Have you ever been let down by your local or go-to beer store? The other day I went to one of my go-to places for special release beers or hard to find treats and was perusing the aisles looking for something special. I found a single 22oz bottle of Great Divide Fresh Hop, I missed out on it so I was quite pleased until I looked for the bottled on date and found that it was bottled in Oct of 2012. Boy what a let down, now I wonder if I can trust this establishment with the proper care of good beer. Does anyone else have a story that they'd like to share?
Haven't had this happen. Did you point out to them that they were selling a two year old fresh hop beer? I don't think a store selling old or badly stored beer would make me feel disappointed and/or let down. Those emotions are kept for more important things. I just wouldn't go there anymore if it turned out to be a regular occurrence.
Poor selection and price gouging. One I used to frequent tried to get me to pay seventeen bucks for a 22 oz bottle of Revolution Local Hero. I haven't gone back since. He could have the best selection in the world, and I still wouldn't go back. A grocery store chain was selling it for almost ten dollars less.
Now that's just a no-brainer to get that off the shelf and into the clearance rack...like a year and a half ago. I work at a bottle shop and just yesterday went around taking all the out-of-date beers off the shelf. A couple 6-packs of Sweetwater Take Two Pils expired back in June. Yikes, I know. It's difficult to constantly be on top of when beers expire, however a '12 GD Fresh Hop kept on the shelf at full price is just complete ignorance. But you said it was a single bomber. What was the price on it? If it was around $3 maybe it was on clearance. Was it with all the other GD stuff? If it was, it means either one of two things happened: either they said "We're not ordering next year's release until this year's all gets sold" or they ordered the next year's release, put the old stock in the back until the new stock ran out and then put the old stock back on the shelf. Either way, not cool at all. If something like that doesn't sell (which it totally should since it's an awesome beer), just don't order it anymore or order less of it. It's hard for store owners to eat the cost of product that doesn't move but sometimes that's just what needs to be done.
I used to work in a high end wine/beer/liquor store and rotation with beer was mandatory. Maybe an oversight but it was priced at $9.95 and the sticker did not look like it was 2 years old. It was positioned on the shelf with other bombers but not by brewery.
The stores have been great. The distributors with their " none of the good stuff for your backwater" is well beyond disappointing.
Yeah, that's probably the biggest disappointment that one can experience at a beer store. There's a decent place right across the street from where I work. Unfortunately, the town that I work is not super populated so they don't get a huge amount of regular customers. This means that they sell their product at a snail's pace. A majority of some of the decent beer there has been on the shelves since the spring (when they first opened their doors).
How about: Great Divide Bottle Aged Hop Ale Seriously though, I think you always should check bottle dates even at more reliable places. Since we are all human even places that keep an eye on dates can miss a bottle here or there.
It seems all our local stores have IPA's well out of date. The biggest problem with this is you cannot buy any non dated beer unless it handles age well. That limits the IPA's I can buy.
I'm not saying that old beer on the shelf is a good thing, but it is a reality that is going to get worse and worse if the market continues on its growth path. EVERY single beer store I've ever shopped at... be it a small curated thoughtful boutique or a "100 world-class" rated establishment has had expired beer on the shelf (and I've shopped at many stores).
I have found this same problem at just about every place I shop for beer in my local area. I normally make it a point to to check dates but made the mistake the other day of buying a 4-pack of Hop Karma without checking. I quickly realized when I got home and had my first sip that I'd made a mistake and checked the bottle and found the Best By Date of 07/14.
Found 3 fifteen month old bombers of Dogfish Head marked full price at a local grocery chain. Wanted to really try it too because it was one of their Ancient Ales, but decided to wait for fresher bottles.
There's a place near me that typically has a great selection, but as of late I've noticed a lot of freshness issues and crazy price gouging on a few things (Curieux @ $25+ for example when it's readily available at other stores for ~$16). Occasionally I've found a gem or two with old stouts that have sat there for a couple of years, but just as often I see things like 12+ month old bottles of SN Harvest fresh hop and Enjoy By etc. so, I tend to think any "cellared" beers I've pulled have been luck of the draw and accidental on their part. That and in general the prices have slowly gone up 15-20% in the past year or two as well. Kind of a shame because it used to be a go-to place for me, luckily though there's no shortage of good shops nearby and a new place just opened up where the owner is really hungry for business and taking the time to talk to his customers.
