Funky, skunky beer 'There are no health repercussions for out-of-date beer,' says Dave Radzanowski, president of the Siebel Institute of Technology, a vocational training school for the beer industry. That' s because beer doesn' t support the growth of pathogens or disease-causing organisms. The combination of carbon dioxide, alcohol, low pH (high acidity), and antiseptic hops means that no pathogenic bacteria will survive. As the saying goes, if you can' t drink the water, drink the beer. But, over time, beer can start to taste 'papery' or 'bready,' changes a discerning drinker will notice after two to three months. Because thicker beers can mask the developing flavors, lighter beers will taste funky more quickly. Also, when the hops in beer are exposed to light, they start to give off a 'skunky' flavor, says Radzanowski. The alcohol content, however, won't change as long as the packaging is intact. Three summers of sunscreen Most sunscreens are used up long before their expiration dates, although only some sunscreens carry an expiration date at all. According to regulations from the Food and Drug Administration, over-the-counter pharmaceuticals that show stability for three years do not have to carry an expiration date. Newer products will carry a two-year expiration date from the time of manufacture. Whether a sunscreen actually degrades over time is a matter of-dispute. David Wiggins of ScheringPlough says that testers put his company' s Coppertone products in 122 degree Fahrenheit for three months and found virtually no change. And there was drop in the concentration of active ingredients at high temperatures or room temperature for five years, he says. But Darrell Rigel, president of the American Association of Dermatologists, disagrees, saying the active ingredients — PABA, benzolphenols, and oxybenzols — degrade significantly ih heat. 'It's well accepted that in extreme heat, like a hot ear in the sun that can get up. to 160 or 180 degrees, over time a sunscreen can become 50 percent less effective,' says Rigel. Bottom line: don't keep your sunscreen in the glove compartment all summer. And if you have any doubt about the potency of your sunscreen, reach for a new bottle. 'The problem is the lack of efficacy,” says Mark Naylor, a tumor biologist, 'when you think you're protected and you're really cooked.” Over time, flavors of ______beers change more quickly.