There are specific ways to prep and store wine and other beverages, especially for distribution, to retain their flavors, no matter when it gets packaged. However, not many people realize that just as much thought and consideration have to go into the storage and distribution of craft beer.
The temperature, container, time of packaging, whether the beer was pasteurized, as well as the type of beer, are all factors that you need to consider when trying to extend shelf life and distribute the product. Thankfully, there are recommended guidelines to help ensure the beer gets stored, shipped, and then served the exact way you intended. Not only do your customers expect their favorite beers to have their best flavor, but you also want to make sure all your hard work creating your best batches has a shelf life without compromising quality or taste.
All of this to say, it is crucial to understand the science behind pasteurizing beer — not only to ensure high-quality beer but also to prevent issues like refermentation and exploding cans. In this blog, we’ll overview some of the science behind exploding cans and the importance of shelf life, how to store beer for distribution, and more.
The Lifespan of Craft Beer: What You Need to Know
The shelf life of craft beer depends on several factors, including style of beer, packaging, and storage conditions. Generally, most craft beers are best enjoyed within three to six months of packaging. Lighter styles like IPAs and pale ales tend to lose their hoppy character more quickly, often within 90 days, while malt-forward or higher-alcohol content beers (such as stouts and barleywines) can age gracefully for a year or more under proper conditions.
Storage can play an important role in maintaining beer quality. Exposure to light, heat, and oxygen can accelerate spoilage, leading to off-flavors and diminished aroma. For optimal freshness, craft beer should be stored in a cool, dark place at a consistent temperature, ideally around 45–55°F (7–13°C).
That all being said, it’s worth noting that, technically, beer doesn’t ever actually expire. Due to the combination of alcohol content and hops (which have antimicrobial characteristics), pathogens cannot grow. So, when we talk about craft beer going bad, it’s more a matter of diminishing quality than product expiration.
Why Does Craft Beer Go Bad?
As a craft brewer, you know it best, but craft beer is the tastiest the day it leaves the brewery, and we get it, you want to sell your brews the way you want it to taste. Fresh craft beer is full of flavor that as the beer ages, could shift. Some beers even improve with age, with flavors evolving into deeper and richer profiles. Sours and wild beers, thanks to their distinctive blend of yeast and bacteria, develop intriguing and complex flavors over time.
But time isn’t always a positive influence on the flavor and freshness of craft beer. And when a beer expires, it’s possible to taste it. Despite a brewer’s best efforts, trace amounts of oxygen can get into packaged beer and do things like flatten carbonation, throw flavors off, and weaken the hoppiness of beers like IPAs.
However, of all the culprits that cause spoilage — bacteria is the worst. Bacteria and other microbes in your beer, especially after it has been packaged, could result in exploding cans, loss of product, and costly recalls. This could be to the detriment of your brewery’s reputation.
How Can You Extend the Shelf Life of Your Craft Beer?
The best way to extend the shelf life of your brews, and beyond that, ensure that they can go the distance to reach your customers and last in their fridges, is by using a pasteurizer. The shelf life of beer will depend on a couple of different things like the container, storage process, and most importantly, whether it has been pasteurized or not. As a general rule of thumb, a sealed beer that has been pasteurized will remain shelf-stable for six to eight months without refrigeration. If packaged, stored, and refrigerated properly, a sealed beer can last beyond its expiration date by up to 12 months. This allows you to distribute your brews to a wider audience.
Without an adequate stabilization process, your beer’s shelf life could be left up to chance in kegs and with distributors. The risk of refermentation and exploding cans prompts many breweries to pasteurize. The most important step to avoid exploding cans is pasteurization. Exploding cans can hurt the credibility of your brewery and result in significant revenue or product loss.
Pasteurization prevents refermentation by yeast or spoilage microorganisms after packaging. The process ensures that flavors are maintained over time without compromising quality, freshness, or consistency. New technologies and methods continuously improve the process, leading to more precise temperature control and shorter processing times, which can boost your brewer’s capacity to produce more high-quality beer.
How to Foolproof Your Distribution
When it comes to distribution, most issues you’ll face come down to contracts and the legal tape of trying to move your products across state lines. Pasteurization doesn’t solve those specific problems, but once you are to the point of shipping, the process will ensure that your beer won’t go bad before it reaches your customer. Here are four factors you should consider before shipping out your brews:
Pasteurize
To ensure your beer tastes the same from the time it leaves your facility to the moment your customers drink it requires pasteurization. The process allows you to extend the shelf life of your beer without compromising quality, freshness, or taste by killing bacteria, molds, and yeasts that can cause spoilage or refermentation.
Choose the Right Vessel
As you consider expanding distribution and creating a strategy for growth, you need to choose the right vessel. Whether it’s a can or a bottle, either option has its advantages and disadvantages. Style is typically what dictates the best storage method, but if you have plans to distribute far and wide, the pasteurization process and the most travel-friendly vessel will be the more apt choice.
Temperature Fluctuations
You want to be fully cognizant of temperature fluctuations that may have an impact on your beer. Especially as it travels from your brewery to the customer. Whether that is in chilled trucks, boxes, warehouses, etc. You have to be confident that your brew, and whatever vessel it’s in, will make it to its final destination in one, fresh-tasting piece.
The Takeaway
Ensuring the shelf life of your beer means preventing refermentation and exploding cans. Especially as you look to expand distribution to get your beer into the hands of consumers across the country. Your brewery needs to look into the effectiveness of pasteurization so that you don’t have to leave your beer’s shelf life up to chance in kegs or with distributors.
Dare to Share Your Beer
Is your brewery considering pasteurization but unsure of where to start? Sounds like you need a pasteurization partner to help you share your beer with the world.
Don’t leave your best beer’s shelf life to chance. Start a conversation with the Shelf Life Systems team today to learn more about our custom pasteurization technology.