Old IPAs - What to do about this problem?

Stores will get it right one day, but in the meantime I'll be picking up growlers for now.

 

The other challenge is that if the retailer does not buy enough of a brewery's standard offerings, in a lot of cases, they won't have access to the rare releases. The distributors force supply (of unwanted product) based on demand (for highly sought after product).

 

You'd think all these people who fuss over IPA freshness would want to drink a style that holds up over a longer period...

Apparently not..

I have on occasion run into these conversations with other people, who complain constantly about something that isn't as fresh as they want it, but when I ask if they drink any other styles they then say they are boring or they don't like them...

ok... then...

You know you can brew your own beer right??? Heck you can even drink it green before it's ready to get your fix.

Under ripe IPAs... the new trend

I called it first!

 

I'm near Asheville and it's not that hard to find a fresh IPA. Our grocery store is your best bet for freshies, they move mass quantities of beer at the Ingles up the road. I have a nice bottle shop close by that has a steady supply of harder to find brews.
South Carolina is slowly coming around, but lack of customers wanting quality beer is the main issue down there. I did find some Recreation Ale IPA in the Myrtle Beach area a few weeks ago, but it was marked 5.05.15. Couldn't really taste a difference, I was just glad that it wasn't fresh Budweiser.

 

I keep on top of what is new, to my shop and me, to ensure it is fresh. But I'm also obtaining a good majority of my beer from the brewery. So I know it was recently canned or bottled. But that is a bit of luck on being close to ones I like. And by close, I mean anywhere from 1/2 hour away to 4 hours away. Yes, I find it better for me to make a beer run to say Trillium and Tree House sometimes than just go to my local store. Gets me what I love and ensures it is fresh!

 

Solution, support your local brewery. Or one relatively close. Much easier to get super fresh beer that way.

 

That's good advice, but only if your local brewery is actually making good beer to begin with. But super fresh beer that isn't very well made to begin with is no better than beer which is past it's "best by" date (it can actually be worse).

 

One answer. Buy them.

That being said, some stores will buy in considerable bulk to garner better deals. Case in point, my local store bought a mountain of Otter Creek Backseat Berner and Over Easy - and we still have it sticking around with 3/16/15 bottling dates.

 

Man, this just makes me so excited to be moving to Delaware!

 

Saw a two year old sixer on the shelfs at a liquor store last week. Considered buying it - for scientific tasting purposes.

 

Said no one ever

PS I'm from Delaware

 

Ha. I am coming from central Illinois. So the prospect of being able to drive to places where humans live in a reasonable timeframe is in itself quite the exciting prospect.

 

Yeah, I guess the only time one would be excited to move to DE is if they live in another part of the country that's even more boring. That's the only thing DE has going for it: 2 hours to Baltimore/DC and 2 hours to Philly if you're in the southern part of the state. If you're moving to the northern part of the state and it's not Newark, then God help you.

 

Surly has a rep for being difficult to work with. They've burned bridges with some distributers. Retailers don't have that much cooler space - imagine strolling in and trying to place a product, and insisting that it HAS to go in the cooler. You'll get a lot of fingers pointed straight to the door.

 

Location absolutely matter, and not every one has easy access to beer they love.

For instance, I have a brewery a 1/2 mile form my home. But I'm not a fan. The next one is 10 miles away, again not a fan. Next one, about 20 miles, still not a fan.

So instead of going to any of them, every few weeks I drive about an hour to one of the breweries I do like (of which there are several), and make a larger purchase that holds me till the next.

I guess your definition of local matters as well. For me anything I can get to within an hour or so I consider local to me. Personally, I'd rather drive further and make larger purchases less frequently than settle for old beer.

 

They were cooler only when they first started distributing to IL a couple years back. Now? Nah. 95% of the time you see it on the shelf.

 

Likely nothing.

Aside from Be Hoppy and some Maine offerings, I get nothing that fresh, nor do I expect it. This absurdity that a two month old IPA is old needs to stop. I do buy cold whenever possible. The testing shows it makes a dramatic difference.

 

I have to start by saying I drink primarily Trillium and Treehouse when it comes to IPAs.It is Mt experience that Treehouse is best when consumed in the first 2 weeks. Then there is a significant drop off. Trillium on the other hand gets juicier anywhere between 1 and 3 weeks. It's hard to wait for them to blossom but if you can it's magical. I guess what I am trying to say is the length of time you have before you notice your IPA going down hill depends on the IPA.

 

If it helps we get quite a few good IPA's. I have about 5 that I would buy and I can usually find one that is around a month or so at the total wine in Milltown. Also with the coupons I can get Sucks for 7.99 a six, Dirt Wolf (often the freshest) for 6.99 for 4, and some of the good Otter Creek stuff for 7.49 a six. There are many more options which always allows for a couple of fresh options. Also State Line in MD is close and is a great bottle shop that can have the same problem , but a ton of choices. This area is actually pretty good for beer culture and growing with new breweries opening or in the planning stage. If you are moving to slower lower DE you will have much less choice. Any specific questions PM me.

 

Reality changed. They also just recently increased their capacity to the point that they can saturate our market, where-as before they were making choices about how their capacity was best used and what markets meant the most to them. Remember, they came in, (skipping over wisconsin to do it) and they also pulled out of our market because they're more interested in playing the long game of taking care of their own FIRST. Developing those customers who are going to be repeat buyers of locally made product. On their side. That was a very smart move.
We're also used to their beer, and there have been at least a hundred other breweries, many who are local and who are also killing it that have also come into the Chicago market since they first started making swats at Chicago distribution five or so years ago.