Check The Date

When you shop for beer, do you check each can or bottle for a date indicating when a
beer was made, or when it will be past it’s prime? If not, you probably should.

According to many beer aficionados, freshness is so important to many beers that
undated bottles — especially dusty ones — or those with best-by dates that have expired,
should be left on the shelf.For the most part, fresh beer is better and if a bottle or can
is undated, how can you tell? You really can’t.

It’s an issue that has been gaining attention for a few years, and today, in fact, most
breweries print a date on their packaged beer. It’s the breweries that still don’t that irk
some in the industry and many consumers..

While many beer styles, especially those higher in alcohol, can get better with time,
freshness is especially important for beers characterized primarily by their hops. The aromas
of hops fade and, eventually, disappear relatively quickly. An IPA, for instance, that has spent
a year or more unopened is liable to taste like a malty brown ale, or a barleywine, with the
IPA’s signature fruit and flower notes lost and gone.

Off-flavors can even develop from the deteriorated hop compounds — most notoriously
the flavor of dank cardboard. (Funny, isn’t it, how we compare flavors to things that few
sane people have ever eaten?) Meanwhile, a hoppy beer that has sat too long before being
consumed will have lost the expected tropical fruit aromas.

Aromatics are the first component to fade from an aging beer, and among IPAs. Some can
tolerate the passage of time more gracefully. New England-style, or hazy, IPAs, which contain
less bitterness but more potent aromas, are more susceptible to the wear and tear of time.  
We recommend drinking ones no older than 6 weeks for full flavor.

West Coast-style IPAs—famed for their strong hop flavors—are hardier. Most West Coast IPAs
as old as three or four months should be okay to drink..

As a simple rule of thumb, unless you know when the beer was made stay away from beers that are
undated.  Maybe the brewery will get the message eventually.
Feature News  
from  beernexus.com
Edited by Jim Attacap
BEERNEXUS
the crossroads of the beer world

Beercation

Beer and wine tourism is on the rise, as seven
in 10 Americans have traveled to a destination
specifically to sample the alcohol in the region.
From the third of Americans who ventured to
France for the wine to the 47 percent who
embraced beer in Germany – the lure of
quality, locally-brewed alcohol is an increasing
draw for travelers.

According to a new survey of American beer
drinkers, California (41 percent) and Italy (35
percent) were among the other locations
respondents have traveled to, at least in part,
indulge their taste buds.

Between the rise of craft beers and local
breweries, 72 percent of beer drinkers have
been on a “beercation” and taken time out of
their trip to go to a tasting at a local brewery. And
this appears to be a rising trend,

Baby boomer respondents were the most  likely
to have taken a trip to sample a region’s
alcoholic offerings.The survey found that
37 percent of beer drinkers “often” try new
varieties – which might help explain the trend
of beer tourism.
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Rwanda Sexist Beer

A beer company in Rwanda has apologised
after critics said jokes that appeared on their
bottles were sexist.

One of the jokes on a bottle of Skol asked,
"when can a woman make you a millionaire"
with the answer "when you are a billionaire".
Another joke, in French, said " how does a
beauty queen try and kill a fish? By putting
its head in water."

Skol launched the beer labels with the jokes
printed on them.  One week after the beers
release severe push back n Twitter caused the
breweryto promised to stop using them.
Rwanda is ranked fifth in the world for gender
equality, according to the World Economic
Forum's  report.

Emilienne Benurugo, the brand manager for Skol
Lager was quoted in Rwandan Newspaper New
Times as saying at the launch of the labels that
the company aimed to help customers to not
take life too seriously. Skol, which is brewed in
Rwanda by Belgian company Unibra, apologised
on Twitter but has not recalled any bottles.