I had that happen once when I bought a mixed 6-pack. Besides old beer they also charged a premium mark-up for singles. I ended up paying $19 for that beer, and that was 20 years ago. I should have put the beers back but I was a mug club member there and stupidly didn't want to ruffle feathers.
This would piss me off. Most local breweries out here charge a premium for their beer at the brewery, I assume to support their retail accounts. I'm fine with that (I can go elsewhere if I don't like their pricing), but I should at least be able to expect ultra fresh product if I'm paying for overpriced beer at the brewery. That's the last place I should have to worry about buying stale beer.
Very important to check dates no matter where the beer is purchased. Have any of the beers at those two breweries been too old for you to purchase them? If so, did you say something to the brewery employees (e.g., I was intending to purchase brand X but they are too old to be a worthwhile purchase)? Cheers! P.S. A few years ago I was at a local brewery and I took a four-pack out of the beer refrigerator and noticed there was no canning date. The girl at the register noticed what I was doing and she asked me why I put the beer back in the refrigerator. I responded "there were no canning dates" to which she replied "those beers are fresh, we make them here". My final response to her was "no dates means no purchase". She didn't look happy with me but I didn't care, I just walked out.
Yes for Lost Nation and No for Schilling. Many years ago a friend brought some Mosaic IPA from LN over and it was great, the can was quite fresh. A week later I found myself at LN so I grabbed a 4 pack. A couple days later I tried one and it was disgusting. I checked the date and it was more than a month older than the previous can I had with my friend. Recently at Schilling I was having a few beers in the tasting room and a brewer came out and handed a few 4pks of Alexander to a guy who walked out without paying. I gave the tender a strange look and she told me that it was just canned today so the brewer was giving some cans to a friend. I grabbed a couple 4 packs from the cooler on my way out and noticed when I got home they had been canned almost 4 weeks prior. Those cans were incredible so I wasn't upset. In fact that might have been the best batch of Alexander I've ever had.
This might be overly simplistic. If a bottle shop has old or dated removed from cans/bottles, write a place review and tell others. This is beer advocacy.
Where I buy my beer they "used" to sell singles and would put the price sticker directly over the dates. They no longer sell single 12 ounce cans or bottles. They do sell discounted out of date or soon to be out of date beers. Usually in the $2.99 - $4.99 range per 6 pack. Depending on the beer style, or if it still has a few weeks to date, I'll buy it from time to time.
I see plenty of beers that are 6/7 months past their package date. They might be ok but I won’t buy them. Maybe a 7% doppelbock yeah but an IPA no. Thing is distributor drops the beer and doesn’t go thru the cooler to even look at dates. But in answer to your question that’s just wrong. Put it to the side and make it 15% off or something.
I stopped by a Total Wine yesterday in SRQ, and struggled to find any fresh IPAs, local or otherwise. Warm 4pks from fantastic breweries like Destihl, Tripping Animals, Half Acre & Toppling Goliath that were canned in 2023 & 2024. What a joke that place is.
Quick story... (relevant to your post I think). Some years ago I was in Orlando, spending some time with a friend and her daughter. We were at some snooty wine bar, and I was tired of drinking overpriced wine. So I took a look at their beer selection, which happened to include Anchor Liberty ale. That was a pleasant surprise, though I thought it was pretty funny that they had the style listed as a stout. I mentioned to the bartender that the Anchor beer was actually an IPA, and in fact had been Anchor's first ever X-mas ale. It was apparent that he didn't believe me, so I went ahead and purchased a bottle. For some reason I didn't do a very good job adding two and two and coming up with 4; obviously, I should have realized that some place calling Liberty ale a stout, probably wasn't going to be too concerned with freshness either. In fact, the beer hadn't been refrigerated and there was no telling how old it was. Sigh. Anyway, upon pouring it in a glass, I remember the bartender saying "well will you look at that? You're right, it's not a stout. I'll have to tell the manager." I think it was roughly a year later the next I was in Orlando, and at my friend's insistence we visited the wine bar again. I probably don't have to tell you what style the Anchor Liberty Ale was still showing on their menu. This was some years ago and I assume things have improved in Florida since then. However, after reading your post.... maybe not.
"Rub off"? "Erase"? How? With an eraser? Sandpaper? Some other tool or device? Seems like a lot of work just to sell a six-pack, on the off chance that a consumer would look at the dates (which doesn't happen too often, I'm sure).
In post #20 I discussed: "I just got back from my local Retail Beer Distributor. I was in the mood for hoppy beer so I checked out Firestone Walker Union Jack. They had two six-packs (boxes) of Union Jack on the shelf. On one box I could read it was canned in August 2025 so about 5 months old now. The other box, where the canned on date would be, had torn off cardboard." Cheers!
