Beer Etiquette: Is it rude to ask a shop to rotate out stock/get fresh?

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by WillQC4Beer, Sep 24, 2015.

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  1. WillQC4Beer

    WillQC4Beer Initiate (0) May 1, 2014 Vermont

    OK BAs,

    On lunch I tried three different stores to find some fresh SN Kellerweis (and I know fresh is relative but sub 60 day old was what I was looking for) and all three of the stores have 90 day old or greater on the shelf (oldest being march/april production dates I believe). At the last shop which is one I frequent pretty regularly I asked if next time the distributor was in if they'd get some fresh stock in of it for me and the worker seemed almost offended that I would ask that and replied with some snarky comment about "its not an IPA".

    Did I make a mistake in asking for fresher product? Wouldn't they want to have fresher stuff on the shelves?
     
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  2. Smakawhat

    Smakawhat Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,727) Mar 18, 2008 Maryland
    Pooh-Bah Society

    No.. you asked for what you wanted.

    I personally don't think a 90 day old SN Kellerweis is a sub par beer.. but I always want fresh beer regardless of style (and no I am not one of those freshness IPA freaks either). If I have a choice between a 3-4 week old SN Kellerweiss vs one that is 90 days old guess which one I am buying?

    How hard was it for the employee to just simply say, ok I'll ask and give me your name so when it comes in I can contact you.
     
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  3. Raime

    Raime Pooh-Bah (1,935) Jun 4, 2012 Korea (North)
    Pooh-Bah

    Some shops just don't care and hope you don't notice. In my experience at least.

    I don't think it was rude.
     
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  4. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,181) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Boy, this is a good question and one that I personally wrestle with frequently.

    On the one side, Sierra Nevada states that their beers are ‘good’ for 150 days if handled/stored properly:

    “If stored in ideal conditions — under 45 degrees, and out of direct light — most of Sierra Nevada’s lineup is considered fresh up to 150 days from packaging.”

    To request that a beer retailer obtain other product when the beers they have are well within the best by timeframe is a tough sell.

    Good luck finding your fresher Kellerweis.

    Cheers!
     
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  5. jlsims04

    jlsims04 Initiate (0) Jul 14, 2013 Illinois

    On one hand Kellerweisse freshness is not as important as other styles. Im not a huge stickler for it in general but have become more so for IPA's. Kellerweisse that is 120 days old and sub 60 i would argue have no difference.

    But to each their own.

    I look at it like this. You would have no problem asking the butcher for fresh steak if the ones in the counter looked like crap so I dont know why beer would be any different.
     
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  6. PourMore

    PourMore Crusader (428) Oct 4, 2014 Florida

    Well that employee didn't handle it right, but the store probably has very good reason to not have fresher on the shelf. My understanding from store owner explanations is that it is not economical for them to keep a huge variety while also continuing to replace at a fast rate. To do so they either have to take beers off the shelf and consider that a loss, or sell them at discounted rates when they get old enough, and most aren't willing to give up that money when there are customers who will buy the stuff eventually. It's almost impossible to predict rate of sales for some of these beers that are only mildly popular so you do a minimum purchase from the distributor. Sometimes they get wiped out, and sometimes half stay in the store for longer than you expected.
     
  7. Himself

    Himself Initiate (0) May 20, 2014 Massachusetts

    I don't think it's rude at all because you are the consumer. Most distributors handle beer as just a product to move, how can you be sure it's being stored properly at the warehouse? The retail salesman is at the mercy of the distributor's rep as far as freshness is concerned.
     
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  8. otispdriftwood

    otispdriftwood Initiate (0) Dec 9, 2011 Colorado

    Even if I'm looking for something particular, if the date isn't to my liking, I just pass on it and look for something else. As long as I'm in my home area where what I was looking for is regularly distributed, there's nothing I have to have right then and there, even if I'm really in the mood for it since old beer gets me out of the mood. And fortunately, I live in an area where there are multiple store choices. However, when traveling [where it's pick it up or forget about trying it], I'm not so particular. But in a few cases, I wish I had been since I've picked up some beers that are supposed to be outstanding and found them severely lacking in one way or another, which I can only attribute to being outdated.

    But to answer the question, it isn't rude at all. But from reading some of the threads here, it's a major pain in the ass to have distributors take beer back, not to mention a store would threaten their future supply when they have a distributor take beer back. So, it's not likely a store would ditch its old stock in favor of new stock, but would hope uneducated customers would just pick up the old stuff without checking. So while not being rude, it's fruitless to ask a store to rotate old stock in favor of new; it just ain't gonna happen. IMHO, it would be better to bring the old beer up to the register or counter, ask if they have anything fresher and when the answer is 'no' leave the merchandise right there. Now that's rude.
     
  9. Providence

    Providence Pooh-Bah (2,628) Feb 24, 2010 Rhode Island
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    I don't think it's rude to ask a business if they would be willing to help you spend your money at their store. In fact, if I ran a business and a customer came in and asked if I could help them to spend their money at my store, I'd be quite excited. The style is irrelevant in my opinion. If you want a fresher version of any style, it's your right to ask and they should presumably make any effort they can to accommodate you. Personally, I'm more concerned with getting fresh pilsners and helles lagers than I am with fresh IPAs. If I check a sixer of a IPA and it's not fresh, then I simply find another sixer amongst the other 40,000 IPAs the store has for sale. If I want quality pils or helles then I can't be too picky with freshness. So asking for fresher Kellerweis is totally cool in my book. That said, I think 90 day old Kellerweis would be great.
     
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  10. Himself

    Himself Initiate (0) May 20, 2014 Massachusetts

    Most distributors will only take back solid cases so your kind of screwed as a retailer if you sold 1 six out of a case or a couple 22oz from a case.
     
  11. maltmaster420

    maltmaster420 Initiate (0) Aug 17, 2005 Oregon

    If every store you visited had product that old it's very possible that the distributor is still working through old product, and there's nothing the retailer can do about it.
     
  12. Hrodebert

    Hrodebert Savant (1,000) Sep 2, 2013 Michigan
    Trader

    In your situation I would say the store employee is the one that was rude.
    Any question asked in a courteous manner deserves a courteous reply no matter how many times it has been asked.
    As far as freshness goes, I think it is subjective from numerous points of view, with everyone feeling their view is the right one.
    With the amount of beer available continuously increasing, a stores desire to have everything they can in stock, and the reluctance of anybody to accept any kind of loss for any reason, I don't see the freshness issue getting better anytime soon.
    There will always be some exceptions, but it won't be a majority.

    And the last Kellerweis I purchased was a couple days ago, with a brewed on date of 5/13/15 and it was damn tasty.
    This was from a small shop that is very good at keeping things fresh.
     
    #12 Hrodebert, Sep 24, 2015
    Last edited: Sep 24, 2015
  13. otispdriftwood

    otispdriftwood Initiate (0) Dec 9, 2011 Colorado


    And for every case taken back, it's one less case [or more] the store won't receive in the future.
     
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  14. drtth

    drtth Initiate (0) Nov 25, 2007 Pennsylvania
    In Memoriam

    No, asking for fresher stock was not rude on your part.

    But keep in mind that the store has to buy their beer a case at a time and unless you are planning on buying a whole case you may just have to live with what they can get and how quickly it moves off their shelf. Even though they might like to accomodate your request there is no particularly strong motivation for them to order another case just so you can buy a few bottles that are fresher than what they have on the shelf and leave them holding two partial cases of a beer with different freshness dates and that's selling slowly.

    This is one of the reasons I continue to buy some beers a case at a time (e.g., Nugget Nectar, Victory's Harvest Ale, etc.). I can insist that it be fresh and make sure they understand they don't need to order it for me unless they can get it fresh from the distributor.
     
    #14 drtth, Sep 24, 2015
    Last edited: Sep 24, 2015
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  15. surfcaster

    surfcaster Initiate (0) Apr 20, 2013 North Carolina
    Trader

    I see it a little different--it's not rude but it just doesn't sound right.

    Don't see what you want--ask. They are in the customer service business. Asking them to find stuff to replace what is on the shelf that is reasonably dated--sounds a little beer snobby to me. Buy something else.
     
  16. Himself

    Himself Initiate (0) May 20, 2014 Massachusetts

    That has never been the case with any of the places I have worked here in Massachusetts. Sorry for the pun :wink:
     
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  17. Anker13

    Anker13 Initiate (0) Feb 14, 2011 New Jersey

    I want fresh beer as much as the next person, but if the beer is still within the supplier's freshness standards then you shouldn't be asking the store for fresher beer. If it was out of code then you'd have a better chance of getting a fresh case in, but distributors and suppliers aren't going to buy back beer that's still in code. And a beer like SN Keller, while great, doesn't really fly off the shelves, so more often than not you're going to see it several months into its life.

    Agreed, however, the store owner should have been friendlier, but what can you do
     
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  18. WillQC4Beer

    WillQC4Beer Initiate (0) May 1, 2014 Vermont

    I guess I should clarify, when I asked for fresher stock for me, I was requesting a fresh case.
     
  19. Onizilla

    Onizilla Initiate (0) Apr 25, 2009 New York

    In New York, I have a better chance of getting distributors to hand me an envelope of free money than them picking up a case of beer that's out of date/broken/wrong product after I pay for the delivery. If thing's are sent out of code and I miss it, I'm screwed and either have to eat it as a loss.

    And yes, If I were to send back any out of date Founders/Goose Island product it most certainly reflects in my ability to sell their product and then get less come allotment time.
     
  20. BowWowWowYippyYoIPA

    BowWowWowYippyYoIPA Initiate (0) Dec 30, 2014 California
    Deactivated

    Depends on how you asked. If a customer asked me if I could get some fresher bottles of a certain beer I would very much like to slap my forehead and say sarcastically, "Fresher beer! Now why didn't I think of that?!" (It would be very rude and unprofessional of me to do so, however). As stated by maltmaster420 above, if every store in your area has older stock, it is most likely the distributor that is working through old stock, and the blame may ultimately lie with Sierra Nevada themselves (SN beers I order are routinely 2+ months old upon delivery). The retailer also can't just go to the distributor and ask a favor that they deliver only their freshest case of beer X every time a customer wants a fresher six pack of something. First in first out works at the distribution level as well as at store level. But if a customer were to ask this of me, I would try to explain the situation then tell the customer I would look into it for them.

    Fresh beer is a huge issue when trying to sell beer, and believe me, a well run shop wants fresh beer as much as you do (it sells MUCH more quickly), but ultimately, someone's going to have to foot the bill for that old beer. If I'm delivered beer that I deem unacceptable, I send it back. If I have bottles that have been around for a while, I'll pop one open to see how it's tasting. If it's still good I'll sell it at a discounted price, if it's gross, down the drain it goes (or sometimes I am able to switch it out for fresher product, usually by a brewery rep, not by the distributor). IPA's past their best by date always go down the drain.
     
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