Tips on how to store your beer to maintain the flavor

Fresh beer has a vibrancy and brightness that’s simply unmatched. “Fresh beer is like live music,”  Moonlight Brewing founder Brian Hunt once said. “Stale beer is like listening from the parking lot.”

The best beer hits a sweet spot shortly after being brewed, allowed to ferment and mature to peak perfection. For some beers, that’s fresh off the tank, while others may take a little longer. When it’s ready, you just know. But that perfect window only lasts about three weeks, before the flavors begin to change.

Of course, beer is made to remain tasty for as long as possible. Hops have preservative properties. Pasteurization can help extend the life of your beer and so does refrigeration. But even with modern brewing technology, a beer’s shelf life is finite. Your beer starts to degrade the moment it’s bottled, canned or kegged, even before it’s trucked to a distributor, who in turn delivers it to a bar, restaurant or market. Once it’s in your hands, it’s critical that yo...