How often do you check bottling dates?

Almost always. I regret it most times I don't check. I don't care if it is a Stout or quad either. If it ages well I will be the one to age it under my own conditions. To me a 2 year old Belgian isn't aged. It is just old.

 

Every time. I've been burned so many times from buying IPAs that are months old, I don't buy any pale beer anymore that isn't clearly bottle-dated. With stouts and/or really high-gravity beers I generally just make sure the bottle isn't dusty and hope for the best.

 

Almost always.

 

Wish there were more like you.

 

never...unless it tastes bad

 

With only a very, very few exceptions, if there is no date I do not purchase the beer.

I would like to buy Neshaminy Creek year-round canned beers but I refuse to do so since they refuse to date their cans.

Cheers!

 

Depends on what I'm buying: hoppy stuff, yeah, everything else no.

 

Anytime I'm buying hoppy beers. Freshness matters for other styles, but not nearly as much. 6 month old IPAs are terrible.

 

Never used to, but I'm doing it more and more. I'm checking dates on the vast majority of beer I buy at bottle shops these days (if I'm at a bar, it's a roll of the dice. I've never asked the bartender how old a keg is and I don't plan on doing anything of the sort any time soon).

 

Not very often - maybe once a week, but sometimes I go 10 days to 2 weeks with checking.

Now that I think about it, I pretty much only check date codes when I'm buying beer.

 

With hop driven styles, I definitely would like them as fresh as I can find them. But with malt, and brett driven styles, I really do not care.

 

every time. if it doesn't have a date on it, I'll usually pass.

 

all the time. especially with ipa's at big brand stores!

 

I check all the time with IPAs and hardly ever with Stouts and Sours.

 

Hardly ever. guess I need to start

 

Always and even if I really want something I will refuse to buy it on the basis of it being too old by my standards.

 

I look for dating codes every time but I'm not super strict about freshness (e.g., I'll buy an IPA that's a couple of months old if its main selling point isn't dry-hopping).

Looking for dating codes also helps me track the rate of my eyesight's deterioration. Some dates are always easy for me to see and some... aren't. I think I have about a 50-50 chance of spotting the date on a Lagunitas bottle, for instance.

 

Almost always especially with IPAs and pale ales. When it comes to higher ABV beers I usually don't check. If there is not a bottled on date or best by date on an IPA/IIPA or pale ale, I'll pass.

 

I always look for some kind of dating. If a brewery doesn't have it and the style is volatile enough to be pretty time-sensitive, then I might still take a chance if I am really curious. Otherwise...