Firestone Walker Introduces "Comet" Single-Hop Hazy IPA

Hey now.... don't sleep on Pivo Pilsner. That beer is fantastic.

 

For others complaining about stale FW (a valid concern), I tried picking up a Trumer 12 pack on sale here but passed because there is no date on their box. Do they date their cans?

I had Trumer on draft and it is one of my highest rated Pilsners, but I'm not taking a chance on buying a several month + old 12 pack, sale or no sale.

 

Why not ask the retailer if you are permitted to open the pack to look at the cans?

A few months ago I had a sealed pack of a beer I was interested in buying and the same thing: no date on the box. I talked to the manager about this and before I could ask whether I could open it to look at a can he stated" "Well, let's open it up to look at a can". He reached for some packing tape as he said this. He opened the box and handed me a can. The beer was about 2 months old and I said something like "looks good". I placed the can back in and he sealed it up with tape. I was a happy customer and he was happy to make a sale.

Cheers!

P.S. I suppose another option is to visit the store with tape in hand but perhaps better to speak to the store folks.

 

Yeah, I just started buying Trumer recently. If memory serves me correctly there's a best buy date on the bottom of the cans. I just rely on picking it up at busy stores and the fact that I'm 50 miles south of Berkeley. It has worked so far.

 

Michigan chinook has been great recently. Transient has been using it often to great success

 

Not to completely diverge from the post, but pivo pils is fantastic. I’m usually good for a mixed pack or two anytime FW mixes it up, but somehow over the past year I’ve ended up with some stray Union Jacks well past their prime. At this point one is nearing the year mark, so we will see how well they (unintentionally) age.

 

Looks like I'm double posting.

I picked up two Firestone Walker variety 12-packs (bottles) over the weekend. The hand pack date was in January, 2021. I only remember this because I checked--and saw they had three other 12-packs (cans) from January... 2020. I'm cool with six week old FW beers, especially on-sale.

So I'm drinking one of the Double Jacks and start looking at the bottle: Bottled on October 14, 2020. After this I pull the other bottles out of the fridge--all from October, approaching four months at this point. Sold in a mix-case packed in January. They were two and a half months old before they even went out for distro!

I'm not sure what is going on here, but it sounds like I'm not the only one to notice this.

 

Getting rid of 'old' product by packaging them in variety packs?

Cheers!

 

There’s a sound business practices right there, I’m sure you could round up a few beer nerds who might like buy Double Jack fresh right? Their beers are always old stock, everywhere I’ve seen them, so I’ve stopped looking and forget buying. They’re got a severe logistics problem, and a real give a shit problem. People won’t buy their stuff , simple. I bought Stone IPA yesterday it was 8 days old, 8. If Stone can do it FW can too, you just have to care enough to make sure it happens.

 

Yup! Just to add that for an extended period of time there was zero Pivo Pils on the shelves.That got 'fixed' a few months ago - I can now find old Pivo Pils on my local beer retailers' shelves.

Non-Cheers to Firestone Walker here!

P.S. Perhaps FW is more interested in producing 805 beers for Californians (and other folks out west)?

 

I thought I saw a post from a BA saying it’s hard to find fresh in Cali as well. I know beers from Oscar Blues can have that problem here, and other than Dales PA the other stuff is very hard to find. If they cared they be on it like Bells and Stone. Shame when ownership looks like it’s just punching a time clock.

No Pivo, old Union Jack, Old Luponic.

 

As I speculated above maybe they are mostly interested in punching the '805' clock and the FW product line is a lesser priority?

Cheers!

 

Ah didn’t get that reference. If they’re going to run the business like this sell it.

 

I used to be a fan of FW back in the day. I can't remember the last time I bought a FW product but it was probably Lager. Union and Double Jack have both changed (for the worse) even if you can find them fresh. Wookey Jack was recently made available (again) but only online. I'm not a huge black IPA fan so I passed. Oh, I will pick up a cork and caged 375ml bottle of their sour or wild ales a few times a year when I feel like splurging.

 

Stone is brewing out of Richmond, VA so a little closer to you than FW. But ya, they do seem to have a really hard time getting their stuff onto shelves fresh. Like @deanzaZZR said above, its pretty much just the occasional stout or wild ale from them for me these days cause everything else is old or changed for the worse.

 

Old for you too and your in Cali, it makes no sense. Oskar Blues here is the same, spotty distribution, old stock, it’s brewed in Asheville but it might as well be on the moon. I haven’t seen Gordon’s in many years, you can’t even find it in Asheville.

 

I can't honestly say how old most of their stuff is because i don't even look. I did revisit union Jack a few months back and the tall can was around 2 months old, so not terrible. I see the luponic series sit for months sometimes. Up here they seem to be suffering the same stress as all the older distribution breweries, struggling to stand out in a sea of new arrivals and a culture that favors the next new thing

 

That sucks! That’s bogus putting a package date when it’s so far off from the can date. Your reply got me nervous as I picked up the same mixed pack yesterday. I was at smart and final shopping for this weekend camping trip and Firestone 12 pks were on sale for $10.99. I saw the mixed and thought that shit is probably old AF. But saw the packaged date 1/10. For the price couldn’t pass it up. Plus, it comes in cans.

based on your reply I am surprised to find everything was packed fresh.
-double Jack 1/4
-Union Jack 1/10
-comet 1/4
-mind haze 12/24

 

It certainly doesn’t help when your stuff is old stock, it starts a circle that you can’t break sometimes. We know to check dates those that don't, just think you make shitty beer. A shame too because when fresh they’re great beers.

 

Mine was from a Smart and Final as well. Can’t complain about the price, at least.