Is Bottle Dating Really THAT Difficult?

I definitely think the beers should be dated, but I can see some reasons why a brewery may not date it, mainly I think because of the stigma against old, hoppier beers. The problem with the best by date is if no one buys it before that date, and others see it, they may not want to buy it and so it just sits there until it probably stales. I saw a Stone Enjoy By dated before the day it was, and I probably could've got it, but I chose not to simply because it was past the enjoy by date. I'm sure it would still be good, but if it passes the date or it's too far away from the bottled date, and there is a stigma against it, the beer may not sell even if it's pretty good.

 

I personally do not see that as a problem from a consumer point of view. If the beer is past its best by date nobody should buy it. In fact the beer industry (retailer-wholesale distributor) should actually remove the beer at that point. As has been discussed before in this thread if somebody buys an old beer which sucks (due to old age) they will bad mouth that brewery and also never buy beer from that brewery again. How does that help the brewery who does not date their product?

Cheers!

 

So you think the beer should just sit on the shelf and never get sold? All money lost to the business involved? I personally don't see a big deal in outdated beer. I had a Torpedo from last December and thought it was fine. I don't mind drinking an IPA 5 or 7+ months old. Not every beer you drink is going to be super fresh.

 

That's what I care most about is if it tastes good. And I think beer can still be good long after it gets released. I think a non-local beer being a few months old is pretty typical if there is a lot of product in the space. Obviously it won't all get sold at the same rate. Certain beers have higher demand and get sold quicker, and more fresh. I don't think all the beer that doesn't get sold in that time should just be taken off the shelves at a loss of profit, just to satisfy certain customers that probably know better than to buy an old or undated beer. I hope at least that some people don't mind a beer that is more than a few months old, even if it isn't a barrel aged stout or low hopped beer. With more beer on the market and pickier choosers, it is inevitable that some beers will get old on the shelves.

 

I think what we need here is maybe lower expectations. People need to realize that not every beer is going to be ~1 month old, super highly hopped, mega fresh 5/5 beer. But dates are helpful, whether it is an extended best buy date, or a regular bottling date. I like knowing when it was made, but I'm not going to shun a good beer because it isn't fresh. I'd like it to be lower in price but not necessarily unavailable.

 

There are also cases where a store may not be as popular, picked up a beer fairly fresh, and just didn't have as many customers or a high enough demand to get rid of it all on time. It's like anything else regarding supply/demand and freshness. But at least beer doesn't grow mold and become spoiled like produce or dairy.

 

I would also offer props to Other Half, who dates their cans even though they are only available at the brewery.

 

I really like the approach that Southern Tier has taken. Bottling date clearly printed right on left front of the front label.

No guessing games, no cryptic julian dating codes, no smeared ink, no searching the entire fkn bottle for squiggly or smeared dates. Too old to play those games anymore.

Even stopped purchasing Victory product unless it's a seasonal that I know was bottled recently because they switched from a bottled on dating system, to a drink by dating system.

The brewing industry needs more transparency.

I know that a lot of distributors don't like this because they like to let their palates sit in their warehouse until they sell out of or ship previously dated stock.

Hire more help, or adjust your selling logistics.

Hopefully more consumers wise up to this game and treat beer dating just like they would meat or dairy at their local supermarket.

 

I was bitching about freshness dates in usenet back in 1997 ... Yankee Brew News printed one of my letters about it in 1998. Since then many beer writers have covered it, bloggers have chimed in, and popular beer forums have numerous comments about the subject. It would have to be a federal law change to make it really happen which now would probably hurt brewers / stifle growth.

We just need to be savvy consumers and continue to call out bullshit when we see it and be proactive by asking the establishments we buy from if it is fresh or not. Or ... just don't buy anything that does not have a freshness date. Problem solved. ;-)

 

So, you are against what has been the conventional freshness dating and brewery-wholesaler procedure that has existed in the US for generations? Major breweries, after extensive research and testing over many years, from AB and MC down to major craft brewers starting with Boston Beer Co, Sierra Nevada and Stone, give their own products pull-dates in that range and require their wholesale distributors to pull, replace and destroy their own beers of that age.

 

This. If we're worried about super mega ultra beer co buying up breweries while also turning major channels of distribution into a pay to play hustle; I'd be even more worried about their flexing lobbying strength with a precedent to change a seemingly simple matter into a very over thought federal law.

 

Here is a crazy idea, maybe they should make less product if their product doesn't sell in a timely manner.

 

Or expand their distribution.

 

Did you read this part: "In fact the beer industry (retailer-wholesale distributor) should actually remove the beer at that point."

I respectfully disagree.

Cheers!

 

I've worked at a brewery that uses this, but the most people are unaware of it. Also, once the bottles are broken up for singles or mix and match you lose out on the effort that it takes to do this. When you are running a machine that is pumping out bottles as fast as you can hand place them into cases, which you just assembled and glued together by hand, this step certainly slows you down. And despite what everyone in this thread is saying about overhead, or cheap methods for stamping or notching dates, all of these things take time. Time is money. Time for a small brewery owner is also precious. Date stamping is something that brewers invest in when they can afford it, not before. Much like craft beer, it is a luxury item.

 

Hmm, not sure how my Torpedo ended up being a year old, or why I see Double Trouble's sitting from May, and Union Jack's from the summer, etc. I'm not doubting this, just not sure how much it gets paid attention to. Some people don't mind old beer and it's still worth the money especially if it's discounted... in my opinion anyway.