There is a drawer in one of our fridges which is dedicated to cooling cider and other bottles of beverages.
Unfortunately this drawer is not getting the best stock rotation that is normally applied to the other areas of the fridge that contain groceries, eggs etc.
going to this particular draw last night it only had a couple of bottles left in it(must have words with the missus to resolve this).
I reached in and pulled out a bottle of Guinness, so far, so good.
Opened it and poured it's black loveliness into a pint glass and as normal it produced that lovely creamy head.
The thing is, on checking the bottle it was dated 15-04-09and I have no doubt that it had been in there all those years. How time flies.
Still tasted good, no adverse effects. Anybody else sampled out of date Guinness?
Beer can age very well, but it tends to work best for darker, stronger ales and Belgian stuff, and is much more effective when the beer is bottle conditioned (ie has yeast in to enable secondary fermentation).
Standard stuff probably won't improve, and quality will be likely to drop off after a few years. Unlikely to kill you, though!
I can say that Fuller's Vintage Ale reaches its peak at around 5 years (attended a tasting a few years ago, very drunk afterwards!)
HTH,
Alex.
To answer the question asked in the subject - I would say, yes. The older I've got, the better beverages like Guinness taste. Though I seem to get drunk much sooner. YMMV.
I always though Guiness taste better the younger it was and that's why it is "better" in Ireland(not that I've tested this theory)?
As a bit of a connoisseur I'd say that age or travel do nothing for Guinness, especially true of draught.
thanks for the responses chaps, at least I know I'm not supposed to be dead right now ;-)
What on earth is the OP doing leaving beer in the undrunk for that length of time!
Must try harder!
I meant "undrunk in the fridge" (is there such a word as undrunk?) . Boddingtons bitter dyslexia I'm afraid. No chance of it passing it's sell by date in my house! Northerner, you see.
It might keep well but it does not travel well, Years ago I had a pint of Guinness in Tulsa Oklahoma and it was beyond foul!
As someone who's brewed the stuff, a categorical no.
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