Is beer dangerous to drink past its "sell by" date? I have a bud light in a friend's refrigerator that has a date of May 14 2007. I have heard of people drinking beer after the posted date, but does it turn harmful after all these years if I drink it?

The pH of beer is low enough that no known pathogens can survive in it. That's why you never hear about botulism problems with home-brewed beer like you do with home-canned foods, for example.

Beer slowly changes over time. High gravity beers, like barley wines or imperial stouts benefit from this, and acquire richer flavors as they slowly oxydize. Belgian styles, like lambics do as well and the wild yeasts and bacteria continue to grow. However, even those have a limit -- eventually they will begin to taste very stale.

Low gravity beers begin to taste stale much more quickly. If you are keeping them refrigerated, they may last for 6 months or more. Seven years is definitely way too long.

So it won't make you sick or harm you if you want to taste it. But it is extremely unlikely that you will enjoy it.

It is unlikely to be harmful (assuming it hasn't become infected), but the flavour may have changed compared to fresher bottles of the same brand.  In particular, the aromatic oils from the hops will break down as the beer ages.

Whether this makes the beer undrinkable will depend partly on the beer and partly on the tastes of the person drinking it.  If you are curious you may as well try a mouthful or two.


What to do against hangovers? Occasionally, I catch myself having a beer or two too much. Which of course can cause hangovers. I was wondering what one can do to prevent this? Or what can be done if it's already too late.

Drinking less is the obvious solution.

But you can also reduce the causes:

One cause for a hangover are the metabolic products of the fusel alcohols (unwanted alcohols) in your drinks. First your body metabolizes the ethanol and then the fusel alcohols. That's why drinking alcohol helps against a hangover as if gives the body some more ethanol to work on and thus reduces the toxins of the fusel alcohols. That's why a Bloody Mary is a well known hangover cure.
So try reducing the amount of fusel alcohols you consume by choosing high quality drinks that have less of them.

Another cause is dehydration and lack of electrolytes. So start hydrating yourself before, while and after you consume alcohol. And to keep the water in your body, make sure, you add enough electrolytes to bind the water. In russia and other slavic countrys there is a culture of eating salty (electrolytes and increasing thirst), sour (helps making you thirsty) and fatty (proteins and delays alcohol absorbtion) food along with drinking. In a way it's like having a hangover breakfast while drinking.

All of this can be done when you wake up with a hangover: drinking some alcohol as "hair of the dog" (this will reduce the symtoms but increase the time you feel them but won't fix anything!), eating a rich breakfast, drinking lots of water (tea, juice, ...) and maybe pop a blood-thinner like ASS (Aspirin).

I  am a thin girl so I should not be able to drink like I can but I have secrets to my success. I  make sure to drink plenty of clear fluids the day of or before. Always drink beer before liquor. I don't like to eat a bunch before I start drinking but rather save the feasting for the end of the night.


Why would some prefer to put salt in their beer? Are there any traditional or historic reason(s) why people would put salt in their beer when drinking it or would simply prefer to drink a salted beer such as Gose?

Gose beer, brewed in Bonn, Germany (2014).

The same reason people put salt on their food. It enhances the flavor of the beer.

  The extra salt has other effects as well though, outside of simply
  making things more salty. Particularly, adding salt to foods helps
  certain molecules in those foods more easily release into the air,
  thus helping the aroma of the food, which is important in our
  perception of taste.

Putting Salt on Food

I've read that beer is mostly water and that drinking too much floods your system with water and depletes your sodium,etc. My theory is that while it is flavorful it also can help stave off hangover effects?


What is the strongest drink in the world? Assuming that it is available through 'normal' outlets - shops, supermarkets, off licenses etc... (in other words legal)  What (per unit) is the strongest alcoholic drink in the world?  Beers, wines and spirits included.

At the time of writing this the strongest beer in circulation is a scottish made larger/pilsner Snake Venom By Brewmeister, this beer is 67.5% ABV. and is strongly recommended that you only drink small amounts in a sitting, buying a bottle(275ml) of this would set you back a £54.99

Other than this beer there was Koelschip Mistery Of Beer - Brouwerij het Koelschip that was 70% ABV but as I'm aware is no longer in circulation and has had production stopped as the brewery shut down

As far as all alcohol goes the strongest spirit is spirytus rektyfikowany which is a 96% Vodka. The cheapest you will find this is a small bottle(10cl) and  this will cost £7.95 It is is strongly recommended to not drink this neat as it would be damaging

Strongest alcohol

Spirytus rektyfikowant (96% alcohol)


What are the specific laws regarding growler fills in Massachusetts? I'm headed up to Boston next weekend for an event, and was planning to take up a few empty (or maybe full!) growlers to fill with interesting and delicious things from some of the local breweries up in the area. However, I've heard that MA has some fairly restrictive laws regarding fills (i.e., that breweries are not able to fill growlers other than those with their own logo/which they themselves distribute). This is baffling and monstrous to me coming from NY, where just about anyplace that's willing to can fill just about any appropriately sized bottle I bring up to the tap with me.

What exactly are the rules regarding growler refills in Massachusetts? Do they differ if I am looking to get a fill at a bar or retail store, rather than direct from a brewery? Are there size restrictions?

It appears that there may be several laws in play here, but perhaps the interpretation of those laws by the Massachusetts  Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission, the brewers, and the Mass Brewers Guild that determine how growler fills work in practice.

The first law in question is the regulation on labeling.  Nothing in there appears to prevent brewers from filling any growler, but the standard interpretation from both the ABCC and the brewers is that they believe it makes it illegal for them to fill any growlers other than their own, and that is the policy by which they seem to all operate.

As for retail establishments, there do seem to be some non-brewery bars that offer growlers, (see Ducali Pizzeria and Bar on this list) but those may be for on-premise use.  There was a proposal for a bill to allow on-premise / off-premise licensees to do growler fills but as far as I can tell, it died in committee, primarily due to strong opposition from craft brewers who were worried it would cut into their bottle profits.

  Beyond issues of distribution, the joint legislative committee also heard from industry members interested in allowing both on- and off-premise retailers to fill beer containers up to 64 ounces for take-away and off-site consumption. The bill, sponsored by Representative William Pignatelli, has caused some division in the industry between retailers and small brewers. “We think it would be a disaster for our business by cannibalizing our bottle sales, our only real income source,” says one small Massachusetts brewer. “We for one couldn't thrive in a situation where the profit on bottled beer transfers from brewery to store or bar.”

Source: http://www.beveragebusiness.com/archives/article.php?cid=1&eid=88&aid=2031

This outlines the basic laws for all states.  http://www.brewersassociation.org/pages/government-affairs/growler-laws

Growlers permitted under manufacturer license: Yes
Growlers permitted under brewpub license: Yes
Growlers permitted under retailer license: Yes
Specific "growler" language in statute: No

There is a link to the actual laws in Massachusetts on the this page too

And since some people can't follow links, I'll do the research for them so they have the answers to their questions. First when looking for answers to legal questions ask a lawyer not random people on the Internet.

"(i.e., that breweries are not able to fill growlers other than those with their own logo/which they themselves distribute)"

Reading the laws and talking to some people the answer is yes you have to purchase the growler from the brewery.


Removing the Crown / Neck paper I recently moved to Germany and took Rothaus Pils here at the party. I opened the cap after tearing the crown/neck paper (Gold colored paper as shown below) partially.

Reference Image :

I was told that Germans really don't like to keep that crown/neck paper. I wanted to ask for reason, but felt it is too rude. Is there any specific reason behind removing the crown paper

I'm from Germany. Don't care too much about this. Just remove that part of it which would be disturbing when drinking, since some minor pieces might get into the glass or into your mouth directly if you are drinking out of the bottle, which is common in Germany, except in a restaurant or during a dinner.

Also you wouldn't normally remove the gold paper before opening the bottle. Most of the parts will getting removed automatically when opening it. You just need to remove the remaining, disturbing parts, if there are any left. Try it! ;)

That's all you need to know. Cheers!

I can imagine multiple reasons. I assume that Rothaus owns the patents to this kind of glueless neckpaper fixing what leds to a feeling belonging to the 1337 group of zäpfle-fans as the common germann biertrinker is always prowd of his local beer. First, this kind of wrapping the top makes sence from an hyenic point of view. Second, since they wrap their aluminium foil, which is thick compared to others, not just around the neck but also over the cab, you may have realised that the artifacts caused from opening the bottle feels uncomfortable on the lips. But most important, biertrinkers are way conservative on anything related to their local beer. Prost!


Sour Beers for the beginner What sour beers would be a good starting point for someone that enjoys pale ales and too strong of a flavor profile may turn them off at first?

I'd start an introduction to sour, or wild ales  with the more approachable Lambics, like Lindemans Framboise Lambic.  With a beer like that, the sour notes from the wild yeast are offset by the sweetness of the fruit and the pleasant texture from the fizz of the carbonation, making it an approachable drink not only for one not used to sour ales, but for one not used to beer at all.

Another option (for a North American) might be a beer categorized as an American Wild Ale, such as Russian River's Consecration, or Sierra Nevada Brux which will have the sour character but also be conscientious of the flavors favorable to the American palate.

In general, G(u)euze Beer is pretty sour.
More on that here.
Since I don't like Geuze beer, I don't know much about it. However, I once tasted 7 different Geuze beers from a region in Belgium around Brussels and those were really sour. I wouldn't recommend those.


Should a meal with beer as an ingredient be paired with that same beer? I was wondering if it's generally a good idea to pair beer-based recipes with the same beer that you use to cook them.  For instance, should you drink a Guinness with Beef and Guinness Stew? Should you drink the same beer that you use to make your batter when you make Beer Battered Fish and Chips?

There is no culinary basis to make that generalization. The choice of beer (or wine or any other ingredient used to add depth) may be selected to enhance, balance, contrast, or even counteract one of the other ingredients. But that doesn't necessarily make it the beverage of choice to accompany the resulting dish.

The beer-as-an-ingredient may not even be the dominant flavor of the dish. And if it is the dominant flavor, that doesn't necessarily mean "more of the same" is the best accompaniment.

For example, (I'm drawing an analogy) I might add a dry white wine to a pasta sauce to add depth or a sweeter white wine to help cut acidity. But tomato-based pasta dishes are traditionally accompanied by a red wine, not white.

These are broad generalizations, but there's nothing to say that my favorite bread recipe enhanced with a light lager must (or even preferably) be matched with a lager.

It's the overall flavor of the dish that determines the best accompaniment. Not the beer ingredient.

definitily yes. you could add the beer of your choise to add some extra flavour to the sauce and enjoy the whole dish with a nice beer at the right temperature.

for the right temperature i would refere to that:
What temperature should I serve my beer?

imho: you can also refine your stew with wine and drink the same one while eating.


Is the german "Warsteiner" a Pilsner? I've heard lately, that the german beer Warsteiner does not fullfill the german Reinheitsgebot and therefore is is not allowed to be called Pilsner, that is why they call it a Premium Verum.

Is that true and if yes, why?

I think your friend got the wrong end of a stick :p

Wikipedia lists it as a pilsner, so does BeerAdvocate and the Warsteiner site.

I think Premium Verum is just a name.

As far as I read, Warsteiner is not a Pilsener because they don't use enough hops. It's like a Pilsener but less bitter.


Why is beer regulated differently than other types of alcohol? In the US there are tons of rules about alcohol that vary widely from state to state and at the federal level. For example you can brew your own beer in most states but you have to have a license for liquor. Similarly, wine tastings are usually OK but beer tastings are illegal in many places.

I'm not asking about the specifics of how each law came to be, that would take an encyclopedia. Rather, I want to know if there was an overall philosophy that drove regulating beer differently from other alcohol. Did different companies or industry groups lobby for laws that benefited their product over other companies products? Was there an overall public sentiment that drove the differences?

Part of it is philosophical

Why are airplane pilots regulated differently from car drivers?  Because it's much easier to do damage with one vs the other.  Likewise, it's a lot easier to get so drunk that you do something stupid (or just get alcohol poisoning) on liquor than beer.  As such, they're treated differently.

Part of it is political

The companies that make beer are not generally the same ones that make liquor.  Those two groups of companies also have different groups of lobbyists, who have pushed for laws at different times in different political climates.

Part of it is practical

Liquor and beer production face different logistical needs.  For example:

Beer has much higher shipping costs per dollar worth of product, so shipping rules might need to be different.
Breweries have a need to keep their product cold at the point of sale, so it might make sense to have them sold in stores that already have coolers (like gas stations), whereas liquor companies wouldn't push as hard for that availability.
Liquor has no equivalent of the brewpub, so they don't really care much about sales at their production facility.
Beer has less consumer utility per unit of volume than liquor (ie, you need more of it to have the same amount of fun), so people generally need it closer to their houses.  Since you don't need to buy liquor as often as you buy beer, it's more feasible to have centralized liquor stores

Part of it is "moral"

Especially on the US East coast, there are a lot of laws around booze with their origins in religious morality and the puritan aversion to alcohol.  Beer, being seen as a "lesser evil", tends to have less opposition to laws that would increase its availability.

I think it has something to do with the thinking of Whiskey Rebellion, -- a tax was on spirts but not wine or beer.  Whiskey was considered a luxury tax - yet it turns out a LOT of people were making and drinking Whiskey at the time