Burned by Pipeworks batch numbers

That is probably on the store not ordering enough or selling out - up by me we are getting a new bomber every week in my Binnys (usually 2 or 3 options from prior weeks too) and a stack of cans as high as my chest. It is awesome! Even my wholefoods has cans now.

 

The LV location does seem to have less available than the LP location, which is why I rely on the LP location now. I have found that asking employees at the LV location may yield some PW, as they are held in the back sometimes.

 

When we started hashing out Pipeworks in 2008, most beers on the shelf didn't have batch numbers or dates on them at all. By the time we got open in 2012 that was still mostly true. Bell's was using batch numbers and it seemed to work pretty well for them. Preprinting the dates on the labels isn't an option (like it is with batch numbers) because label orders go in weeks if not months before the beer is even brewed, let alone packaged. I would much rather have an simple number (1, 5, 59, 630...etc.) on my label than some consumer indecipherable code, or worse yet, nothing at all. A date would of course be ideal but that equipment can be cost prohibitive. I just went and dug through my cellar and it looks like 75% of the beers/brewers in there don't have any pack/batch identifying info at all on the bottle or label. We aren't asking everyone to pull out their smart phone and go to the website every time they are looking to purchase beer. But we did make an effort to find and provide a solution to something other brewers don't even care to. We are (were) a very small brewery and as we grow so can our solutions. Printed ink date coding will be on 22's going forward as soon as we can procure another coder (hopefully by the end of the year). The current one is attached to the canning line and unfortunately it won't work for both like we had intended.

As for NVU, I don't think that store was ever one of our accounts. The batch numbers also assist our drivers/sales team in rounding up out of code beer from shelves, which in this case we couldn't do since we were unaware this store was even selling it.

 

Sorry you got an old bottle. That store shouldn't have been selling our beer. Glad you were able to at least identify that it was old and not just crappy beer inside . PM me and we'll make it right.

 

Pipeworks FTW! You guys are awesome!

 

First post...

I love Pipeworks so much. I look forward to going to Binny's every Tuesday and grabbing the fresh releases.

 

such bullshit, the hand numbering was the worst. my 5 year old has better handwriting