Exam Focus
- Check date codes regularly and know common code types.
- Sell older dated beer before newer beer of the same product.
- Remove out-of-date beer from service inventory.
- Know general freshness windows for draft and packaged beer.
Date-code habits
Date codes may show best-by dates, packaging dates, Julian or ordinal dates, or producer-specific formats. When the meaning is unclear, ask the supplier or producer.
Freshness windows
Refrigerated non-pasteurized draft beer is measured in weeks, pasteurized draft beer somewhat longer, and packaged beer can remain sound for months when kept cold. Warm storage shortens all of those windows.
Key Terms
- Best-by date
- A producer date after which intended quality is no longer expected.
- Julian date
- A date code using day-of-year numbering rather than a calendar month and day.