Old beer is not harmful to health

The EU requirement introduced a consume-by date on the bottles a couple of years ago; The Objective Beer Tasters, a Belgian association of beer consumers, conducted a campaign against this measure.

The breweries are not happy with a compulsory consume-by date on the label, either. Beer does not really go off, although the flavour can change and it may turn slightly cloudy, experts advise.

Lager in particular has a tendency to cloud over time. The gradual clouding is caused by bonds being formed between proteins (from the malt) and polyphenols (from the chaff of the malt and the hops), so that is why types of malt are selected with not too high a protein content in which the proteins easily coagulate and can be removed during the brewing process.

Consumers do not like cloudy lager. Keeping lager clear is generally a sales issue. Drinking cloudy lager has no effect on the health of the drinker. Some special beers are deliberately made and sold cloudy.

The following beers would be highly recommended for a beer cellar (e.g., a cool cupboard in the basement). Suggested cellaring periods are in brackets, though they are only approximate cellaring times based on personal experiences and in some cases, brewery recommendations. Three gueuzes have been included for the simple reason that these beers have the best cellaring potential in the beer world. Frank Boon of Brouwerij Boon claims a 30-year cellar life for his gueuze beers.


* Brasserie d’Achouffe N’Ice Chouffe (up to 5 years) - Belgium
* Chimay Grand Reserve Blue (up to 5 years) - Belgium
* J.W. Lees Harvest Ale 1998 (up to 10 Years) - England
* Lindemans Gueuze Cuvee Rene (up to 15 years) - Belgium
* Frank Boon Gueuze Mariage Parfait (up to 20 years) - Belgium
* Cantillon Gueuze (up to 20 years) - Belgium