Iowa Bars Are Selling Expired Beer

All consumable products have an expiration date. Typically when you find your eggs, milk, or other food and drinks in your fridge are well past that date, you toss them or dump them down the drain. Beer also has an expiration date printed on all cans and bottles and bars in Iowa are serving those expired beers well past the expiration date.

An ice-cold beer tastes delicious after a long day of work. Beer also tastes delicious when you're enjoying a game at the bar or with your friends. What can really put a damper on that beer is someone who is talking your ear off you don't know or if your beer tastes skunked. Recently, expired beers have been served to me at Iowa bars and I wanted to know if this was legal or not.

Check if your beer is expired

If you're wondering how to check if your beer is expired or not, there are two places to look and it depends on whether you're drinking beer out of a can or a bottle.

On a can, check the bottom. Now, this may be hard if the beer is open, but hold it straight above your head and read it. If you "best by" and a date that's before today, it's technically expired

On a bottle, it's typically on the side in yellow, white, or black print.

Can Iowa bars serve expired beer?

The answer is yes. I reached out to the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division (IABD) to ask that question. I spoke to a nice guy who told me,

"The bar needs to contact the distributor to change out the expired product. Most beers don't have dairy in them, so an expired beer won't hurt you. You can also just ask for a new beer."

I also asked the guy at the IAPD if the bar knows the beer is expired and serves it, can they get in trouble? There wasn't a real yes or no, he reiterated that they should swap out the product with non-expired beer.

As we finished our conversation, he jokingly said,

"If the beer is expired, they could sell it to your buddy who wouldn't notice the difference for a dollar or something. It's no different than some of the bad beers out there."

I couldn't agree more.

Can I drink beer after the expiration date?

Yes, you can but the flavor may not be as good. You can drink beer 5 to 9 months after the expiration date if it's at room temperature. If it's refrigerated, it can last up to 2 years past the expiration date.

If the beer doesn't taste good and you want a new one, ask the bartender. They would be more than happy to get you a new one on the house. Just make sure that one isn't expired too.