Redbridge Beer & Maybe Other gluten-free Beers

[mouse]

Last night my husband and I went to our local bar for bike night. The owner always keeps redbridge beer on hand for me. He said the AB distributor came yesterday and opened every beer he had (except for two) and poured them down the sink. The distributor said that they have an expiration date on them and that is 30 days. He also told him that they have to always be kept refrigerated and that was why they arrived in a refrig. truck. Because they have no preservatives is the reason for the short expiration date. He said the signs that we would have drank expired beer is a dry mouth and the big D.

He told the bar owner that I should not buy extra of the Redbridge that cannot go immediatly into the frig. Sorry about that sentence (makes no sense to me) as I have not finished my first cup of coffee.

I am now wondering if this applies to all gluten-free beer as I don't believe that any of them have perservatives. I have gone to Whole Foods and seen Bards Tale stacked on the floor in a display and not refrigerated.

I thought that beer drinkers needed a heads up on this.

PLEASE READ THE ANSWER I GOT FROM AB today, further down on this page. THANKS.

[Guest KG in FL]

I just checked a couple bottles I've had in the refridge and I find no expiration date to be seen. I looked everywhere. And I don't know the route the beer got to my store either, whether it was always kept cool or not. I haven't been sick from them either. How can this be as serious as you were told and there not be an expiration date on the(my) bottles? Did you try and contact the company on this? Now I am scared to drink them but wonder how true this information is?

[bluejeangirl]

What! Why don't they tell you this. I don't keep beer in the fridge just on the floor in the pantry along with a couple of wine bottles. And I bought two six packs over three months ago and most of them are still there. I guess I thought I'd be drinking them more often but I rarely have a desire for beer anymore. Well once again my septic system can party tonight.

[mouse]

I think it is true, but the distributor might go by codes. Which is not a help to us. I wonder if an email to AB would get us the right answer. It might be also new information that the distributor just got.

I am going to drink mine. At the cost of this stuff, I am not going to throw them away.

I also posted this so that none of us buy gluten-free beer and not refrig. it right away.

[VegasCeliacBuckeye]

Metta,

Thanks for the heads up

Sadly (or not so sadly), I drink mine fairly quick (as you know).

But its good for future reference.

BB

[mouse]

I sent an email to Redbridge ans asked about everything I was told. We will see what they say. I also said if this was true, could they please add an expiration date on the label, plus that the beer must be kept in the frig.

[Guest KG in FL]

I sent an email to Redbridge ans asked about everything I was told. We will see what they say. I also said if this was true, could they please add an expiration date on the label, plus that the beer must be kept in the frig.

I wrote AB immediately after reading this. Finding out the true story is pretty important as this could scare a lot of folks unneccessarily. I hope no one throws out much beer until we get the true story.

And if it's true, AB should have made this VERY clear originally to the public. They would have been quite negligent if this is true. It's a pretty serious story for those who drink this and could get sick.

I will post if I hear back.

[Guest KG in FL]

I just recieved a phone call from an Anheuser Busch representative. I was kind of shocked to see that on the caller ID! He was extremely nice and had researched my questions regarding the Redbridge beer. He stated that the shelf life of the Redbridge is the same as thier other beers which is 110 days. There is no "born on" date on the Redbridge though, but the 110 days is only the recommended life for the "best" taste. It is pasturized so you will not become sick because of this. The requirements for temp are the same as the other beers as well. 40-70 degrees. Although since it is pasturized, you will not become sick if it fails to always remain at these temps. Draft beers are unpasturized so this would be a different issue, but Redbridge doesn't have draft yet.

He was very interested in this issue and recommended that anyone that hears this kind of rumor to please call or contact AB and they will answer any and all questions and care very much if anyone gets sick from thier products. He wanted to make sure that no one had been sick and I explained this was just a rumor and he reinterated for anyone to please call if there is any problem or question at anytime. I am impressed by their concern.

So Redbridge drinkers - you have the green light for your Friday night!!

[mouse]

AB just called me. All the info that the bar owner got from the dist. is wrong.

The beer has a shelf life of 110 days like regular beer. Beyond those days it would degrade in flavor. You can tell the date on the bottle by going to the bottom left hand corner of the label. There will be five numbers there. The first two numbers would be the year, as in 06 or 07. The next 3 numbers are based on the Julian calender and go from 001 (first day of year) to 365 (the last day of the year). This beer should be stored at 40-70 degrees. If it is stored at a higher temp, then it would expire faster. In other words don't put it in an AZ garage.

He also said that drinking it beyond the 110 days would NOT make us sick, but the taste would be affected.

I am sorry to have upset everyone. Now I need to call the bar owner and tell him all this. His dist. sure gave him some bad info.

[Felidae]

The one and only gluten-free beer in Canada has the expiry date on every bottle. It is usually only good for one month after I buy my six pack. However it is brewed on the other side of the country, so maybe it lasts a little longer.