Lagunitas IPA 12 packs bottling date?

The few times that I've bought Sucks, there was no dating anywhere to be found on the bottles or the labels.

I guess that explains why the last two sixers tasted so bad. Shelf turds.

Sucks is certainly an appropriate namesake in this case.

 

It's there, sometimes u just gotta keep turning the neck round and round til the light hits it just perfect

 

Sucks does suck......first year it was amazing.......It no longer has a cat piss smell an pine bursts and its quite syrupy now even when fresh. I can say its changed over the years for the worst.

Enjoy

 

sucks is not the same beer, I'm convinced.

I had it fresh at brewery and it was just... bland.. yeasty and bland. It used to be tropical and pine forward. Pretty sure they were using different hops then and stated it couldnt be year round because of the top variety... ooops.

 

I like sucks. Has the most profound of that sugary Lagunitasy taste to me out of all of them. Guess I'm the oddball. But I also have found it lately for 7.99, which between that and celebration I'm killing beer savings this last month.

 

I've shared this experience. I'm sure I look like a real winner sitting in the aisle of my beer store spinning bottles around in the light. I've got no problem with Julian dating, but make the damn thing easier to find.

 

Lol yep. One time I was looking for a stone date that was obviously rubbed off and the guy walking by asked me if I was looking for treasure. Lol.

 

Been there. Don't you feel like a real tool standing there spinning the bottle and moving it for different light angles.

 

Big time. It's gotten to the point where I give it a spin or two - thirty seconds tops - and if I don't see a date, I'm putting it back and finding something else. It's not a "my time is too valuable for that shit" kinda thing as much as it's a "there's plenty of other good beer in the store that I don't have to launch an investigation on" kinda thing.

 

Oh. It's not that hard. It's right where the fill line is on the neck.

 

When it is worn off or smudged it is a tiny bit hard.

 

I know where it is. It's small, black ink on a dark brown bottle. Not exactly the most conducive to being approachable for the customer. You need to have the right angle, decent light, and a keen eye. If I'm deciding between that and something like Fresh Squeezed (for example) where the date is printed clearly on the label, it's a no brainer.

 

True story: I stood there at the Lagunitas Gift Shop fiddling with the bottles, looking for the Julian date on the NightTime. Clerk told me they don't print them on the stuff they sell, and instead have the bottle date on the refrigerator. It had been about 9 months past.

The clerk said it still tasted really good, but different from fresh. I told him I got recommended NightTime by a friend, and since I never tried it, I'll just wait until the next go-around to try it fresh. Dude was so enthusiastic about the beer that he rang it up for me and gifted it to me.

First time anyone ever bought me beer.

 

Bells does the date thing the best. Right on the back label , legible and you cant miss it.

Unless you live in PA like me dating only the case is stupid.

Founder might be the worst. Case says packed on but the beer inside is not always close to that date. Bought a mix case of packed on and some of the the beer was a few months old. Not good for a hoppy beer. Founders never even replied to my concern.

Enjoy

 

A couple weeks ago I bought a 12 pack of Bells Two Hearted cans and there were no dates on the cardboard package. The owner of the beer distributor was willing to open the box so I could look at the bottom of the can.

I must confess that I find the lack of dating on the box of this Bells beer a bit disappointing.

Oh well, all's well that ends well!?!

Cheers!

 

Best brown has box dates on them blends in a bit sometimes . I don't buy 2 hearted so I can't speak to that but figured all their beer was the same date wise.

Enjoy

 

I've considered buying a Lagunitas product two or three times since Born Yesterday, and I decided on a different beer because of this. If I cannot discern the bottle date without a freaking flashlight and a magnifying glass, I'm not buying that beer. This isn't Beer Detective here, and there are plenty of breweries that manage to display their bottling dates in a very simple, easy-to-read fashion. What's even worse is that with the size of Lagunitas, there is absolutely no excuse for this. I can give a pass to the small guys- putting dates on costs money, and money can be short for them. But Lagunitas is HUGE and you can't even tell whether their product is fresh or not..

 

I know you liked the price but did you like the beer?

 

Sucks seems to fall off fast. A big box place in town has had the sixers in stock for a couple months now. Just recently, I thought I scored on month old sucks. But then yesterday, 18 days old. The fresher one is nearly what I remember out from that very first time. The month old one is slowly turning into a hop candy sweet brew.

I haven't had the time to check their other IPA offerings. They may be just as fresh.

I will say, finding the julian date is a bit of a challenge even when you know where to look. Someone mentioned the fill line. Thats right on the money. I still tend to look too high or too low, or into the liquid when there's a glare, or into empty glass when its even harder to see.

Not an excuse for their bad labeling. But I've been able to check dates without looking like a total nerd.

Slightly off topic, Odell IPA 12 pack cans just hit my area. I can't find the bottled on date. I know where to look on loose bottles. Since they raised the price some $2 more on a 12 pack than two individually sold six pack bottles $8 on sixers, vs. $19 on the 12 pack), I need to be more cautious.

 

NightTime - not entirely sure what to make of it aged. It still has a hoppy quality to it, but the beer mostly evoked the flavors of black tea. I didn't love it, but didn't dislike it either. It did make a fantastic pairing with these Thai curry banh mi that my wife and I put together though.

Will definitely try it when it comes back out on the winter.