Best Before Dates

[Sith Happens]

8 hours ago, eddie said:

What's the longest 'best before' date in the future you have ever seen, or perhaps the most out-of-date item you have consumed (or thought better of consuming)?

I am currently drinking a bottle of Geuze Boon, a Belgian Lambic beer - one of my favourite styles - and it has a 'best before' date of 13 December, 2037.

Imagine the rush on the 13th Dec 2037 when you realise that crate of beer you have is about to go off the following day, having been in your cupboard for 20 years its going to taste so much better on the 13th than the 14th.

I love how some products actually specify an exact time now.

[King Kevin]

9 hours ago, eddie said:

What's the longest 'best before' date in the future you have ever seen, or perhaps the most out-of-date item you have consumed (or thought better of consuming)?

I am currently drinking a bottle of Geuze Boon, a Belgian Lambic beer - one of my favourite styles - and it has a 'best before' date of 13 December, 2037.

That's because nothing never mind bacteria etc would survive in it.

[i-Ram]

There is a striker at our club with a best before date of 2016/17. Come on you Martinites, let’s be avin you!

[McRainy]

1 hour ago, sage said:

Nor watching the odd 'sapphism documentary' of an evening.

 

It's an interesting subject and there's a lot to learn. 

[eddie]

56 minutes ago, King Kevin said:

That's because nothing never mind bacteria etc would survive in it.

There are some who would suggest that Lambic beers taste 'off' even when they are 'on'

[King Kevin]

29 minutes ago, eddie said:

There are some who would suggest that Lambic beers taste 'off' even when they are 'on'

What's a Lambic beer ,genuine question ?

[ilkleyram]

7 minutes ago, King Kevin said:

What's a Lambic beer ,genuine question ?

One that Lambchop hasn't drunk yet

[McRainy]

15 minutes ago, ilkleyram said:

One that Lambchop hasn't drunk yet

No such thing. 

[Stive Pesley]

11 hours ago, eddie said:

I am currently drinking a bottle of Geuze Boon, a Belgian Lambic beer - one of my favourite styles - and it has a 'best before' date of 13 December, 2037.

Lambics tend to only have BB dates due to Food & Drinks regs insisting on one. Here's a bottle of Chorlton Brewery's Dark Matter for example. Clearly a joke ?

 

[eddie]

Lambic beers are ones brewed in a traditional style in an area of Belgium called Pajottenland (a region in Flemish Brabant). The fermentation process does not involve the physical addition of yeast - rather, the wort (raw beer) is left open to the atmosphere, and wild yeasts and bacteria in the air native to that particular region work their magic instead. In reality, the wooden fermentation vessels have residual colonies of brettanomyces bruxellensis and various strains of saccharomyces, so these good little guys are always there. The fermentation of lambics is really a winter process - there are too many nasties in the atmosphere during the summer.

The beer has a dry, sour taste, not totally dissimilar to champagne. Many Belgian fruit beers are Lambic - your local Tesco will probably stock one - Bacchus Kriek (a cherry beer) which doesn't have a label on the bottle but instead it is wrapped in tissue paper. Very refreshing on a stinking hot summer's day. Not the best by any measure, but a nice entry-level beer.

[Boycie]

1 hour ago, eddie said:

There are some who would suggest that Lambic beers taste 'off' even when they are 'on'

philistines.

Mind you, there are some who secretly think it tastes horrible, but darent say anything for fear of reprisals from the Mad Monk Society. ?

[Boycie]

6 minutes ago, eddie said:

Lambic beers are ones brewed in a traditional style in an area of Belgium called Pajottenland (a region in Flemish Brabant). The fermentation process does not involve the physical addition of yeast - rather, the wort (raw beer) is left open to the atmosphere, and wild yeasts and bacteria in the air native to that particular region work their magic instead. In reality, the wooden fermentation vessels have residual colonies of brettanomyces bruxellensis and various strains of saccharomyces, so these good little guys are always there. The fermentation of lambics is really a winter process - there are too many nasties in the atmosphere during the summer.

The beer has a dry, sour taste, not totally dissimilar to champagne. Many Belgian fruit beers are Lambic - your local Tesco will probably stock one - Bacchus Kriek (a cherry beer) which doesn't have a label on the bottle but instead it is wrapped in tissue paper. Very refreshing on a stinking hot summer's day. Not the best by any measure, but a nice entry-level beer.

My missus loves that cherry beer, I buy it for her when I’m feeling generous.

Never knew it was Lambik or whatever it’s called.

[eddie]

1 minute ago, Boycie said:

philistines.

Mind you, there are some who secretly think it tastes horrible, but darent say anything for fear of reprisals from the Mad Monk Society. ?

Nice try, but unfortunately the Trappists do not brew Lambic beers.

[eddie]

1 minute ago, Boycie said:

My missus loves that cherry beer, I buy it for her when I’m feeling generous.

Never knew it was Lambik or whatever it’s called.

Your missus has good taste - no idea where she gets it from.

?

[Boycie]

21 minutes ago, eddie said:

Nice try, but unfortunately the Trappists do not brew Lambic beers.

Beer snobs

23 minutes ago, eddie said:

Your missus has good taste - no idea where she gets it from.

?

Me, cus it’s me who always shells out for it. ?

[May Contain Nuts]

4 hours ago, eddie said:

Your missus has good taste - no idea where she gets it from.

?

In this particular instance, I think it came from me taking a bottle of Kriek to a mutually attended BBQ

[Rev]

4 hours ago, eddie said:

Lambic beers are ones brewed in a traditional style in an area of Belgium called Pajottenland (a region in Flemish Brabant). The fermentation process does not involve the physical addition of yeast - rather, the wort (raw beer) is left open to the atmosphere, and wild yeasts and bacteria in the air native to that particular region work their magic instead. In reality, the wooden fermentation vessels have residual colonies of brettanomyces bruxellensis and various strains of saccharomyces, so these good little guys are always there. The fermentation of lambics is really a winter process - there are too many nasties in the atmosphere during the summer.

The beer has a dry, sour taste, not totally dissimilar to champagne. Many Belgian fruit beers are Lambic - your local Tesco will probably stock one - Bacchus Kriek (a cherry beer) which doesn't have a label on the bottle but instead it is wrapped in tissue paper. Very refreshing on a stinking hot summer's day. Not the best by any measure, but a nice entry-level beer.

Is the fruit part of the brewing process, or is a fruit taste added to an already brewed beer?

That would seem like cheating to me, like ordering a lager and lime.

 

[eddie]

1 hour ago, reveldevil said:

Is the fruit part of the brewing process, or is a fruit taste added to an already brewed beer?

That would seem like cheating to me, like ordering a lager and lime.

 

The addition of the fruit with Van Honsebrouck beers (the kriek and their equally wonderful framboos - raspberries) is part of the lagering process. Basically once the primary fermentation is complete, the fruit is added and left for a further six months.

You could argue that it's actually a bit of both, because after the fruit fermentation, the beer is filtered and then a little old Lambic beer is added with an additional charge of candi sugar, the resultant beer is then bottled and corked (Lambics usually have a cork with a wire cage, like champagne) and a further fermentation takes place in the bottle.

Like I said, it's a traditional method, especially the mixing of older and young Lambics.

There is a piss-poor monstrosity of a beer brewed by Huyghe (amazingly, the same people who brew the exceptional Delirium Tremens) called Fruli, and that is a blend of witbier and 30% strawberry juice. You might be thinking of that - the fruit infusion with Fruli is definitely not part of the brewing process.

Edit: The strawberry juice in Fruli is actually added after primary fermentation, and forms the sugar basis for the secondary fermentation, so I was wrong there, and it is wrong to describe that as just a blend of fruit (like 'lager and lime'), so it does qualify as a genuine fruit beer. To misquote Mark Twain, it's a good witbier - spoiled.

[Rev]

45 minutes ago, eddie said:

The addition of the fruit with Van Honsebrouck beers (the kriek and their equally wonderful framboos - raspberries) is part of the lagering process. Basically once the primary fermentation is complete, the fruit is added and left for a further six months.

You could argue that it's actually a bit of both, because after the fruit fermentation, the beer is filtered and then a little old Lambic beer is added with an additional charge of candi sugar, the resultant beer is then bottled and corked (Lambics usually have a cork with a wire cage, like champagne) and a further fermentation takes place in the bottle.

Like I said, it's a traditional method, especially the mixing of older and young Lambics.

There is a piss-poor monstrosity of a beer brewed by Huyghe (amazingly, the same people who brew the exceptional Delirium Tremens) called Fruli, and that is a blend of witbier and 30% strawberry juice. You might be thinking of that - the fruit infusion with Fruli is definitely not part of the brewing process.

Edit: The strawberry juice in Fruli is actually added after primary fermentation, and forms the sugar basis for the secondary fermentation, so I was wrong there, and it is wrong to describe that as just a blend of fruit (like 'lager and lime'), so it does qualify as a genuine fruit beer. To misquote Mark Twain, it's a good witbier - spoiled.

I've not tried the fruli, and probably won't now, thanks for the tip.

They do a draft one in the Brewery tap, Leifmans(?), which is very refreshing but quite a low ABV, which made me wonder. Also available in Morrisons bottled, it's quite sour which I like.

They've started stocking the Delirium in the local Tesco express, which is not good at all for the liver, or the waistline!

 

[eddie]

36 minutes ago, reveldevil said:

I've not tried the fruli, and probably won't now, thanks for the tip.

They do a draft one in the Brewery tap, Leifmans(?), which is very refreshing but quite a low ABV, which made me wonder. Also available in Morrisons bottled, it's quite sour which I like.

They've started stocking the Delirium in the local Tesco express, which is not good at all for the liver, or the waistline!

 

Yes, it's cloyingly sweet.

You have summed up Liefman's Fruitesse beers nicely - refreshing, wonderful ice-cold and can even be drunk over ice.