Do (successful) breweries give a damn?

Sorry but @pumpkinsmasher is not a professional. he is a consumer who was sold a defective product. he can complain about it any way he damn well pleases.
If you want to talk about unprofessional, it is unprofessional for them to sell a defective product and totally drop the ball when it comes to making it right.

 

Since they aren't selling the beer it is probably not a violation of any law. If it were, and they gave a damn, they could call their distributor in @pumpkinsmasher 's state and have them send it to him. Brewers using the three tier system to avoid replacing defective bottles is just a cop out.

 

Elysian does! My friend purchased a bottle of their Great Pumpkin bomber and described to me that it tasted off and the bottom had some sort of "sludge." She emailed Elysian wondering what was up and they mailed her THREE of their limited release bombers. FYI The Fix is pretty darn good! So yes, some of the bigger craft brewers definitely give a damn. Hopefully it stays the same after the AB purchase...

 

So give me your opinion please if this is legitimate complaint or nit picking. Mind you I haven't emailed (store I bought it at or brewery) anyone nor was I ever even considering it until I read this thread. I bought the Boulevard "Great 8" variety box last week at local store, contains 2 Tank 7, 2 Calling IPA, 2 Tell Tale Tart, and 2 Imperial Stouts. Open up the box and the Tell Tale Tart and the Calling IPA both had "BEST BY" dates of like 01/10/16. I drain poured the Tart b/c I hated it and I thought the IPA was fine, nothing special though. Like I said, I don't this this constitutes an email like I was ripped off but it was a tad annoying seeing the best by dates being a month ago. It's not like you just rip open the box and check the dates. Is this worthy of mentioning it to the store owner or emailing the brewery that this is happening.

 

It's not the brewer's fault the store isn't monitoring their product. You probably could have taken it back to the store, showed them the dates that were hidden from you at the time of purchase, and asked for a refund or at least an exchange. However, it sounds like you already drank or dumped most (all?) of the beer, so I wouldn't expect much of them at this point, unless they want to go above the norm for customer service. Telling them now is like if you ordered a steak at restaurant, ate it all, and then complained that it wasn't cooked properly and you want a refund. Mentioning it to them could encourage them to monitor their product better in the future, but I personally wouldn't expect anything more.

Regardless, I would be very careful to check dates at that store in the future, in case this is not an isolated event.

 

Yeah I'm just chalking this up to newbie mistake and being more aware of variety packs like this. I only dumped the one Tell Tale Tart and drank the rest. Kept the second TTT in case someone else may want it when over drinking. So yeah not a big deal or loss just kind of surprised on the 4 bottles dates.

 

I have heard all kinds of stories since i started tasting beer about how a bad or infected beer, or an out of code beer reported to the brewery is well received and met with offers of replacement and lots of cameraderie. This has never happened to me. The times it has happened I can count on one hand though so it is not that much. The one brewery who made good without any hassle was sam adams. They sent me a check from "them" when I had an out of date sixer. Other brewers said things like it's the store's fault take it up with them.

 

Any well run business of any significant size will have some sort of "contact us" information available (generally on the website). And inquiries sent through those means should be answered in reasonable time. Other means of contact may not be as successful (a savvy business will work to give good customer service, but in reality it varies considerably).

 

I got a four pack of Weyerbacher Insanity that tasted overpoweringly like band aid. Emailed them four years ago and still waiting for a response.... That, the fact that I don't like many of their beers, and their creepy new labeling is why I don't buy much from them anymore.

 

We definitely want to know when you come across out of code beer in stores/bars. Please head here:

http://www.boulevard.com/contact-us/report-quality-issue/

 

@TheJermis thanks for link. I will fill it out but I have no beefs with Boulevard or the store I bought it from. This stuff happens.

 

Thank you. I didn't take it as you having a beef. I just wanted to get more information so we can let our local folks know. I appreciate you taking the time to fill out the form.

 

I've only contacted breweries a couple of times, both by email.

I emailed Stone about a possibly bad batch of Enjoy By a couple of years ago. Normally, it is one of my favorite beers but this particular time it was one of the worst tasting things I had ever put in my mouth, and that's saying something. Never got any response. I just wanted to know if they had any reports of infection or if they had changed up the recipe or something.

2nd time, I contacted El Segundo about old product on the shelf (9 plus month old IPAs) on the shelf at a shop in Brea. They responded, but didn't seem to care too much.

 

I bought a founders mix case and the packed on date was a few weeks old. I opened the box and Founders is serious about the packed on date. The beers were quite old but I guess they were put in the case the day stated. The Pale ale was undrinkable. I emailed Founders and never even got a reply. Pretty sure they dont miss my money. Yes, in PA founders sells mix cases.

Enjoy