How Does Beer get Transported to the Store?

Depends on the distributor and the store. Some distributors cold ship, some don't. A lot of breweries won't deal with distributors that don't cold ship. Some breweries require their beer (or at least hoppy beer) to be in cold storage at the store even when not on the shelf (Russian River, Beachwood). I'm a beer buyer and I always try to keep my IPA backstock refrigerated, but I unfortunately have limited space, as I'm sure is the case with a lot of places.

 

How? Or what temperature?

 

While all breweries want to have their beers chilled throughout the distro process, the reality is that it is not. Some distributors are better than others, and some stores are better than others. You only know whether your beer is chilled by whether you find it in the store's cooler, and then maybe it was a warm version off the shelf an hour before you pull it from the cooler.

 

On a truck usually. Temperature shouldn't hurt the beer all that much it'll just accelerate the aging.

 

Cold -> Warm -> Cold -> Warm -> belly

It's gone back and forth several times unless you snagged it from the brewery, and is nothing to fret over unless it's been baking in a hot truck/window for days. An ale is MADE in non-refrigerated conditions, after all.

 

I'm yet to see a refrigerated delivery truck around my town. Not sure if any of the local/regional distributors have cold storage or not.

 

I know a few of my distributors deliver it cold however some don't.

 

Most delivery trucks aren't refrigerated. In fact I don't know anyone in this area that uses refrigerated trucks. Unless it's unpasteurized the temperature fluctuation wont really do much. Lots of breweries that bank on their fresh hop aroma will ask to be refrigerated but in the end it's really up to the retailer.

 

Minimally, (after receiving it from usually a non-reefer transport ) the distro keeps the beer in a temperature controlled warehouse, from there it is selected and loaded on trucks and roll out. C-store, grocery and 99% of the time to bottle shops, non-reefer sideloaders and regular roll up door trailers for grocery stores or anywhere that you would bump a dock. On premise - reefer, side loader keg truck or reefer box truck with a lift gate.

That's one fairly likely example.

 

Kegs should be kept cool from filling until the time they are served at an establishment, but "shit happens"

Package beer can vary by distributor as well as the retail location. Interestingly, not many breweries seem to store their package beer under a controlled environment prior to shipping to distributors.

 

even on the very hot days 90+ a keg can stay pretty cold even after 7 hours in the back of a box truck

 

No easy answer. It can vary wildly.

 

In Oklahoma all beer in liquor stores is room temperature. Liquor stores are prohibited from having coolers. This is one of the liquor laws that is currently in the legislative process and will, hopefully, be changed. I honestly don't know how it is shipped to the stores, though.