I recently got a pick your own 6 pack at Giant Eagle and happily picked up some Samuel Smiths Winter Welcome and Old Pale Ale because they are usually pricier than the 9.99 selection. I was excited to try the beers and ended up pouring the Pale Ale because it was hard to swallow. Is anyone else here skeptical of the mix and match 6 pack fridges at grocery stores?
No, because what you describe is the very advantage of the mix six packs. Some will suck, some will be good. Variety is the spice of life.
They have a mix and match section at a local kroger where I am from which is great, although they aren't kept cold. The only problem is that I've noticed that a lot of the beers there are kept well past the freshness dates that are printed on the bottles, and they don't bring in different beers very often.
A lot of places don't cycle old beer out for new; it's not cost-effective. It's easier for them to just sell you old beer because A) You want beer, and B) The average customer won't know the difference anyway. I know that at the WM I worked at, the beer came in warm, was stocked to either the shelf or the cooler, and the excess was stored in the cooler to be stocked to either location when needed. There was a lot of temperature change going on, and no one believed me (or cared) when I told them it was bad for the beer because they were more concerned with the wine.
I try to stick to the specialty stores. I just feel like the beer will generally be fresher, even if you might end up paying an extra dollar or two. I have noticed at some stores with mix-a-six, singles dated older than the fresh six packs on the shelves. It could be the store trying to get rid of old stock or just a lack of people using the mixed packs. I try to stick to things with bottle dates or get the un-dated things at stores I can trust. Freshness is key and worth paying a bit more for.
Probably. Singles may also sit in the racks for a long time before they get sold. I almost bought a He'Brew's Bittersweet Lemmy R.I.P.A the other day from a singles rack but noticed it covered in dust so I put it down. (I did end up getting a Genesis Session Dry Hopped Ale instead and it probably wasn't any younger). But, hey, its a single so while it sucks its not a huge deal. At least you don't have to sit through 5 more past their prime beers.
Just out of curiosity, what did you expect from the Pale Ale and what did it taste like to you? Could be a problem with the beer. Could be your expectations.
It tasted syrupy and kinda flat. My expectations for the beer were definitely pretty high. I just expected more flavor and hops. My expectations could have been too high but I just know Samuel Smiths makes good beer.
I picked up six this past weekend but limited it to higher alcohol beers - Old Raspy, Dirty Bastard, Founders Porter, etc that age well. So far so good.
With make your own 6 packs you may get burned on bad bottles. I have seen stores put old bottles in the singles section.
If the "mix a six-pack" isn't very popular at the particular establishment, it is usually made up of beers that were of broken six-packs, out of season beers or whatever else they can't get rid of... however, places that let you mix singles of whatever you want in a six-pack, those are the places I love and frequent.
i got a regular 6-pack recently. Bottle date says "enjoy by 6/11/12" but it started going bad after a couple of weeks from yeast. oh well..
