California Beers and Freshness

This has such bad logic it made my day!

 

Lulz, it really is silly. Cracked me up also.

 

Some facts for general knowledge, that I am not ready to fall asleep. Maybe you were joking?

Do yo know that California grows less hops than states like Wisconsin, New York, and Michigan?

Hops are harvested and processed over about a 6 weeks period in Late August and September. So for the rest of the year, everyone brews with "old hops".

The major hop growing area is the Yakima Valley in Washington state, then Oregon, and Idaho. It is over 1000 miles from San Diego to Yakima, so how fresh are those hops?

 

Joking. See my next post. Plus hops aren't how the brew is made, which is the point of the OP'S post.

 

Hmmm, I didn't see the twinkle in your eye either. (Given some of the things people express a belief in.... :-))

 

Well-said! While I love 2 week old IPAs, I know that is unrealistic..... how can any store have that kind of turnover with 60 different IPAs in stock? It's fine if one chooses not to buy any beer more than say 60 days old, but expecting every/most beer to be that fresh is asking too much IMO.

I care more about temp... I have no problem with 3-4 month old IPA if I feel it's been cold most of the time. And my experiences with some brands and at some stores has allowed me to identify some reliable options.

 

Being from Virginia, I always enjoyed beers from Stone, Lagunitas, and Ballast Point to name a few. I always thought they tasted very good until I moved to Arizona. Now those same beers seem to taste much better IMO. Is it because they show up here much fresher than in Virginia? I just tend to seem to enjoy them, and especially Ballast Point beers, much more now that I am in a much closer proximity.

 

I would think fresher is your answer, any beer for the most part is better fresh, especially hoppy beers. Still don't like Sculpin, even on tap it doesn't do much for me.

 

That is a reasonable sentiment for buying packaged beer at a beer store but an 'answer' here is to buy local: from a local brewery's tasting room or a brewpub. If you want the beer for drinking at home the 'answer' is a growler or a crowler.

And that is indeed the 'trick', eh? When you go to a beer store and see a 3-4 month old beer in their refrigerator you really have zero idea how long that beer was indeed stored cold. I have read multiple posts by BAs who work for beer retailers and their store's strategy is to place the beer that has aged on the shelves into the beer refrigerators. They do this since they know that some customers prefer their beers stored cold and they might think that even though the beer is a few months old it is a 'worthy' purchase since they think it was continuously stored cold.

Cheers!

 

This BA paranoid hogwash has to stop. Every perishable product industry follows FIFO. When the stuff in the cooler is gone ,it gets replaced. People aren't trying to trick the 10% that prefer cold storage out of the people who buy 10% of the beer. You can't throw new stuff in when something else is there or it will be a mess. It's not a trick, it's managing inventory.

 

So you're going to make the lower 9-5 employees lives hell but in reality it could be the 'higher ups' who are actually in control and enforcing their mandates and regulations on the lower tier employees. I agree with drinking fresh product but don't be a psychopath and take things too far bro. Enjoying numerous different craft beers is a first world luxury.. don't make it life or death.

 

@jesskidden
Au Contraire, my friend. We require (by binding contract) that all of our wholesale partners maintain our beer in refrigerated storage at all times while in their possession. We have even included using temperature and humidity sensors on beer shipments and in warehouses to tell us the facts...is our beer cold, is it as cold as it ought to be...etc. We use temperature as one of the metrics we use to judge quality handling as part of our business reviews with distributors.
Brewers (suppliers) and wholesalers/distributors are partners. If things go well, we both stand to do well together.
Fresher beer tastes better. If it tastes better, people buy more. If people buy more, we stand to make a better living.
In your example above, the Torpedo packaged on 2/11/16 was shipped to your distributor in a refrigerated truck, and stored in a refrigerated warehouse for sure. From there it was probably delivered on a non refrigerated truck and stored however the shop chose to handle it. Everything that leaves our warehouses is on a refer truck, and stored in a refer warehouse. Guaranteed. If not, we'll have some pretty tough conversations come contract time.
-Bill

 

Preach it brother. As I've said all along, Brewers have the option to control how their beer is handled all the way to the Retailer...then we have to trust that the guy running the business doesn't build a 40 case IPA display of 6-pack bottles in the storefront window.

The best Retailers treat beer with respect, don't order more than they need and turn over inventories quickly. It's the key to gaining repeat business and increased foot traffic.

Cheers Bill!

Agreed. There is a saying in this business that is older than me.

"Cold Beer is Sold Beer"

 

Its not really that serious... i haven't done anything to any employees except asked them if they had any fresh beer... management seems like they're going to try to do what they can on their part to get fresh beer, so i guess thats about all i can ask for. I still shop there and i like everybody who works there except the one guy. Is it really such a horrible thing that I check the date on the beers that i drink before i buy it and then bring it to the attention of the people who work there When its not fresh? I don't get it...

 

Bought a case of SNPA over the weekend, something I haven't done in a few years. I didn't think to check the date at the time of purchase. While unloading them at home I noticed that it was bottled in January...well shit, I thought. I cracked one open a few hours later and was shocked by how well it held up. SN is extraordinary at retaining fresh flavor. I also forgot how awesome that beer is.

 

Based on what you wrote earlier ("crusade"), it just seemed too confrontational IMO. We all like fresh beer, but going in and asking "do you have any fresh beer?" implies that they usually don't and puts them on the defensive. I think a lot of us look at dates when making buying decisions but don't point out all the stuff that's too old for our liking. I think it's alright to occasionally point out a major fail (year old IPA or Enjoy By 3 months past date) but what you describe seems too strident.

Your convo with the management seems more appropriate, but I do wonder if your expectations for freshness might be unrealistic.

I think you mentioned Bevmo.... like a lot of retailers, the explosion in the number of beers they carry has led to many sitting around for too long. I'm seeing this at many places, from Vons to high-end beer stores. My problem with Bevmo (and some high end places too) is that waaay too many are on display at room temp. I almost never buy those unless they happen to be super fresh. I will take a 2 month old IPA in the reefer over a 1 month old room temp every time. The stores I frequent have most/all of their beer in coolers.

 

I mostly agree. However, if there was a large demand for Oskar Blues beers in your area they would not sit on shelves or in distributor warehouses and get old. Most Oskar Blues I see in Asheville is fairly old as well.

 

Makes even less sense in Asheville.

 

Good response Bill and I appreciate your polite tone. First person posts like yours make visiting Beer boards worthwhile.
My interest in all is this purely selfish in my pursuit of best condition beer. What I've learned locally, while accurate, is anecdotal as to the overall picture. You, Sarah, Ice and others are helping refine my understanding of how all this transportation/storage/retailer stuff works.

This morning in a store parking lot I walked past a semi emblazoned with a craft beer logo covering the entire side of the container. No refer unit, dry box, wood floor, open rear door and the driver busy unloading recognized me.

After hellos I said, "now just how am I gonna get cold beer if you guys don't deliver in a refrigerated truck?" Laughing, he said, " man, none of our trucks are refrigerated". That's how I ask questions. I'm not a complainer and I have no right telling others how to run their business.