Chicago suburbs freshness

Discussion in 'Great Lakes' started by Frankinstiener, Feb 21, 2022.

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  1. Frankinstiener

    Frankinstiener Initiate (0) Jul 28, 2009 Illinois

    I'm finding more and more often that if its not a seasonal or recent hyped release I simply can't find fresh pale ales, midwest, or west coast IPA's. I haven't been hanging out around here as much as I used to so I won't exactly know what the newest releases are and if I don't just stumble onto something hyped, then I cant find basically anything fresh that's not hazy. A more recent issue is with my old standby Deisy Cutter. If I couldn't find anything else I'd always fall back on Deisy being relatively fresh. Now either the batches are just way too big or I'm the only one drinking it. A fresh batch will come in but then its like the same batch just lingers over the entire Western suburbs for months before a new one comes. I'm a simple man I'll take literally any APA or roughly WC IPA from any brewer in the area as long as its semi fresh. I'm not picky at all, I want something local, hoppy, and clear. Flagship pales ales and IPA's will do. Desiy Cutter, Lizard King, Charlatan, Penrose Taproom, Belt & Suspenders, West Coast Wizard, Lexical gap, Spiteful IPA etc. They all seem to be collecting dust. Doubles are much easier to find fresh than singles but I prefer singles by quite a bit.

    Seems like my choices are follow every brewery online to see when they release a one off West Coast and go buy it immediately or check dates in the store for an hour until I find one. Am I just visiting the wrong stores or is this roughly the state of the market?
     
    #1 Frankinstiener, Feb 21, 2022
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  2. beardown2489

    beardown2489 Pooh-Bah (1,966) Oct 5, 2012 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah

    Cold storage plays major major role in freshness. A 3 month old daisy Cutter or Brickstone APA still tastes might fine when stored correctly. Warm storage harms most beer, but particularly hoppy beer. Beer Cellar Geneva stores all beer cold and it’s a major plus in my book. You can shop online and request the beer be stored in the keg cooler until you are able to pick it up. I hope more bottle shops invest to increase refrigeration and educate customers the role cold storage plays in maintaining freshness.
     
    #2 beardown2489, Feb 23, 2022
    Last edited: Feb 23, 2022
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  3. eppie82

    eppie82 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,377) Apr 19, 2015 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I can relate on lack of freshness of Amerian Pale Ales or West Coast style PA/IPS(living in the north burbs) and also being tired and not caring about turbid/'hazy' beers anymore. That's the main reason why I've had to resort to buying directly from breweries if I'm looking for PA/IPA/DIPA styles. Only problem is, I don't have that kind of time anymore and don't end up making those trips as often as I use to. But if I could only find fresh Lizard King at Binny's in Highland Park, I'd be pretty happy.
     
    #3 eppie82, Feb 23, 2022
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  4. beardown2489

    beardown2489 Pooh-Bah (1,966) Oct 5, 2012 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah

    Just tried a great pale ale from Odell called wolf picker.
     
    #4 beardown2489, Feb 27, 2022
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