bottling

[i like beer]

how long can you keep your beer in a bottle ?

thanks for your help in advance

[spiderwrangler]

To quote Dr. Chris White, "It depends."

Things it depends on:
Style of beer
Gravity of beer
Color of beer (roasted malts may contribute to age-ability)
Sanitation of bottle
Oxygen pickup at filling
Hot side aeration ?
Presence of dimethyl sulfide
Presence of acetlyaldehyde
Bottle conditioned vs force carbonated
Yeast strain used
Amount of yeast in bottle
Amount of other trub
Temperature stored at
Level of carbonation in the bottle
Type of cap
Type of bottle
Infection

There are probably another dozen that people could come up with, but the long and short of it is that there are many things that can affect the life span of beer in a bottle. Are you looking to age a particular beer you've made, or just asking in general?

[BrewerJ]

I have some RIS and Barley Wines that are seven years old. They can go longer but I think hit their peak a few years ago. They also have been kept cold the whole time. I have also tried some 20+ year old Thomas Hardys that were still pretty good.