Crooked Stave prints a packaging date on every can and bottle in MM/DD/YY format. Use this page to decode your code instantly and check if your beer is still fresh.
How to read MM/DD/YY date codes
Standard American date format: month, then day, then year. 02/20/26 reads as February 20, 2026. Watch for European prints that use DD/MM/YY — usually noted by an explicit label or the location of the brewery.
Crooked Stave's code is a Pack date — the date the beer was packaged, drink within a window after
Where to find the date code on Crooked Stave cans and bottles
On Crooked Stave packaging, the date code is typically found on the bottom of cans or on the bottle neck. Some bottles also print it on the back label. Bottled-on for sour and wild ales; many improve with age.
How long is Crooked Stave beer fresh?
Crooked Stave produces a range of styles, each with its own drinking window. For their most common categories:
- Sour / Wild Ale: peak through 1 year, drinkable through 3 years.
- Lambic / Gueuze: peak through 5 years, drinkable through 20 years.
- Belgian Strong / Tripel: peak through 1 year, drinkable through 3 years.
These are guidelines, not laws — well-stored beer can outperform the curve, while heat-abused cans can stale much faster than expected. Storage temperature matters as much as age for hop-forward styles.
Where to buy Crooked Stave
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