Old Firestone Walker bottles everywhere

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by BirdsandHops, Mar 14, 2014.

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  1. BirdsandHops

    BirdsandHops Grand Pooh-Bah (3,061) Apr 14, 2008 Oregon
    Pooh-Bah

    I live in NC, where we don't get Firestone Walker, but travel a fair amount into their distribution. I've enjoyed pretty much everything I've had from them. Their barrel-aged beers are great and their hoppy beers are just as good. When I first started encountering their beer, it was in Virginia. I noticed that a lot of bottles of their hoppy beers were often several months old and figured that it was because of the distance between Virginia and the brewery. I was ecstatic to find Double Jack at only 2 months old a couple of times. I've started traveling to the West Coast more the past year or so and figured that things would be better out there, but even in California stores, the beers were all 4+ months old. On my most recent trip to Washington, I found 4-8 month old Union and Double Jack, year-old Wookey Jack, and 1.5 year-old DBA all sitting around shelves.
    If it were one store or even one city or region, I could blame it on stores or distributors, but it's been multiple stores in multiple cities in multiple states. I've not seen such consistently old product from any other brewery (though admittedly, I don't inspect bottling dates from most other breweries as closely since most breweries don't have such a stellar line-up of hoppy beers). Is FW selling so little product everywhere that they can't get rid of it or is it hitting shelves already past its peak and thus contributing to fewer sales? It's always so sad to see such fantastic beers on the shelves but so far past their prime that they're undrinkable.
     
    #1 BirdsandHops, Mar 14, 2014
  2. Pintofbrown

    Pintofbrown Initiate (0) Jun 25, 2011 Texas

    On a related note, how well does Wookey Jack age? Had the oppurtunity to buy a bottle about a year old. Should I regret not buying it?
     
    #2 Pintofbrown, Mar 14, 2014
  3. Sweffin

    Sweffin Pooh-Bah (1,784) Jun 25, 2013 Wisconsin
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I went to buy wookey jack the other day...until I realized that it was brewed in 2012
     
    #3 Sweffin, Mar 14, 2014
  4. FatBoyGotSwagger

    FatBoyGotSwagger Grand Pooh-Bah (3,999) Apr 4, 2009 Pennsylvania
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Double jack is world class. That said it is expensive and if not purchased immediately it sits.. like well most of the Firestone core lineup.
     
    #4 FatBoyGotSwagger, Mar 14, 2014
  5. cubanbeerguy

    cubanbeerguy Initiate (0) Jan 29, 2013 Florida

    I was upset last two times i went to cali tried to buy some and the double jacks were 3-4 mo old at real busy craft beer shops. I have to trade to get fresh ones
     
    #5 cubanbeerguy, Mar 14, 2014
  6. KevSal

    KevSal Pooh-Bah (2,940) Oct 17, 2010 California
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Shoot sometimes I feel like I have to trade to get it fresh!!!

    Although lately they have been picking up the slack on it, just don't go to Safeway, it's on sale but a year old
     
    #6 KevSal, Mar 14, 2014
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  7. sczaplicki

    sczaplicki Initiate (0) Nov 8, 2009 California

    There are bottles of Enjoy by 10/25/13 sitting at a bottle shop in Southern California. It's not Firestones fault that their bottles are sitting. It's the fact the the market is so super saturated with craft beer, so even fine brews like Enjoy By and Double Jack get passed up by the masses that really don't know what to buy out of the 100+ bombers that they are faced with. Not sure why the beer nerds haven't swooped on these bottles though...
     
    #7 sczaplicki, Mar 14, 2014
    Last edited: Mar 14, 2014
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  8. AlwaysPullStout

    AlwaysPullStout Initiate (0) Dec 22, 2013 New Jersey

    The craft beer industry is like any other. Like wine, cars, vibrators, whatever. Good, relatively unknown product requires good salesmanship. 95% of people have no clue what the Double Jack is or how good it is and they're immediately turned off by the price. But once they give it a try, they are hooked.
     
    #8 AlwaysPullStout, Mar 14, 2014
  9. Pelican5

    Pelican5 Initiate (0) Feb 4, 2012 California

    ^ This means more double jack for us people who know just how world class it is. I think because FW is so well distributed its often overlooked because its not some regional, limited, truck chaser. Thankfully I live in SB and we see pretty fresh beer from them. Still, the big FW beers sit on shelves here. I mean theres still plenty of Sucaba around and that beer is of the charts world class. If it was a brewery only release people would be trading their left nut for it.
     
    #9 Pelican5, Mar 14, 2014
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  10. raynmoon

    raynmoon Initiate (0) Aug 13, 2011 Colorado

    Almost everyone firestone beer here in the bar area is around 3-4 months old... always.
     
    #10 raynmoon, Mar 14, 2014
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  11. BirdsandHops

    BirdsandHops Grand Pooh-Bah (3,061) Apr 14, 2008 Oregon
    Pooh-Bah

    I realize that you can find really old beer from other breweries around on occasion as well and that craft beer is a niche market, but I've not noticed it as consistently with any other brewery. I buy my fair share of hoppy beers and always check for bottling/best by dates before doing so. I can go to even chain grocery stores in NC and find Sierra Nevada, Southern Tier 2XIPA and Two Hearted (which costs about the same as Union Jack) under one month old and often under 2 weeks. I can usually find 90 Minute also fewer than 2 months old. Local/regional IPAs like Sweetwater IPA are likewise usually fresh even in grocery stores. I expect to regularly come across old IPAs while searching for beer, but when I literally cannot find fresh bottles from one brewery no matter where I look, it seems like a pattern.
     
    #11 BirdsandHops, Mar 14, 2014
  12. Givemebeer

    Givemebeer Savant (1,219) Apr 6, 2013 Vermont

    I've had it old before. As one would expect, the hops fade. But it still tastes good, just not as good as fresh.
     
    #12 Givemebeer, Mar 14, 2014
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  13. StoutSnob40

    StoutSnob40 Grand Pooh-Bah (4,611) Jan 4, 2013 California
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Not well.
     
    #13 StoutSnob40, Mar 14, 2014
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  14. fsckewe

    fsckewe Devotee (335) Nov 6, 2013 Ohio

    I love Wookey Jack. My favorite shelf beer from them. Just moved from the East Bay, and yes there is old ass FW everywhere up there.

    They don't pasturize, they tell you to drink within 120days of bottling.
    http://www.firestonebeer.com/beers/products/wookey-jack

    Also, pretty sure I remember seeing on their website they would like you to call and report old bottles of beer. Year old beer from them is just stupid. Perhaps poor comms with distributors!
     
    #14 fsckewe, Mar 14, 2014
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  15. fsckewe

    fsckewe Devotee (335) Nov 6, 2013 Ohio

    #15 fsckewe, Mar 14, 2014
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  16. kerry4porters

    kerry4porters Maven (1,495) Dec 31, 2012 Arizona

    This^
     
    #16 kerry4porters, Mar 14, 2014
  17. StLeasy

    StLeasy Initiate (0) Sep 8, 2013 Illinois

    You can find old stuff by most breweries at different stores all over the country. Stone, Green Flash, Firestone, Bell's, Founders, etc.

    Around here, there are a couple stores where both Union Jack and Double Jack fly off the shelves each time they arrive (and are announced on social media by one store), but many more stores where it sits.
     
    #17 StLeasy, Mar 14, 2014
  18. largadeer

    largadeer Grand Pooh-Bah (3,018) Sep 24, 2006 California
    Pooh-Bah

    It's not just bottles. Even the kegs of Double Jack and Union Jack that I order straight from the distributor are often old, and this is in the SF bay area where you'd think they would be reliably fresh. It's a shitty situation because I love those beers but am afraid to order them.
     
    #18 largadeer, Mar 14, 2014
  19. westlaunboy

    westlaunboy Pundit (882) Mar 31, 2010 Washington
    Trader

    I've noticed this same problem with Victory's lineup in Michigan. Hop Devil and Prima in particular always seem to be at or at least near expiration when I find them, even at good beer stores with high turnover.
     
    #19 westlaunboy, Mar 14, 2014
  20. RobinLee

    RobinLee Maven (1,423) Feb 15, 2012 Wisconsin

    I saw some 6pks of Storm King sitting around not a couple months ago.
     
    #20 RobinLee, Mar 14, 2014
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