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I was participating in a sinkhole cleanup project yesterday and my toes became numb from the cold, so I decided to enter the cave at the bottom of the sinkhole to warm up. I had started cleaning up broken glass inside the cave entrance when I came across a pull tab can of Budweiser- never opened. As I continued, a second can was discovered.

My question- Is this unopened beer likely to be drinkable without any negative results (even though it IS Bud) after 20+ years in the darkness at a constant 55 degrees?

The consensus of the caving group was that if it makes a PHHHST sound when I pull the tab it should be sampled, but they're CAVERS, not TUBA PLAYERS.

Anybody have any experience in this area?

I'd say 'nothing ventured, nothing gained.' Bottoms up!

I think this is one of those "Only a tuba player would" moments.

OldsRecording wrote: I'd say 'nothing ventured, nothing gained.' Bottoms up!

At the very least, "nothing ventured, nothing drained" ...

the elephant wrote:If it is in a tin can (not aluminum) then it could be poisonous. Tin cans were assembled with tin/lead solder, and 25 to 30 years of decay would put some lead residue into the beer.

Do NOT drink this.

If it is an aluminum can then it is a bit newer. Regardless, I would still NOT drink this. If you want to see why, email the company and tell them your story. If they wave you off (as they most assuredly will) they are trying to avoid a lawsuit for some reason (hmm). If they are not willing to ensure that the product is safe at such an age then I would go with that: It is NOT safe or at least it is NOT worth the risk.

Sorry to be your mommy on this, but, come on, man!



the "killjoy" elephant

Well, fine... We almost had him talked into it!

Dude, I'll pay the $4.50 for a sixer of Bud just to keep you from drinking it!

Put the can down and back away slowly...

davet wrote:Anybody have any experience in this area?

I do....but not enough to answer the question. Send me a pic of the can and I will get an estimate on its age (a pic of the lid is important as well). I work in R&D for ICI global packaging and I'm sure one of the chemist there can give an answer to this perplexing question. BTW, ICI Packaging group makes the coatings that go into and onto the can of soda or beer you're probably drinking as you read this (unless of course, you are drinking out of glass). Upon 1st thought, I would say no way should you drink this, but in years gone by, thicker and differnt types of coatings were used and maybe, if the stars were all aligned correctly, this product may have survived in perfect shape......but i doubt it.

The brown color is cave mud, not metal deterioration. YUM![img]<img%20src="http://to5odg.bay.livefilestore.com/y1p ... C7U"></img>[/img]

Forget about drinking it, man! Sell the stash on eBay and buy the Yamayork you've always been wanting!

Well.... it's obvious that these aren't TIN cans. But they certainly aren't the latest style aluminum cans. I'll bet your local Bud distributor would be interested in your story. It might be worth a couple of cases to them!

Lagered for 20 years though......

I for one would still try it while I still have free health insurance.

From the looks of the can, if it stayed perfectly sealed, It wouldn't kill you, but it would taste bad. (not that it wasn't bad when new)

The Jackson wrote:Forget about drinking it, man! Sell the stash on eBay and buy the Yamayork you've always been wanting!

What he said.

Seriously, beer does not age like a fine wine. It has a shelf life. Measured in months, not years. Beer is a perishable product. See:

http://www.tastings.com/beer/perishable.html

I think its more interest as a historical find than refreshment. I recall the both the introduction and the banning of tab-tops when I was a kid. Now, a bottle of "home distilled" white lightning, on the other hand....

bloke wrote:

bearphonium wrote:I think its more interest as a historical find than refreshment. I recall the both the introduction and the banning of tab-tops when I was a kid. Now, a bottle of "home distilled" white lightning, on the other hand....

funny...

"Tab-tops" were FAR more sanitary than the current style. Here's the thing: People were SO lazy (and nasty...aka "beer drinkers") that they dropped those tabs down into the beer before they drank it.

bloke "Some folks were accidentally swallowing those aluminum tabs. The gubmunt decided to protect those people from their own stupidity rather than letting Darwinism do its job."

People made funky vests from 'em, too. As cool as a beer-can hat.... Since it was the 'see-through' days, they were especially interesting when a woman wore one without a shirt...

Jeff "So *that's* where my pencil erasers went!" Benedict

The Big Ben wrote:

bloke wrote:

bearphonium wrote:I think its more interest as a historical find than refreshment. I recall the both the introduction and the banning of tab-tops when I was a kid. Now, a bottle of "home distilled" white lightning, on the other hand....

funny...

"Tab-tops" were FAR more sanitary than the current style. Here's the thing: People were SO lazy (and nasty...aka "beer drinkers") that they dropped those tabs down into the beer before they drank it.

bloke "Some folks were accidentally swallowing those aluminum tabs. The gubmunt decided to protect those people from their own stupidity rather than letting Darwinism do its job."

People made funky vests from 'em, too. As cool as a beer-can hat.... Since it was the 'see-through' days, they were especially interesting when a woman wore one without a shirt...

Jeff "So *that's* where my pencil erasers went!" Benedict

(singing) "I blew out my flip-flop, stepped on a pop-top, cut my heel, had to cruise on back home..."

http://www.tastings.com/beer/perishable.html

It is really sad that that myth still persists even among supposed experts. I have had the pleasure of an Alaskan Smoked Porter that had been cellared for 2 years and it had truly aged and matured in that time. Likewise I have had lambics that have aged for over 6 years and they were works of art compared to their "new" counterparts.

For info on what kinds of beers age well and what kind do not, here is an answer by Michael Jackson (the beer guy, not the other one) http://www.beerhunter.com/askmichael-200112.html

On the other hand, a can of Bud just does not age well no matter how you look at it.

Captain Sousie wrote:On the other hand, a can of Bud just does not age well no matter how you look at it.

I think the other hand is what we have here. Assembly line American beers do go out of date. I've tried to drink a few with astonishingly poor results. My son, a manager with a major American brewery, always clears the out of date stuff from my fridge when he comes. He scolds me for having it but he never brings me any fresh stuff. Ungrateful kid.

knuxie wrote:

Of course, this beer is **** beer - Budweiser - and isn't worth drinking if it were fresh. Throw it away and get some real beer.

But you have to admit, the girls are pretty hot....

http://www.flickr.com/photos/the_airrunner/174915900/

Ken F.

I agree...(just don't let my wife see this post)

Edit:Why does that photo make me think about bloke's post about camel toads?

tbn.al wrote:I think the other hand is what we have here. Assembly line American beers do go out of date. I've tried to drink a few with astonishingly poor results. My son, a manager with a major American brewery, always clears the out of date stuff from my fridge when he comes. He scolds me for having it but he never brings me any fresh stuff. Ungrateful kid.

Doubly agree. If you can't get through to him you'll just have to become a homebrewer too. Can't get any fresher than the carboy bubbling away in the other room.