I frequently find week old Canuck Pale Ale in my local LCBOs here in London.Īnd while GLB has taken on the task of freshness with rather rabid enthusiasm, they are not the only ones. And far from just a clever marketing campaign, they are walking the talk. Their social media often touts the #FreshGLB hashtag to emphasize this focus and they have boasted that 99% of the beer they make stays in Ontario so that they can make sure it is always as fresh as possible. Great Lakes Brewery in Etobicoke deserves a nod here because they have, in recent years, taken on the task of ensuring their beer is as fresh as possible with a rather laser-like focus. Many breweries still don’t bother letting consumers know when the beer was actually made and, increasingly, I’m inclined not to award this practice with my dollars and will almost always opt to purchase beer that has a date stamp that is clear and prominently placed – and, obviously, that date is recent. That’s why I am a huge proponent of date stamps on beer and why, increasingly, I am frustrated by the lack of consistency in how those date stamps are used by breweries – if at all. Drink a pale ale directly from your local brewery then find a three-month old version at your liquor store. Ask someone who’s bartered for a month-old Heady Topper to try one brewed a couple days ago. Ask someone who has had Pilsner Urquell in Plzeň what he or she thinks comparing it to the can procured at the local LCBO.
There are, of course, some exceptions to this rule and a handful of beer styles might actually get better with a little aging – an experiment that I caution you to pursue at your own risk – but for the most part, fresh is best. It’s not something most people think about when they roll up to the Beer Store to buy a case of their favourite lager and it’s definitely not something bar-goers scrutinize when a busy bartender snaps the cap off a bottle she just fished out of the fridge behind the bar, but it really should be.Ĭonscientious shoppers will happily scrutinize the freshness of the almond milk in the fridge at their grocery store and many people will toss meat and half loaves of bread that have passed the seemingly arbitrary “best before” date slapped on their respective labels yet these same consumers, blissfully unaware, will happily neck a four month old Budweiser from their local.Īnd that’s a shame, really, because perhaps even more so than your almond milk, hot dogs, or wonder bread, beer really does taste a lot better when it is consumed as close as possible to the day it was put in the bottle or can. Beer is typically best enjoyed as fresh as possible.
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