Bad Beer - Tried To Do The Right Thing

OK rook.

 

This ALMOST happened to me about 30 minutes ago. Luckily I know to check all bottling dates if available when I shop at this particular store. I wanted something light and refreshing, so I went to grab a sixer of Schlafy Dry Hopped APA. I took a gander at the bottling date and it was bottled last October. LAME. Big chain grocery stores (at least the ones I frequent) are terrible at keeping at least semi-fresh beer on the shelves.

Picked up Boulevard Pale Ale instead because they've never carried it, so I figured it was fresh. Thankfully I made the save because sometimes I'm in a rush and forget to check the dates, then end up with two year old Mirror Pond.

 

Umm...I disagree wholeheartedly...the retailer should always take back beer that is old...I know first hand that it is difficult to offer a broad selection and maintain 100% peak freshness all the time...but that's no excuse for not taking back old beer or even beer that was improperly packaged at the brewery...not doing so is bad customer service and bad for business

 

Don't mean to be that guy but...
http://www.promash.com/Software/Changes/Misc/HopD.html
The AAs of a hop degrade over time just like most compounds in nature...why do you think brew shops often store their hops in the fridge.

 

All things deteriorate, all things fade, all things die. All things that come from the ground, end up back in the ground. Even the hop bitterness of a beer is not immune.

 

Good luck with that.

 

The fact that it was a can and no carb means it is an almost certainty that it has to do with the brewery and packaging. Old beer is old beer but old beer should still be carbonated.

As for old beer, I stick to homebrew, dated beers, and seasonals. Craft has gotten popular enough that there are good beer stores and then there are package stores that just happen to carry some good beer. There's a place near my job that I stop by just because it's close that is decent. I can usually find some fresh IPAs mixed in with some old beer. They put beer on sale for $1 or $2 off when its old. I saw a Stoudt's Octoberfest for a $1 off. If that doesn't show you how much some retailers care about freshness I don't know what will.

 

If one of my staff pulled a BS answer like that, I would snatch them up fast for a bit of beer education, and a bit of basic customer service education as well.
I feel for you that you went through this.

 

Really? There are plenty of small beer stores around me that are very good about rotating their stock. Quite frankly, your generalization is rather ignorant.

 

Bingo!

I think you are the first person in this thread to spot the significance of that. As soon as I saw your post I was reminded of the very long recent thread about canning in which a couple of knowledgeable people were pointing out that canning could be a mixed thing and one problem for some breweries was a lack of proper seating of the can top thereby preventing loss of carbonation and ingress of oxygen. No carbonation probably means canning line "failure."

 

Buyer beware is about all I can say.

 

I find it interesting to see how many people there are in this thread (and on this site) who equate hop presence with only "brightness of flavor" and bitterness.

Have any of you ever wondered why brewers first began using hops in beer, why there was heavy usage of hops in beers intended for several month long sea voyages (e.g., Pale Ales, Porters, etc.), or why a number of breweries (e.g., Cantillon, etc.) deliberately age their hops before using them?

Have any of you ever bought a case of a fresh DIPA and consumed the bottles periodically over 9 or 10 months to actually explore and taste for yourself the changes in hop flavors that occur?

Its quite true that bitterness fades and what people call "brightness" fades but other flavors and flavor characteristics emerge. The fact that someone prefers the younger version of what hops bring to the table does not mean there is no hop presence left a few months later.

 

We do it...we've even done it when the beer was good but the customer bought a beer we recommended and didn't like it

 

Actually they do have "good luck" with that. While the place he works isn't in my routine shopping radius I've heard nothing but good reports of their selection variety, quality, freshness, and customer service. All of this helps draw customers who become regulars.

 

Basically, the brewer said "tuffshit" for buying their shitty beer. Which brewer was it? There is plenty they can and should do after it leaves their hands. They can mail you a check. They can send you a coupon. It is clear they don't want or need your future business. Which brewer ??

 

I don't know how it works in South Carolina, but around here I find much fresher beer in smaller mom and pop joints than the big warehouse joints with multiple locations.

 

I know they degrade and flavor goes south. I drink beer. Hops don't disappear though.