Do you check for freshness?

Always check unless I know it's a new release that just dropped. Honestly, I didn't even know freshness was a thing until I joined Beer Advocate. So I have all of you to thank for educating me.

Will definitely make exceptions for certain styles and maybe a couple brewers like SN whose beer seems to hold up a little better. Just recently bought a 6er of 2022 Bigfoot, but had to convince the retailer to go in the back to get it since all he had was year-old 2021 on the shelf. Actually bought a 2021 6er too and did a side by side. Spoiler alert-they're two different beers with a year to separate them-and both delicious.

Bottom line: Buy as fresh as possible for the styles where it really matters. I would think the brewer does the QC on fresh beer so the closer it is to that date, the more it tastes like it was intended to taste. And of course, YMMV and all those other disclaimers...

 

I check Oktoberfests to make sure that they are the correct year.
I rarely check dates at stores. I sometimes check dates at home drinking the beer at home. I actually hold it against the brewery when old beer does not hold up. However I do notice the turnover at my local store and don't buy the stuff that sits on the shelves forever.

 

Is there a brewers of shame list (no dates)? Maybe even a special nomination list (ala Lagunitas crazy dating)?

 

Totally agree and I do the same. Sometime I've independently rolled the dice and got burned about 70% of the time. How it's come down for me => "No date, no dice."

 

Well, it helps that the Georgetown sixers I grab at Rite-Aid never have freshness issues either. We often see them on shelves around town within a few days of the packaging date. Sometimes though, especially when I'm grabbing singles for ticking purposes, I get stung a bit, but, shrug, such is the Tickers life.

 

I usually check dates. Certain beers around me have enough turnover that |I know it's going to be fresh at my usual places - mostly in the daily-drinker level ones.
styles like stouts I'm not as picky about the dates - those typically will last longer than, say, a hazy IPA. And clear IPAs will last (usually) longer than hazies too.

 

I’m PA “we just got it in “ means nothing. It could be sitting in the warehouse a year and then shipped out to a distributor.

I check all the time. If it’s too hard to read or find I pass. Undated I pass. I do not have crazy strict rules on buying IPA , if it’s a few months old I’m still ok to buy it.

Enjoy

 

Ain't just a PA phenomenon, either (tho' I know you guys are particularly paranoid and bitter - jus' kiddin' ).

And I've seen stacks of cases being brought it, fresh off the distributor's handtruck and checked codes and found OoC beer. Heck, I once visited a newly opened store and they had beer in cooler that had dates from a year before the store was built and licensed.

 

Could be there are some people who like to be surprised whether the beer is stale or not. Probably the same people who don't care if the car ahead doesn't signal a turn. Surprise adds to many experiences.

 

With IPAs, yes. I find many that are on the shelves over a year old. Not so much with stouts.

 

Speaking of freshness maybe some BAer knows the answer. Anyone know how north coast dates their bottles? I came across their amber and hadn't seen it in a long time. Wanted to buy but something tells me it may be very old. Found nothing on the packs.

 

Always. And if there is not a date? I'm not buying it.

 

In June, 2019 a beer store near my work was gutted by a fire, lost all of their stock. The store reopened about nine months later with full shelves and coolers of new beer, at least 1/3 of which was already past date. That 2018 Samuel Smith India Ale I mentioned was part of that “new” stock and it is still there.

 

99% of the time

 

The list would need to be continually updated. For a period of time Bear Republic was dating their stuff. I can't find any dates on their products now. It was good knowing ya, Racer 5. I believe North Coast did the same thing. So long, Red Seal (which is fantastic fresh, otherwise it's a malty mess).

 

Cellaruary thread!

 

Wow, quickest brewery response ever. It is what I found on here to in an old post but confirmed by brewery. It is a code, first number is the years last digit, then random numbers for batch code, last four numbers are month and day. Oh and located on bottom right hand corner of the label.

Example they provided: 11230203

February 3rd, 2021

@snaotheus