Do you check for freshness?

Yes I always check for the canned on date. Especially with hoppy beer styles, you got to. I'll take chances sometimes but I usually won't purchase anything that's not reasonably fresh or if I can't read/find the cod.

 

I'm not good at checking dates in the store. I've been burned by Total Wine nearly every time I've been (we don't have them in my locale, so they're always a stop on vacations / work trips.) Truth be told, I'm out of practice, since nearly all of my money goes towards local releases at this point.

 

The way I usually buy beer is to go to my supermarket and get a build your own six pack for $12. I know full well that some of the better beers they have available are only there b/c they're out of date. But the woman who runs the department has also put out several varieties of KBS recently, so there's some big wins there, too.

 

In a word - always. Though I'm more forgiving on beers like stouts or barleywines.

 

I do look but I also buy a lot of beer that has no date. In fact I would say 80% of what I buy is undated. It’s a gamble but if you follow your local beer distributors and what they’re dropping at your stores week to week, it’s easy enough to find fairly fresh beer. Cheers.

 

Yes, I always check.

And if there is no date, I place the beer back on the shelf.

Cheers!

P.S. @chuckstout, this thread would have benefited from a poll being included.

 

Every single time. And if a beer doesn't have a bottled/canned-on date, then it's an easy pass for me.

 

Always! The only time I’ll buy an IPA without a canning date if if it’s local and I can check Instagram for the release date.

 

Is this a trick question?

 

Don't know which "MBC" you're referring to, but what good is a "brew date" for judging freshness, unless you know how long the beer's fermentation and aging/lagering periods are?

 

With all of the great beer out there, there’s really no reason not to.

There’s only one brewery who doesn’t date their beer (apparently that’s changing soon though) that I will buy from. Their stuff is amazing and it doesn’t sit on the shelf . . . at least where I live.

 

Not usually. Most of the beers I buy are Imperial Stouts or stronger Belgian Ales. I'm not really concerned how fresh they are given their shelf life. If a beer is covered in dust though, I'm gonna walk right past it.

 

What if it's a Cantillon? ,)

 

The stores in my area are notorious for selling beer way past any reasonable BB date. I have been burned too many times not to check; although I occasionally slip up and buy an undated beer with my fingers crossed.

If anyone is interested I can tell you where to pick up a 4 pack of Samuel Smith India Ale from 2018.

You don't like black water soluble ink on dark brown bottles?

They might not be lying to you. I know for a fact that the stores where I shop receive past date fresh stock from the distributor.

 

Who doesn't ?

 

Never had one.

 

If a certain large craft brewery puts a Julian date on the neck of a brown bottle in black ink, does it count as bottle dating? Just asking for a friend...

 

Another trick question!

No trick answer, yes. Of course, the debate is clear translation, but the brewery doesn't care -- they know it's a date.

 

I check dates unless it's something like a new release that I am sure is fresh or AALs.

I refuse to buy from craft breweries who don't date their products.

 

Yep, always!