Is Bottle Dating Really THAT Difficult?

Yeah, I'd imagine a roll label would be self-adhesive (otherwise the labeling machine would have to cut the label from the roll). Traditional "glued-on" paper or foil labels come in stacks.

I'd guess that the higher speed bottling lines use these, since it would be necessary to change rolls but these can be stacked one another?

 

There is a long magazine - for lack of a better word - that the labels are stacked into. I remember several feet of labels stacked in the device.

 

Yeah, and so an operator can add new label bundles without stopping a high speed line, stacking them one on top of the other (SN's lines are running 500-1000 bottles per minute, right?). A roll of labels would take a very complicated mechanism for that, especially since that would probably mean a new roll every few minutes.

 

Look at 0:30 in this video. There are 2 lines in that bottling hall, it is a little loud in there.

 

There's a slight difference in operation costs when you are filling 18-20 bottles a minute versus filling 500 - 1k.

 

No date, no purchase for me. (As far as lagers and IPAs go) If we all did that they would learn pretty quick I reckon.

 

Well, yeah, I think everybody realizes that. The Koch quote is not so much an instruction (obviously, Koch was using that technique while bottling at the million barrel capacity Pittsburgh Brewing Co., with traditional high speed labeling machinery) but but an illustration of cheaper methods as an alternative to those expensive ink jet coders, etc. If a brewer is labeling using self-adhesive rolled labels at a slow rate then, no, they can't "notch" with a table saw. But, if they're handpacking cases, they can rubber stamp or use "price gun stickers" on sixpack baskets, stamp the cases, etc.

 

right, and many breweries are at a point where they are producing too many bottles to use a table saw, but not enough for it to be worth 10's of 1000's of $$$$ for a printing machine. It is frustrating when you can't find dates on bottles but when it really comes down to it not having the dates is not a marketing advantage for these breweries. Even if you don't date the bottles and they get old on shelves, that means the product isn't moving. so you aren't going to be able to continue moving product out of the brewery because the retailers obviously are having trouble selling it.

 

Every brewery can afford a Sharpie pen:



Above photograph courtesy of @westcoastbeergeek

End thread.

Cheers!

 

Truth. Now get back to me after writing that on each bomber of a 30 barrel run.

 

I am not affiliated with a brewery. My 'participation' is that of a customer. As I have posted before if the beer does not have a date on it I personally refuse to purchase the beer. Each brewery gets to decide:

• Whether to date their product (or not)
• If they choose to date their product, they get to decide the means of dating

I hope that you have a nice day.

 

While we're asking questions, why is it that many of those same bottles are devoid of dates when they are exported to the US?

 

In my career I have had worse tasks to perform. Of course you calculate that pain in the ass with the possibility of thousands of bombers hanging around long enough to give that many customers a possible bad impression of your brewery.

 

low investement solution has a high labor cost.

 

That's one disadvantage small breweries have is that there are quite a few black holes for labor costs when it comes to packaging. One person could crush that in a few hours. Another could make it take two days. Same thing with labeling by hand. Ideally, you are working at the speed of technology. But, humans are still human.

 

Well, considering how many breweries apparently approve of the illegal practice of using "volunteers", no labor cost at all!

Q: So, how do you break into the brewing industry?

A: How's your penmanship? Speed? You're not left-handed (Smears easily)? Love the smell of Magic Marker? Willing to work for short-fills?​

​

 

JK, I had a conversation with the owner of Port Jeff Brewing Company and he informed me that he got his 'start' in commercial brewing by volunteering at Victory Brewing in the packaging department. His 'compensation' was taking home bottles that were short filled. I am sure that he would have been willing to be a 'sharpie operator' if he was requested to perform that function.

Cheers!

 

I have to pass on that one , perhaps someone in the industry could enlighten us

 

They probably don't date it because they figure a lot of people won't drink beer unless they know it's less than 3 months old... With no date, it's possible that the beer could be fresh. You never know..

 

They have the option of using a best by date with a duration of their choosing.

Cheers!