Lagunitas Julian Date Games

I remember the born again yesterday 12pk carton being consistent with the actual bottled product. That was months ago.

Maybe this is something new. They have more beer as excess than needed cartons. So the carton date is consistent when that is printed the day of shipmentnvand not with what is being bottled.

Ie the bottles are sitting for a month before being shipped out in 12ers. That's feasible.

In some sense SN does the same thing. Their carton may say one thing. But a mixed pack may have older beers in it. The outside number is merely a packaging number, not bottled on.

And this is why I tend to ignore lagunitas. Too much effort to ensure I'm drinking a fresh-ish product

 

Yeah I think it was @BillManley posted here a while back when he was with them that there could be a 2 week difference between what the package said vs when it was canned. Difference was due to they were lovingly hand packed just for us , and when the various cans were packaged. I can live with that and totally understand it. I love those mix packs

 

I actually prefer Julian dating as I find it to be a more precise date. I was a career U.S. Navy Storekeeper (repair parts supply as opposed to retail sales) & that was where I was introduced to Julian dating. The only real difficulty, loosely, is on Leap Years when an extra day gets thrown in. Dunno how to convert Julian? Divide by 30 & you are in the neighborhood, at least.

I also like 24-hour time, since telling me that NBS will open at 1100 does not have me logging in at 11pm only to be disappointed since you meant 11am and simply said that it will open at 11. 8=(

 

Hmmm... ya got to add "1" to that figure to get close, since there is no "0" month. (ex. Today, Oct. 7, is 280 ÷ 30 = 9.3, but it's mid-October).

I prefer to round the number off to the nearest multiple of ten, drop the last digit, divide by 3 and add 1. ( OK, yeah but still more complicated to write than to do).

So, for yesterday, 279 - round up to 280, drop the "0" and:

28 ÷ 3 = 9.3 + 1 = 10.3 or first third of October.

As far as "doing to math" to figure out how old a beer is, it'd be even easier if everyone knew the current "day of the year". Simple subtraction. Lots of business calendars list it (along with "days left" in the year) and, I imagine, smart phones "know" it and could display it as, as well?

I know that many will bitch about "all the math" or "you need a !@#$ secret decoder ring..." but even if a brewer does use "standard dating" --- like a beer bottled on 07-01-18 --- the consumer still has some math to do to figure out how old it is on Oct. 7, don't they?

 

If it becomes too difficult to look at a Julian code and puzzle out at least a serviceable estimate of the date by doing the math in my head, I'll assume it's time to rein in the drinking because my brain's turned to mush.

 

As far as "doing to math" to figure out - like a beer bottled on 07-01-18 --- the consumer still has some math to do to figure out how old it is on Oct. 7, don't they? [/QUOTE]

Bottled January 7th?

 

Yeah, I didn't even wanna go there

(I was trying to decide on that sort of dating on a Euro lager sixpack of 500ml. cans the other day, when I looked closer at the two "years" - canned on/best by were "17" and "19". WTF? So their shelf life period was over 1 year long? Didn't worry about which month at that point and back on the shelf it went...)

 

What brewery would do such a thing??

 

I have no issues with Julian dating, I've contracted with the military my whole career and I'm used to them. YDDD is the standard I'm used to. 1/7/18 is July 1st most everyplace in the world save the USA. 8007 is January 7, 2018 everywhere.

@jesskidden shorthand method above IS dividing by 30 and adding one, and it gets around people's math fear (divide by 10/dropping a zero, then divide by 3)

My issue: ink color.

Yellow ink on the bottom of the bottle (a la Ballast Point now) would rock.

 

I find this is the only time it is acceptable to come across as a douche in regards to beer. You are about to drop some $$ on something you hope will give you pleasure, so be a douche.

 

There are several problems with so-called Julian date codes, and none of them have anything to do with math. I'll point out two.

First, they are there for the convenience of the brewer, for such things as inventory tracking, tracing back any batch issues, etc. Any brewer who claims they are there for consumer information is (how to I put this)... LYING.

Second, so-called Julian date codes are not one thing. They are multiple things in multiple formats mixed in with other coding. (Hint: they are called date CODES, not dates.) No cheating, now, no decoder rings, assume you first come across this in the liquor stone... where is the date in this coding string?

IPE 0089K 62496050207 10.

So, going back to the first point, clearly this is not intended for consumer information, and you DO need a "secret decoder ring" --- or per brewer look-up table, etc.)

And, finally, explanations of how easy this is from people who worked with military logistics for 20 years merely proves the point... it is not intended for consumer information, but for logistics tracking.

 

I don't mind Julian dating, it's a simple and precise method, but I do mind having to search the bottle to find it.

 

Exactly.

Also, one of the reasons Julian became deeply embedded in logistics tracking, etc. was the introduction of computers. Back in the day Julian was the dating system of choice for use with computers and so became essential to inventory control, etc. in many areas, both military and otherwise, when things were being computerized. Julian dating has the advantage that it doesn't require the use of letters and allows date calculations to be made without requiring any special software.

 

Heineken are not known for quality, certainly in the UK they have dumbed down their brands and estate fairly relentlessly over the years for increased market share where they can. So perhaps stop buying Heineken products if their date codes confuse you?

 

Y

Your so right, put the date on the bottle or can. I hate screwy codes, it can't be any easier for them, but it's more difficult for most.

 

It's only right at 3 months, just drink it lol.

 

I always take my phone with me into the distributor, so I can look at ratings. If I come across a brewery, such as Lagunitas, that uses Julian coding I Google Julian calendar and it comes right up.

 

Handy websites to always have on your phone:

http://www.mrbeerjangle.com/ls-decoding-dates

https://www.epochconverter.com/days/2018

On Julian day numbers, just divide by 30 and you're close enough to figure out which month it was made.

 

FYI, looks like everyone might be be able to stop griping. This was posted by the Lagunitas Facebook page today. Looks like they have now adopted a new Gregorian date code, at least for the upcoming Born Again Yesterday release.