10 favorite "shelf turds"

There are at least 10 trappist beers, right?

Not sure what you mean by shelf turds, half the beers on your list sell quickly. I think of a shelf turd as something that doesn't sell, and most European beer here in the states doesn't sell.

 

Can we at least limit it to stuff that that you love that isn't really moving in the store/area?

Right now I know of a store where Backwoods Bastard is a "shelf turd". I walk in every two weeks and buy one. From the looks of it, I'm the only one. I'll probably eventually buy them out.

Since that won't last all year, I'll go with Founders Porter. Criminally overlooked day-to-day. Boulevard Bully! Porter too.

 

In CO. you could literally just list off the whole line-ups for Victory, Jolly Pumpkin, Mikkeller, and Dundee.

 

Pipeworks Close Encounter. Some Pipeworks stuff flies off the shelves like the single-hopped Ninja series and the Abduction series, but some other ones sit around. Their saisons sit around a lot, but I'm not a fan of that style, so I'll go with Close Encounter, which I've seen sit on the shelves for months at both my local store and at Binny's.

Close Encounter, to me, tastes pretty damn similar to Night Stalker, which also flies off the shelves. Night Stalker is a limited Goose Island stout, so it carries a different pedigree. Those who haven't tried Close Encounter should.

 

That's funny that you say Binny's, because I work at the one in St. Charles. Beers aren't necessarily bad because they sit on the shelf, but 10 cases of Little Sumpin' Sumpin' and Sculpin are coming in every week. I wouldn't call those turds. Trappist beer for example, other than Chimay beers, do not sell. They definitely don't go bad though.

 

Its great for Hoppy stout/Black IPA fans!

 

Beers commonly found on the shelf that I buy regularly:

Various Maine Beer Co beers
Rochefort 10
St Bernadus 12
Pannepot
FBS
Various Westbrook beers
ET Imperial Biscotti Break

 

I think Bell's Two Hearted would take up at least half my list..

 

I'll play:

Ipswich Oatmeal Stout
Pretty Things Jack D'or
Jolly Pumpkin Maracaibo Especial
Jack's Abby Hoponius Union
Kona Longboard Lager
Smuttynose Finest Kind
Victory Helios
Paulaner Hefe
Notch Session Pis
Weihenstephaner everything bascially.

 

1. Jack's Abby Hoponius Union
2. Founders Breakfast Stout
3. Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier
4. Unibroue La Fin Du Monde
5. Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout
6. Samuel Smith Imperial Stout
7. Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout
8. Goose Island Matilda
9. Sierra Nevada Bigfoot
10. Maine Beer Co. Zoe

 

The Bruery stuff
most overpriced bombers.
I would say these are slow movers its not that they don't sell, but the price is so high now why would most pay 6 to 7 for a 330ml bottle?
Rochefort 6. 8. 10.
Orval ---> I buy it, but it sits awhile. mainly because when it was 5 bucks a bottle it was pricey now at near 7 I have to be crazy and flush
yea basically most Trappist.
many UK beers, too many to list
I say the euro stuff would sell but they are marked up to much.

just my 2cents
YMMV

 

In no particular order:

1. J.W. Lees Harvest Ale
2. Goose Island Matilda
3. Goose Island Sofie
4. Allagash Odyssey
5. Boulevard Harvest Dance (it's oak-aged and dry-hopped with Citra, I don't understand how this can sit on shelves for weeks let alone months)
6. Boulevard Dark Truth
7. Boulevard Sixth Glass
8. Gouden Carolus Cuvee Van de Kaizer Blue
9. St. Bernardus anything
10. Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout

 

Russian River Damnation (always on shelves)
Lagunitas Hop Stoopid (It just sits and sits and sits, and really how much better is Pliny?)
North Coast Old Rasputin
Pretty much all of the Bruery (though they are all a little steep in price)
Knee Deep Simtra, Citra, and Hoptologist
DFH Burton Baton (yea its year round but it just sits and sits)

 

I think Dundee is a shelf turd in the literal sense

Good call on FBS, wasn't it a whale a few years ago (2007-ish?). Here in Quebec, the St-Ambroise RIS (which is excellent) sits on the shelves because they make a bunch of 'em. Still see some from last year's vintage.

 

North Coast Old Rasputin
Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout
Founders Porter
Olde Hickory Irish Walker
Boulevard Dark Truth Stout
Boulevard Double Wide IPA
Oskar Blues Ten Fidy
Stone Oaked Arrogant Bastard
Foothills People's Porter
Chimay Blue

 

These are all great beers (the ones I tried), many of which are widely considered some of the best in the world. I object to the term "shelf turd" in general, but even more so when it's used specifically towards a beer/brewery whose only sin is producing enough world class beer to satisfy demand.

I've been drinking craft beer for around ten years now and (living in Chicago and the Chicagoland area) remember when Bourbon County Stout and Gumballhead were "shelf turds".

 

Hop Stoopid - one of the most readily available and reasonably priced DIPA's
anything by Samuel Smith's
Chimay, Rochefort, St Bernadus varieties

 

Southern Tier Choklat
Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale
Stone Imperial Russian Stout
Firestone Walker Double Jack
Lagunitas Little Sumpin' Sumpin'
Founders Porter
Founders Breakfast Stout
Great Divide Hercules Double IPA
Green Flash Palate Wrecker
Oskar Blues Dale's Pale Ale
Cigar City Jai Alai
Allagash White
Blue Point White IPA
North Coast Pranqster
Stillwater Cellar Door