looking after beer

Best Before Disclaimer - Best Before dates are a statutory requirement for beer in the UK. They do not appear on bottles of wine. Nor do they appear on bottles of beer in the United States. Some beers will only ever deteriorate over time, others will improve before they decline. As a rule of thumb lighter beers should be drunk young, heavier beers may well benefit from lying down.

The presence of yeast in the bottle and the quality of packaging aside, storage conditions are the critical determinants of how long a beer may be kept before its flavour may be seen to have appreciably deteriorated. The brewer has no control over these once the beer has left the brewery, consequently Best Before dates are a complete nonsense.

There have been rumors that the requirement to publish Best Before dates on bottles of beer may be abolished. We heartily hope that this rumor is true.