Monster Energy manufacturing date and expiration date in the United States

Manufacturing Date

The manufacturing date of Monster Energy in the U.S. (and other countries) is not explicitly labeled in an easy-to-read format. This is why more than 90% of energy drink fans are unaware of how to determine it.

However, not knowing this isn’t a sign of ignorance—it’s simply because this information is not widely shared. In fact, almost no one around the world writes about Monster Energy's manufacturing date in an easily accessible way. You could say that Japan is one of the few places where such details are available online.

Now, let’s get to the main point.
The manufacturing date is actually encoded in a mysterious set of characters printed on the bottom of the can.

The first letter represents the month, with A for January, B for February, and so on, continuing through L for December. In some cases, the letter "I" is omitted to avoid confusion, but Monster Energy does use "I" for September.
The next two digits represent the year, and the following two digits indicate the day.

Here’s a clearer breakdown:

In this example, "E703" means the can was manufactured on May 3, 2007. This is an Old Camo edition.

Here, "A1211" indicates it was produced on January 11, 2012. This is a Rehab edition.

Some older cans, including Mega Monster and other vintage editions, use a larger font for these codes. In rare cases, the printing on very old cans may fade due to washing or handling, but they were originally printed there.

Interestingly, there are also cans that don’t follow this standard format. If you're a true enthusiast, collecting and examining them can be a fun challenge.

Mixing Up SKU and Manufacturing Date

One of Monster Energy's distinctive features is that the SKU code is printed on the barcode. Many people mistakenly use this to estimate the manufacturing date, but this number does not indicate when the drink was produced. (I’ll explain more about SKUs on a separate page.)

For example, the "057" in this photo is the SKU for Monster Original, but when you check the bottom of the can, it was actually manufactured in 2013.

This seems strange, but it happens. Just because an SKU appears old doesn’t mean the drink inside is from that time period. Many cans with older SKU labels are actually much more recent, so getting excited or worried over an old-looking SKU isn’t always justified.

Additionally, once you understand how to read manufacturing dates, you'll realize that truly old stock rarely remains on store shelves—something you’ll confirm after visiting hundreds of stores across the U.S.

Expiration Date

Monster Energy cans in the U.S. do not have an expiration date printed. Instead, you have to judge based on the manufacturing date. Generally, if a standard pull-tab can is within two years of its production date, it should be safe to drink.
For reference, Monster Energy cans in Japan have an official shelf life of two years from the manufacturing date (one year for coffee-based drinks).

For Wing Slide cans, their seal is weaker compared to standard pull-tabs, so it's best to drink them within a year. However, in reality, most people don’t get to them that quickly.

Mega cans with twist-top lids also have relatively weak seals, so drinking them within a year is recommended.