Upset with Lagunitas...

Stop being mad at breweries for not doing things that you like or doing things that you don't like. Be mad at yourself for continuing to buy their products despite these issues.

 

I'll stick to Waldo's and Brown Shugga so I don't have worry about confusing date thing-a-ma-jiggers

 

I'm wondering why the OP is even bothering with Crap-gunitas and not just buying Jai-Alai. Isn't it avail anywhere there? I'd never look back.

 

Although I love their beer, just like many others here, I always pass on the non-seasonable Lagunitas because the date is so hard to read. I truly wonder what a more legible date would do for their sales.

 

Jai-Alai is way too sweet for an IPA.

 

Never understood the attraction to it, myself, but to each their own.

 

Way too hit or miss. Have had overly malty to really hoppy cans all from the same six pack. Not made this purchase in over two years. At $50+ a case I'm out.

Enjoy

 

@jesskidden
Certainly...the malt bill is comprised of barley malt and an undisclosed percentage of rice. The fermenation is accomplished with a blend of Sake yeast along with a healthy dose of the Lagunitas, house Ale yeast strain. Therefore, it is an ale (top) fermenting beer as opposed to using a lager (bottom) ferementing yeast as used by commercial malt liquors.

That doesn't mean that Lagunitas doesn't lager the beer...just because an ale (i.e.top fermenting) yeast does the work in primary doesn't mean that a beer isn't lagered (i.e. conditioned/matured) for a time to make the beer more cohesive. Belgian Breweries are notorious for lagering their ales for as much as 6 weeks prior to filtration and packaging (not to mention a few week stay in warm rooms during bottle refermentation).

Hope this helps!

 

Don't the Alpine bottles (wouldn't know about GF) just have a "drink by" date? I got a Duet recently, and that's all I could find. I think I've read that they embarrassingly consider 6 months (or is it 9?) from the bottling date the "drink by" date, so that's what I went by.

 

While I agree with this, I'd recommend letting the brewery know you are not purchasing their product specifically because of this issue. Just because beer is getting backed up to the brewery does not in itself let the brewery know what the reason for the back up is (i.e, maybe the product itself sucks <no pun intended>). So yeah, spend your money elsewhere along with an email to the brewery as to why is what I'd do.

 

Folks, the current ink will be much easier to read once the green bottles start getting used. <obligatory Heineken joke>

 

I too have experienced notable variability in Jai Alai from batch to batch (I only purchased non-old Jai Alai). I too have stopped purchasing it. There is something 'off' on the brewing of this beer.

Cheers!

 

My point was that it's easy to find and read but yeah, it's a best by date. I don't buy those beers (GF or Alpine) partly because I have no clue how far out that is from the bottling date. I tried to find it on their website once with no luck.

 

Where does "malt liquor" come into it at all? "Since it uses rice, it is an Ale version of a Malt Liquor." Lagunitas doesn't use that terminology - they label it an "ale" and the TTB COLA classification is "902 - ALE".

A "malt liquor" can be fermented with any yeast (granted, the only top-fermented one I can think of is/was Molson Brador) and can use or not use adjuncts (Budweiser Malt Liquor was all-malt). It is pretty much just a labeling/marketing decision of the brewery.

 

I agree and no longer buy it, could be me but it was overly sweet last time I had it. Back when it was bottled I don't remember it being that way.

 

My last purchase was a case of cans that were less than two weeks old. "Overly sweet" described those beers exactly.

I corresponded with the guy in charge of brewing operations for Cigar City and he informed me that the batch I purchased was 'good'; it met their specs for this beer.

I came to the conclusion that if "overly sweet" Jai Alai is consistent with their quality metrics than this beer was no longer something I was going to buy.

Cheers!

 

@jesskidden,
Thanks for clearing that up...I surmise based on your impressive knowledge that Sakitumi is simply an ale. However, the amount of rice (again, percentage unknown) and time lagering might bend the rules a bit and allow them to market it also as an Adjunct Lager.

I clearly see their label markets Sakitumi as an Ale, so good on them. However, as soon as the masses see 'Rice' in the grain bill, they immediately assume adjunct lager.

Whatever...Beer Speaks, People Mumble.

 

When you're cranking bottles out at 8 a second. You get the machine that works, and they are not cheap. They have to be simple minded, and accurate.
I really wonder how a beer that is supposed to be in the neighborhood of 2.4x vols managed to go flat. Are you sure the bottle itself isn't defective? A shard of glass missing from the top? I've bought a lot of Lagunitas over the years, and that is not an issue I have ever had.

 

Not sure how we are defining "not cheap" for coders. I bought two ink jet coders for our test lines for $20G that can spray a code anywhere we aim it. One of our production lines just revamped and upgraded to a laser coder for $13G that will code on the bottle at 600 - 800 bottles per minute. I don't believe I agree that it is cost-prohibitive to have coding capability, especially for any brewery with national distribution or even appreciable regional/local distribution in bottles or cans.

I agree with what others have said - flat and flavorless doesn't sound like an age problem. More like a defective cap or seal from the get go.

 

I buy Lagunitas occasionally now. Brown Shugga or Sucks, usually. I haven't had an issue with dating. I'm just waiting for the re-release of 'Lil Sumpin' Wild to buy cases of that stuff. Can't get enough. Central Jersey has a ton of Lagunitas availability . . . 12th, Aunt Sally, etc., are always around.