Taking personal responsibility for old beer purchases

I can sympathize with the pain of trying to decipher lots of can printed dates with poor eyesight but I'm curious about this comment. What kind of 4 pack holders are common back there? Out here pretty much everyone has moved to those hard plastic circles that clip over the top of the cans and they are damn sturdy. Sometimes it feels a little ridiculous how much force it takes to pop a can out.

 

I have zero compunction checking dates as you describe (I also have poor short-distance vision, but I can usually just manage to push my glasses down on my nose Schumer-style)—maybe I just don’t buy that much beer so it doesn’t come up that much. But I certainly don’t feel like an asshole doing it, and I don’t think you should either. As we’ve established in this thread, it’s the buyer’s responsibility to check the date if they care about that—and there’s really only one way to do that. Some 4- and 6-packs come in boxes and the box has the date printed somewhere that’s clearly visible and pretty easy to find. And yes, a lot of them just have the date printed on the bottom of the cans (half the time illegibly) but I guess I don’t view it as that big of a deal. I tend to do this most often at Costco where they often have local beers at a pretty good price—though sadly, all stored at room temperature—but because it’s Costco I’m leery about freshness.

 

Kudos to Victory for doing the right thing in having the store change stock. I've contacted plenty of breweries in the past and I've had various reactions from them. One brewery told me that they would send out a rep immediately to check on the stock because they didn't agree with old beer being sold. Another asked for my address and sent me a hat (not necessary but I can respect them for that). A different brewery said the beer would "probably still be good" and that I should try it and let them know if it was bad or not.

From what I understand Victory didn't reimburse the buyer, but I don't think it should be understated from my latter example how important it is that they reached out to the retailer to have the stock rotated. It really sucks to have a retailer that lets beer stock stagnate but it's the only option you have nearby. I've passed on beer plenty of times in favor of a beer that was fresher, simply because I like both well enough that the date is the deciding factor. It was today when I picked up a torpedo mixed pack.

I disagree with the idea that it's the responsibility of the consumer to check the date code. I do check date codes but that's because there are so many people who are willing to sell expired beer. I shouldn't have to check date codes but we've gotten to a point where you almost always have to. I have been burned so many times by old beer. I was at the store today and all of the beers from last Christmas were in the refrigerated aisles while the new pumpkin and Oktoberfest beers were sitting on the ground wherever the store had free space. They've been sitting there since July. There's no reason why a retailer can't manage to rotate a shelf or two in the span of 4 months. It's one thing if the retailer doesn't know where to find a date code on a package of SNPA but seasonal products are always shelved in advance because they are a hot item.

I think some people have an inherent trust that their retailer is selling them an in-date product and that trust is being abused by people who are either lazy or don't care. This lack of regard is passed on to breweries who never asked to inherit it.

 

Those solid plastic holders are probably the most common, but we also have cardboard ones and the traditional plastic o-rings. If you tip any upside down only holding by one can, it will generally pop out and the other three hit the floor. Definitely a two-handed operation. I’ve learned to put down any other beer I’m buying and push my glasses up on my head before checking for a date.

I check dates for eggs or milk or whatnot without any hesitation, but with beer it still comes off a bit snobby sometimes.

 

I think I’m the opposite. With milk, eggs, meat and what have you I assume it’s within the sell-by date (and thus I seldom/never check it) because I think stores are required to make sure they don’t have expired inventory on their shelves—you just don’t see anything like that past its expiration because of the liability involved for the store (and if I did buy such an item that had expired, I’m pretty sure they would take it back if I returned it promptly with the receipt).

With beer, because it doesn’t technically go “bad,” I feel like the onus is more on me to check the date precisely because I know the store is less likely to do it.

 

I had no idea Shortsville was so close to Kiribati

 

I didn't say it was close, I said I went east.

 

I'm not advocating any practice other than what @BBThunderbolt says: Take responsibility. Personally, I seldom check for freshness because I know the stuff I buy at my local retailer (Trader Joe's) is generally not older than 3 weeks, or else it is an age-tolerant style. The only time I check dates is if I find something on sale, elsewhere, which often means it may be "old".

 

Always check milk eggs and meat. Maybe it’s out on the floor and within freshness dates, but expires the next day…I want milk good for at least a week.

 

Meh, I’m almost 55 and have done OK so far.

 

Milk doesn't magically go bad on the day listed on the carton.

The sad reality is that "expiration" dates that are designed around a litigious society are a huge part of the reason we send something like 30% or more of the food we produce to the landfill.

The really crazy thing is that actual healthy milk doesn't really go bad, it becomes yogurt. Obviously it's hard to get real milk these days and thus we have this rotten shit. But I've drank local milk, and often raw milk, for years and the worst I've gotten from not sniff testing an open bottle is something a little more sour than anticipated

 

Stopped by a local liquor store today and wanted to buy a tall can to go along with my lunch. I had to go through 4 different beers (2 Firestone Walker, 1 Lagunitas and 1 Sierra Nevada) to find one that was dated less than a year old. One was dated two years ago.

And don't even get me started on their 4 packs and 6 packs. I've seen some there dated more than 3 years old.

 

What is your definition of milk going bad? Getting something more sour than anticipated would fit mine.

 

I always get the milk that has the furthest sell by date on it.

 

I feel like the old stock problem has gotten significantly worse in my area. It was horrible in the early 00's, but I feel like the problem was mostly fixed by 2007'ish. However, in the last 6-7 years (well before COVID), things took a major step backward. I'm convinced it's the distributor to blame. Every store only carrying hundreds of IPA SKUs compounds the issue, too. Even stores that don't know anything about beer and breweries that specialize in everything but IPAs, too. The worst thing is that I can't find anything fresh even when I want an IPA. It's one reason I've started drinking more "Grocery Store IPAs" from larger breweries just because I know they aren't old.

 

Former cheesemonger here, that is not how it works. Old milk doesn't magically change into yogurt or kefir. Special bacterial cultures need to be introduced and nurtured. While these bacteria exist in the wild, relying on them is iffy at best. (The now dead Other Fermentation forum had a bunch of folks talking about how they add probiotic pills to their fermented pickles because they didn't get the results they wanted with the naturally occurring.) Either use a laboratory culture or backwash from a former successful batch.

I wouldn't drink raw milk unless I have had a tour of the dairy. Cows are by nature filthy creatures. I've seen a cow getting pissed on in the face by another and continue to chew it's cud like nothing was happening, and this was at a cheesemaking dairy that makes raw milk cheese that I love. I need first hand proof that the dairy is washing these disgusting but beautiful beasts before milking.

 

I thought that all commercial dairy farms washed the udders using hot water with bleach in it but I could mistaken.

 

I'm pretty certain it isn't bleach, but quat. Bleach would irritate the udders. Still, I'd need to see proof.
Still, trust, but verify on anything that could be risky.
I used to make fresh raw milk goat cheese aged for less than 60 days (the FDA states that raw milk cheese must be aged for at least 60 days) at home, but the acidification of the cultures added would inhibit harmful bacteria. Just straight drinking raw milk without knowing the dairy is something I can't do.

 

Ive been burned too many times in my younger days with year-old IPA's or flat-tasting, sediment filled outdated brews- I always check the Best by date or Brew On date if available- if i can't determine the age, especially if its a bottle shop that i don't frequent too often, then I won't buy--as they say: Let the Buyer Beware