Here's Where You Should Go For Fresh Beer On Tap Every Time

Beer doesn't spoil with age, but it does get stale. The breakdown happens at a different pace with each type of brew, but you can be certain that every beer will degrade over time. It'll become less effervescent, and the flavors will dull and taste less dynamic. And while beer on tap seems like it would be a surefire way to avoid stale beer, that's not always the case. Kegs don't always have fill dates on them, so bartenders can only guess how long the beer's been sitting around. How can you really find the freshest beer in town? The answer lies in seeking out local breweries.

Bright, lively, and perfectly balanced beer can come from a bottle, but you have to get it as soon as it's bottled for the best flavor. If you are picking up a few bottles from a brewery or your local grocer, look for "bottled by" and "enjoy by" dates to find the best options. Still, you might want to skip the bottled section if you're looking for the freshest beer around, and turn to taprooms, local breweries, and any establishment with "microbrewery" in the name, instead.

Beer that is brewed locally enjoys a shorter travel time from the brewery to the bar, even if it isn't made in-house. In fact, a locally brewed selection is one of the ways you can tell if a beer bar is worth your time. Ask the bartender about the freshness of the beer on tap and you'll likely get more information on where it comes from, along with everything else you'd want to know (like flavor, pairings, and popularity of the brew).

If you really want a brewery-to-table experience, find a local taproom where beer brewed in-house is served to the public. Often these little bar-like spaces are attached to breweries and provide a tasting space for new brews, a place to gather for a tour of the brewery, and so much more. You can find plenty of local breweries in beer-loving cities (Chicago has the most breweries in the United States), and with plenty of unique beer breweries around the world, there's a beer and a tap house to match pretty much any personality and preference.