Beer · Explainer
How long does beer keep and how should it be stored?
Beer carries a best-before date. That is a quality date, not a use-by date: after that day the beer is not automatically spoiled. Light is the fastest spoiler. Below 400 nanometres and between 400 and 500 nanometres, hop compounds break down into MBT, with an odour threshold of 2 to 7 nanograms per litre. Store cool, dark and upright.
In brief
The key figures
| Type of date on beer | Date of minimum durability, best before |
|---|---|
| Legal basis | Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Article 24 |
| Use-by date | Only for foods that are microbiologically highly perishable |
| Harmful light | UV below 400 nanometres and visible light from 400 to 500 nanometres |
| Substance behind lightstruck taint | 3-methylbut-2-ene-1-thiol (MBT) |
| Odour threshold MBT | 2 to 7 nanograms per litre |
| Refermentation in the bottle | Proceeds best at 14 to 22 degrees Celsius |
| Storing warm | 30 days at 35 degrees: colour plus 0.73 SRM, 3.74 mg acetaldehyde per litre |
What does the best-before date on a beer bottle mean?
Beer carries a best-before date, in Dutch tenminste houdbaar tot. Until that day the beer keeps its properties when stored properly.
Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 also provides for the use-by date. Article 24(1) states that this applies only to foods that are highly perishable from a microbiological point of view and may pose an immediate danger to health after a short period. Beer does not fall under this.
A bottle that is past its date is therefore not unsafe. The chance is greater, however, that the beer has changed in flavour.
Why does light beer spoil so quickly?
Light breaks down the bitter hop compounds. Iso-alpha acids give rise to 3-methylbut-2-ene-1-thiol, MBT for short, the substance behind the smell that brewers call lightstruck.
Research in Foods from 2023 identifies two ranges: UV radiation below 400 nanometres and visible light between 400 and 500 nanometres. The latter simply comes from daylight and from shop lighting.
The odour threshold of MBT is, according to the same study, 2 to 7 nanograms per litre. Exposure of seconds is enough, and the change can no longer be reversed.
At what temperature is beer best stored?
Cool and constant. In a 2020 study in Foods, beer was kept at 35 degrees for thirty days; the colour rose by 0.73 SRM and 3.74 milligrams of acetaldehyde per litre formed.
The control beer in that same trial stood for 35 days at 3 degrees and did not show those changes.
A cool, dark cupboard or cellar works better than a shed or a spot next to the heating. Fluctuating temperatures speed up the same reactions.
Should beer be stored upright or lying down?
Upright. With bottle-conditioned beer, the sediment then settles to the bottom in a narrow layer, so you are left with clear beer when pouring.
Beer moreover has a crown cap and not a cork that has to stay moist. Storing it lying down only increases the contact surface between the beer and the air in the neck.
Stand a bottle that you are going to pour upright a day in advance, so that the yeast settles.
Which beers improve with keeping?
Bottle-conditioned beers keep best. The yeast that remains in the bottle stays active and absorbs oxygen.
According to a review in Beverages from 2020, refermentation in the bottle works best between 14 and 22 degrees. In the first fourteen days the yeast multiplies and the carbon dioxide pressure builds up.
Pils, weizen and hop-driven IPA do not have that reserve. With hoppy beers it is precisely the aroma that deteriorates fastest.
From the shop in Bathmen
The beer stock in Bathmen
In de winkel in Bathmen staan 1.072 bieren van 248 verschillende merken uit 21 landen. Het alcoholpercentage loopt van 0,2% tot 33%.
- 't Zwarte Schoap Bliejschoap! Tripel 8.7% · 33 cl · Netherlands
- 't Zwarte Schoap Blond Gezelschoap 5.6% · 33 cl · Netherlands
- 't Zwarte Schoap De Verschoappeling Pale Dubbel Bock 8.4% · 33 cl · Netherlands
- 't Zwarte Schoap Het Lam Oaked Quadrupel 10% · 33 cl · Netherlands
- 't Zwarte Schoap Het Lam Oaked Quadrupel 10% · 75 cl · Netherlands
- 't Zwarte Schoap Niej Schoap! IPA 6% · 33 cl · Netherlands
- 't Zwarte Schoap Vriendschoap Dunkelweizen 5.2% · 33 cl · Netherlands
- Aardig Geitje 5% · 75 cl · Belgium
- Abbaye d'Aulne Cuvee Royale 9% · 75 cl · Belgium
- Abbaye du Mont des Cats Mont des Cats 7.6% · 75 cl · France
Related questions
How do you organise a beer tasting at home?How do you pour beer with the right head?How do you put together a beer package yourself as a gift?
Short answer
Short answers to related questions
- May you still drink beer after the best-before date?
- The date on beer is a best-before date and not a use-by date.
- Why is beer often in brown bottles?
- Brown glass blocks more of the light that forms MBT. UV below 400 nanometres and visible light between 400 and 500 nanometres are critical.
- Can you keep beer in the fridge?
- Yes. Cool and dark is exactly what beer needs. In the 2020 trial in Foods, beer kept at 3 degrees stayed unchanged for 35 days.
- Why does my beer have sediment?
- Refermentation in the bottle leaves yeast behind. It settles to the bottom when stored upright and is part of that type of beer.
The reasoning
Sources
- Verordening (EU) nr. 1169/2011, EUR-Lex (accessed 4 September 2026)
- Effect of UV Filters during the Application of Pulsed Light, Foods 12(4):684, MDPI, 2023 (accessed 4 September 2026)
- Implications of Temperature Abuse on Unpasteurized Beer Quality, Foods 9(8):1032, MDPI, 2020 (accessed 4 September 2026)
- Bottle Conditioning: Technology and Mechanisms Applied in Refermented Beers, Beverages 6(3):56, MDPI, 2020 (accessed 4 September 2026)
Deze pagina is geschreven en gecontroleerd door ’t Bockje Bathmen, slijterij aan de Brink 2 in Bathmen. Laatst bijgewerkt op 28 oktober 2026.
Verkoop van alcohol onder de 18 jaar is verboden. NIX18.