If you are, or were, a regular drinker of NA beer, you may notice that it doesn’t seem to stay fresh as long as regular, leaded beer.
So how long does NA beer last? What is the typical shelf-life for a non-alcoholic beer to stay fresh?
What makes NA beer different from Regular Beer?
NA beer, or non-alcoholic beer, is simply beer with an alcoholic content by volume (ABV) of 0.5% or less.
This is great for people who want to drink beer, but also want to cut down on their alcohol consumption.
However, alcoholic content also helps prevent spoiling. High ABV beers will typically last longer on the shelf than lower ABV beers.
That makes things difficult for non-alcoholic beer brewers, as their product has a shorter shelf-life than their alcoholic counterparts.
Do NA beers come labeled with an expiration date?
Unlike regular beer, NA beers typically don’t come labeled with an expiration date.
Instead, they normally come with a “born on” date, the day the beer was bottled or canned.
So even though NA beer has quite a shorter shelf-life than regular beer, they tend not to come with a clear indication of if and when the beer will “go bad.”
Can NA beer go bad?
Well, any consumable product will go bad after any period of time.
Most NA beers won’t typically hurt you if you consume them within a reasonable amount of time, however, they may go flat and lose a lot of taste after a while, which are very important characteristics of a good NA beer.
How long does NA beer typically last on the shelf?
To answer this question, we’ll have to break down the types of NA beer in to two categories: Pasteurized and Unpasteurized.
Pasteurized NA Beer
Pasteurizing a beer means that the brewery uses heat to destroy bacteria living in the liquid, which also helps prevent more yeast from growing which would cause further fermentation.
Since most of the microbes within the beer are killed, the chances of those microbes spoiling the beer are much smaller.
The process of pasteurization was revolutionary in the brewing business because, at the time, refrigeration was difficult and beer could be transported and stored for much longer periods of time without spoiling. Today, with more refrigeration, it’s less of a concern.
Most major macro-beers in the US, both leaded and NA, are pasteurized.
Unpasteurized NA Beer
However, many beers in the US are not pasteurized.
Unpasteurized beer doesn’t necessarily mean it’s dirtier or less safe than pasteurized beer.
In fact, unpasteurized beer can contain healthy, probiotic bacteria that would have been killed off in the pasteurization process. This same bacteria can be found in probiotic foods like yogurt and kombucha.
As long as the beer remains cold, any bacteria inside will remain dormant.
Many people prefer the taste of unpasteurized beer. Most craft beer and kegged beer is unpasteurized.
A lot of brewers will prefer to forego pasteurization so that they can retain the original flavor and quality of their beer from the time it was brewed.
Shelf-Lives of Each
Pasteurized NA beer has a shelf-life of about 12 months after the born-on date, but may start to go flat after just 6 months.
The longer you wait to drink your beer from the time it was brewed, you may start to see degradation in the flavor and body of the beer.
This can start to occur after just a few months.
Non-pasteurized NA beer, if kept refrigerated, will only last about 2 to 6 months from the brew date with most brewers recommending no more than 3 months for the best flavor.
How can I make sure I get the freshest NA beer?
Given the short shelf-life of NA beer, it’s important to take into consideration where to buy NA beer.
Most physical and online stores that sell non-alcoholic beer will probably have their beer sitting on the shelf for more than a few months.
Given the short shelf-life of NA beer, a few months can make a world of difference in the freshness and quality of the beer.
That’s why the beer you buy through our online NA beer store is shipped directly from the brewery where it was made, ensuring that you get only the freshest NA beer available.
When you purchase beer at NA Beer Club, you don’t have to worry about your beer losing freshness or going bad. See below to shop our selection of NA beer.
Go ahead and drink confidently.
