Best brewery dating...

Jolly Pumpkin slaps a sticker on their beers. Bottled on date and barrel #. I don't know why more breweries don't use those cheap printable labels, I think they're brilliant. JP is probably saving a fortune by doing it that way rather than buying a bottle printer.

 

Deschutes is pretty good.

 

Couldn't have said it better myself. Bell's new dating system is nearly perfect.

I'll give a hat tip to any brewery that puts their bottle date on the label instead of the bottle. I always have problems finding/reading dates that are printed directly on the bottle. They smear and smudge way to easily or they are printed in black ink on a brown bottle. Stone is also ahead of the curve with their laser etching, I just wish it was a bottled on instead of a best by date.

 

Jolly Pumpkin is still a very small brewery producing small batch beer. They can afford to take the time to stick those labels on each bottle by hand. This process would be inefficient and not worth the time for larger breweries.

 

Does that mean that it's pretty dumb.

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

 

Bell's system is good, but I still think Ommegang's is better. From a bottle of Adoration I just pulled:
PKG ON 09/13/10
BEST BY 09/2015
No codes or letters to decipher - just everything you need to know and nothing you don't. I think every brewery should do exactly this.

 

I took a very lovely woman on a date to Ellicotville Brewing & we had a great time....Wait-thats not what you guys are talking about is it. Sorry gotta get my priorities in order.

 

I see what you mean, but bottle dating is not as critical if it has a 5 year best by life.

 

Exactly. A little ironic that the brewery that least needs to do it gets it right. But tell me that you wouldn't like to see all IPAs marked with this kind of dating.

 

Oh, without a doubt. Any dating that will tell me or let me figure out when an IPA (or any other style) was bottled is ideal. I have passed over IPAs that were not dated, but could have been 23 hours old, and have been burned by taking a chance on others that may have been 23 months old. (the thick layer of dust usually gives those away though)

 

Both the bottled on date and best by dates should be marked with clear, un-coded dates, and this should be a federal law.

 

Not sure how serious, but this should not be federal law. We should all put on our grown up pants and accept the risk we take when buying unmarked bottles. Money is quite the motivator, if enough people steer clear of unmarked bottles breweries will change their habits. Then again maybe the majority of those who purchase the beer do not really care that much and the issue is really overblown.....

 

Or we could put our grown up pants on and realize that the government regulates the alcohol industry already as well as many other things and has for some time. Nothing wrong with government regulations. Especially regulations, like mandatory bottle dating, that would help everyone in the long run.

 

Sam Adams dates things to where even a dummy like me can understand it.

 

Bell's system is great. Founder's is ok as well but a little harder to see. Those that use Julian dating are ok as well but prefer actual date beer is bottled.

 

Sam Adams, because their overall policy & practice is effective, especially considering how big they are and in how many markets their product is found.

At the vast majority of places I never see expired Sam Adams. It's only the occasional "specialty" store that seems to have them.

Code isn't so valuable if your choice is expired product on the shelf, or nothing. The system is only working when reasonably fresh beer is on the shelf when you want to buy it.

 

Of course the government regulated alcohol but to regulate such minor details like bottle dating is ridiculous. I do not want to understate the importance that freshness plays in the quality of a beer but the BA community does seem to over exaggerate the issue. There is no need for government mandated bottle dating, there is no harmful consequence to out of code beer. Responsible consumers can solve the problem without adding additional burdens to the American brewers.

 

Good point. But a lot of breweries out there are just as small, if not smaller, and could benefit from a cheap sticker slapped on each bottle. At least the ones that can't afford a bottle printer

 

I am very mush in agreement that small breweries could potentially make this effort, but I understand it is easier said than done. Bottle dating is appreciate and could be worth the effort for those who take the extra time.

 

Very true that it is easier said than done, it must be a huge hassle to hand stick on those stickers. But I guess it just annoys me when I buy an IPA off the shelf o ly to find that it's old and tastes like cardboard when I know it's delicious when it's fresh. There must be some way for the little guys to date their bottles