Now here I am, up to my third Carlsberg and I make a shocking discovery. The expiry date is 22/6/08. Now I have drunk beer a month past it's expiry before and it tasted absolutely foul, and this tastes alright (pretty f***ing good actually). Surely if it was this far out of date it would be totally rancid and undrinkable???

Not really.

Depends on the qaulity of the beer to begin with and how it is stored.

If you leave xxxx out in the sun outside the bottleshop (This happened at the one I use to work at), customers would complain of poor taste, especially if it has expired as well.

Now with your carlsberg it may have been kept properley in a shaded area and only refrigerated once. Even though its a month past it may still taste ok. It depends on the qaulity of the beer to begin and wether or not it is properley stored.

Your beer should be fine by the sounds of it.

who keeps alcohol in there house for that long? i wish i could

I drink homebrew that has no preservatives... And definitely has limited shelf life out of the fridge

grandad buys old beer (im not sure where from)

we were drinking his golds the other day, and they expired in late 07

they tasted slightly bad, not quite bad enough for me not to finish my beer, but bad enough that i didnt drink all of grandads beers while i was there;

My mate works at a bottelo and grabs us carton's of premium beer for ~$10 if its the slightest bit out of date.

They have all been fine.

Carlsberg taste like s*** anyway, so if it was off you probably couldn't notice the difference (As you noted.)

On a similar note, does is affect the taste / quality of the beer if it was once cold, then left out of the fridge so got warm, then refridgerated again?

if not opened, i woudlnt think so;

On a similar note, does is affect the taste / quality of the beer if it was once cold, then left out of the fridge so got warm, then refridgerated again?

it's not ideal.

I wouldn't have thought so either but on occasion when beer has been chilled, let go warm then chilled again, I have noticed that it's not quite right.

From memory it has been when after a night on the grog beers have been left in the esky all the next day and then when it comes time for the old Sunday afternoon refresher there is something unsavoury about them.

I have never bothered to find out why this is, but perhaps it's time to put this mystery to rest...TO THE BATCAVE!

OK so these guys reckon:

Beer Myth 3: Beer is ruined if warmed and then refrigerated This can be true, if you do it many, many times, and it will happen gradually. People think re-chilling beer will cause it to be "skunked". Beer can be ruined by air, light and time. Temperature won't ruin a beer unless it's extreme. Get fresh beer and store it in dark place, and it will be fine.

from: Drinking Beer website

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_it_okay_to_rechill_beer_after_it_has_gone_warms says:

Is it okay to rechill beer after it has gone warm? In: Beer and Brewing [Edit categories] [Edit] [Edit] Rechilling beer It is ok to rechill if the beer hasn't rose above room temperature so as not to accelerate the fermenting process. This can change the taste. If pondering on resale on the commercial level chill, crack the top, critique and decide.

Then there's:

Cold…Warm…Cold? Bottles and cans may be refrigerated, allowed to warm and rechilled without sacrificing quality. Just be sure the temperature range isn’t extreme (colder than 28° F or warmer than 70° F. )

http://www.abwholesaler.com/eprise/main/SharedContent/BeerTender/beertender01.htm


Seems like temperature could affect the beer, but only extreme temps according to some of these sites. Hmm, doesn't really explain my esky situation...

On a similar note, does is affect the taste / quality of the beer if it was once cold, then left out of the fridge so got warm, then refridgerated again?

Three years working in a bottleshop and I can honestly say without doubt you should not refrigerate beer then leave it out and put it back in the fridge. I notice the taste change and customers always did.

That is just my opinion.

what kind of softcock lets beer expire anyway?

I've let cold beer get warm, then put it back in the fridge. Tasted fine.

Then again, I didn't leave it in the sun or anything, it sat in the boot of my car in the shade.

Pint of Guiness thanks.
ahh i miss those nights at Dooleys.

I drink belgian beers, in fact its so nice today I think I may have one