State of Carlsberg!

Malibu and 7Up is yer man there.

For me it's Carlsberg Carlsberg Carlsberg.

Once I'm full of beer, if I'm out I'll move on to vodka and coke or if in rounds we might do silly stuff like tequila or fat frogs. But when it comes to beer, gotta be Carlsberg.

Banjo String · 24-05-2015 8:33pm

The lads over in the beer forums are always drinking beer over its sell by date, some lads have been drinking stuff ten years past its sell by late, and none ever complain.

Drink it up op, It'll do ya no harm.

Willfarman · 24-05-2015 8:33pm

It'd be perfectly safe to drink but won't taste great.. Auld lads in these parts used to insist on large bottles of Guinness being let go out o date. Sweetened them they said.

Señor Fancy Pants · 24-05-2015 8:36pm

[Deleted User] wrote: »

For me it's Carlsberg Carlsberg Carlsberg.

Once I'm full of beer, if I'm out I'll move on to vodka and coke or if in rounds we might do silly stuff like tequila or fat frogs. But when it comes to beer, gotta be Carlsberg.

Vodka & Coke is for girls! Why not sample a scrummy appletini?. It comes in a funky, sophisticated glass and makes you look awesome balls!

Whatever floats yer boat and milks yer goat!

Happy drinking

24-05-2015 8:40pm

Thanks for the input, general reaction seems to be go for it, so will. Have 2 in date cans, so will start with those anyway.

Tin Foil Hat · 24-05-2015 8:47pm

Deleted User wrote: »

Thanks for the input, general reaction seems to be go for it, so will. Have 2 in date cans, so will start with those anyway.

Ah jesus no! You have to start with the old ones. Otherwise, you could get really, really sick

Cee-Jay-Cee · 24-05-2015 8:48pm

It'll be absolutely fine but you'll need to give it a good shake just before you open it to make sure it hasn't settled.

Mars Bar · 24-05-2015 8:49pm

Nope. I had a bad experience with out of date beer given to me in a nightclub on a hen night and I was so unbelievably sick after it.

deco nate · 24-05-2015 8:56pm

Mars Bar wrote: »

Nope. I had a bad experience with out of date beer given to me in a nightclub on a hen night and I was so unbelievably sick after it.

What had you eaten before it that night? Out of date beer will not make you sick.
Were you mixing you're drinks?

24-05-2015 8:56pm

Tin Foil Hat wrote: »

Ah jesus no! You have to start with the old ones. Otherwise, you could get really, really sick

Would it not be the other way around? If the out if date stuff could taste a bit off, the first couple might dull the taste buds anyway.

Not that I drink Carlsberg, or any alcohol, for the taste.

Sh1tbag OToole · 24-05-2015 8:57pm

I wouldn't have any bother drinking beer that's out of date. Maybe it won't taste quite as good as a fresh can but it will be ok. I drank a Beamish that was several years out of date and couldn't notice the difference

dmc17 · 24-05-2015 9:13pm

whiskeyman wrote: »

Best before means nothing.
as there's no 'use by' date, you'll be grand...

In this case the OP will be 'best before' and 'worse after'

jester77 · 24-05-2015 9:24pm

Tin Foil Hat wrote: »

It won't do you any harm, but it will taste manky.

So it might improve the taste

Herb Powell · 24-05-2015 9:29pm

Worst case scenario it'll taste shhit, it won't be harmful at all. Do it.

Buona Fortuna · 24-05-2015 9:31pm

Its a "best before" date not a "use by" date.

I often drink the odd tin thats 18 months or so out of date - nothing happened to me apart from posting utter shoite

There was a court case a few years back of someone selling corned beef from the first world war. They went to prison but the corned dog was tested and was absolutely fine to eat.

Rabbo · 24-05-2015 9:34pm

Everyone knows Carlsberg is like a fine wine, it gets better with age.
That's why it tastes so bad when you drink it within date.

Herb Powell · 24-05-2015 9:34pm

Buona Fortuna wrote: »

Its a "best before" date not a "use by" date.

I often drink the odd tin thats 18 months or so out of date - nothing happened to me apart from posting utter shoite

There was a court case a few years back of someone selling corned beef from the first world war. They went to prison but the corned dog was tested and was absolutely fine to eat.

:eek:

24-05-2015 9:40pm

And...we're off. Well, they're off.

Opened one and took first sip and seems grand. Not flat anyway, and no worse than the draft in the local. Had been cooling in fridge.

rubadub · 24-05-2015 9:52pm

Mars Bar wrote: »

Nope. I had a bad experience with out of date beer given to me in a nightclub on a hen night and I was so unbelievably sick after it.

woman on hen party feels sick from drink, who would have thunk it?!

Reminds me of my mate who would have 12+ pints and then wake up in absolute bits "never going to that chipper again, must have been a bad burger".

A lot of the dates these days are not even about being at their best, but more about marketing so older cans/bottles do not appear on shelves. It also encourages higher stock turnover, even though shops can legally sell stuff past its BB date.

When genuinely calculating these dates (not just for marketing) they will usually take worse case scenarios into account, i.e. it sitting in sunlight in a warm place all day, which would exponentially increase any deterioration.

Out of date beer will loose a little fizz, that's about it. If its in clear bottles it might be skunky too, but this can happen with beer well in date too.

Buona Fortuna wrote: »

There was a court case a few years back of someone selling corned beef from the first world war. They went to prison but the corned dog was tested and was absolutely fine to eat.

Any links to that? I thought it was still legal, unless some other reason prevented its sale, like inadequate ingredients listing. There was a case of a guy eating 50 year old tinned chicken supreme.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1509920/Chicken-tastes-supreme-after-50-years-in-a-tin.html

Canned Food UK, the representative body for manufacturers, also said canned food could be preserved "indefinitely", as long as there were no dents to the tin. "There is no risk that the food is unsuitable for consumption after the sell-by date as long as the container is intact," said Steve Thomas, the organisation's chairman.
"A can was recovered 10 years ago from Captain Scott's travels to Antarctica, and it was still deemed safe."

Cans of beer are not processed in the exact same way, no need as its self preserving, it is usually heat treated though.

Willfarman · 24-05-2015 10:00pm

I had one pint of lager in a waterford hotel last year and an hour later I was very ill. Couldn't eat. A dose of scuts and a 10 pint hangover headache.

Willfarman · 24-05-2015 10:01pm

Buona Fortuna wrote: »

Its a "best before" date not a "use by" date.

I often drink the odd tin thats 18 months or so out of date - nothing happened to me apart from posting utter shoite

There was a court case a few years back of someone selling corned beef from the first world war. They went to prison but the corned dog was tested and was absolutely fine to eat.

I smell bull****!

24-05-2015 10:07pm

Into second one now, starting to notice a taste and feeling slightly queasy. But will press on. Still reckon it'll be no worse than the draft in the local, have had a few duds there and ploughed through them.

fuerte1976 · 24-05-2015 10:11pm

Deleted User wrote:

Into second one now, starting to notice a taste and feeling slightly queasy.

That's the beginning of the end for you!

Mars Bar · 24-05-2015 10:18pm

deco nate wrote: »

What had you eaten before it that night? Out of date beer will not make you sick.
Were you mixing you're drinks?

I had eaten a three course meal and had one glass of wine. I remember pretty much everything from the night. I remember the kind of odd taste of the beer and thought it might have been the food making it taste odd so rolled with it. Got to the second one and thought to myself, this really does taste a bit odd and looked at the date and it was out by a good few months. I handed it back and stopped drinking then. In total, I'd had a glass of wine at the hotel and had one beer before that in another pub. Headed back to the hotel and proceeded to vomit.

Could have been just a bad night and an odd coincidence but I've stayed on the safe side since.

24-05-2015 10:21pm

And just opened 3rd. Or 5th overall. Feels...different. Heartrate starting to increase., but that could be all the cigs.

Sir Osis of Liver. · 24-05-2015 10:22pm

I drank 10 cans of two year out of date Guinness that were given to me by a friend who found them in his recently deceased uncles house.

They tasted grand but I fear my arse could be haunted.

Miall108 · 24-05-2015 10:24pm

Have often drank out of date beer. Doesnt do anything except give you a very bad hangover if you drink a certain amount of it

Buona Fortuna · 24-05-2015 10:25pm

rubadub wrote: »

Any links to that? I thought it was still legal, unless some other reason prevented its sale, like inadequate ingredients listing.

Only my encyclopedic memory

Could well have been 25 years ago.

Willfarman wrote: »

I smell bull****!

Which part?

Bongalongherb · 24-05-2015 10:26pm

I drank six cans of 1 year out of date smithwicks seven weeks ago and they were mighty fine. No problems at all.

On the other hand, I do notice a twangy odd taste from out of date beer, not nice at all.

Willfarman · 24-05-2015 10:33pm

Buona Fortuna wrote: »

Only my encyclopedic memory

Could well have been 25 years ago.

Which part?

Corned beef from ww1 would be worth more as a collectors item than as a consumable product.. People were Feckin starving in the years after the war. Wasn't a surplus of the stuff in intervention stores or anything.

24-05-2015 10:46pm

Halfway through 6th. Feels strange. Just went to toilet and thought something moved incorner of bathroom. A strange feeling like there was a rat there, but without the shape of a rat.

Buona Fortuna · 24-05-2015 10:47pm

Willfarman wrote: »

Corned beef from ww1 would be worth more as a collectors item than as a consumable product.. People were Feckin starving in the years after the war. Wasn't a surplus of the stuff in intervention stores or anything.

OK then.

azzeretti · 24-05-2015 11:02pm

It'll be fine. The beer was boiled, cooled and filtered before getting canned in a sanitised state. As long as it's sealed there is little to no chance of any dodgy microorganisms to make you ill. The flavor may well change and bottled beer will skunk with light but correctly stored you'll be grand.

Willfarman · 24-05-2015 11:04pm

How about draught beer?

anncoates · 24-05-2015 11:06pm

It will taste manky.

Being Carlsberg and all that.

Beer a year out of date...would you drink it?

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