The Secret Code of Beer Expiration Dates
Beer — an alcoholic beverage brewed with hops, malt and barley; once referred to by Keats as "sweet liquid bread" — has a half life of about three months. Six months from the date of brewing, beer turns from inebriating mana into hobo swill. Then why is it that most American beers do not display their expiration dates, so consumer's can pick the freshest brew possible?
According to this article, beers actually do — it's simply written on each bottle in a secret code to confuse alcohol-addled consumers.
A loaf of bread has it. So does a carton of milk. But if you're looking for the expiration date on a bottle of beer, forget about it - for many brewers, that information is a closely guarded secret.There are now more bottles of beer on the store wall than ever - more than 2,000 domestic brands alone - making it harder for both stores and consumers to steer clear of the stale stuff. Age is critical: Nearly all beer begins to deteriorate before it even leaves the plant, partly due to oxygen in the bottle, and many experts say most brews are well past their prime after six months.
To identify when bottles and cans need to be yanked from the shelves, many brewers imprint them with cryptic letters and numbers that distributors can translate. The trouble is they look more like hieroglyphics to beer drinkers, and most makers don't decipher them for consumers. But with the help of industry insiders and analysts, we cracked the codes, studying bottles purchased across the country to determine the key dates for 18 big brews.
The way the code works is this. Letters from A-M represent the month of the year. The next four digits are the day and year the beer was first brewed, and the last two letters are the state code where it was brewed. So you may want to stay away from that fifty cent close-out special at the local liquor store marked M0787DE. Oddly enough, Irish brews have clearly marked expiration dates... and our local off-license sells a variety of off-peak beers in foul-smelling wicker baskets for discount prices. Hobo's delight.
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Comments:
All true, but in some cases freshness does matter. A hefeweizen, for instance, is best when fresh. In general, though, it depends on the brand and style.
But getting the freshest bottle isn't always the point! Like you point out, Doc, some beers get better as they age. (Sierra Nevada's Celebration, for instance.) It's useful to tell how old a beer is either way.
Well said, mostly. Now how do I tell if the date is a "best by" date or a "produced on" date? I have a can of beer that says L 2006. So is it over a year old, or is it 2-3 months old?
Is the beer with L 2006 a BITburger 16.9oz can? I purchase beer for the store i work at and i noticed the L 2006 on beer that showed up from the distributor on April 24, 2007. I cant seem to find the code for BITburger anywhere. The beer tastes fine, but not as good as the bottles. (which don't have any codes on them) I want to make sure that the distributors aren't peddling me old beer
Its Simple... ask your retailer where the expiration date is on the package. All retailers should be educated on this topic to inform their consumers. Its not meant to be a secret code. Some suppliers have a born on date( when the beer was made) while others have a expiration date. All brewers/suppliers would love to have their customers enjoy their beer at the freshest and most enjoyable moment! Not everyone is out there to scam you!
I guess if you're drinking corona, this might be important. However, if the bottle in front of you is brown in color, the age marker doesn't mean a whole lot. The brown bottle best protects the beer from beer's worst enemy: light. Green bottles are better than clear ones, but not by much.
I've drank many gallons of beer(not in one day mind you), and some of them have been almost 10 years old! Swill? Well, if you want to give me your stash of 10 year old Barley Wine for 50 cents a bottle, I'm more than willing to take you up on that! Send it to me before it's too late!
Honestly, when beer is in the bottle it really doesn't change much over time. If anything, a lot of brews actually improve. The date thing was a marketing ploy by Budwieser or one of the other big, tasteless beer makers to make buyers feel like beer snobs. In reality, it's BS.