It pays to shop around

Beer is in liquor stores only here, so no competition from Target and the like.
I buy almost all of my beer from one store (and not the nearest or cheapest decent one either) in appreciation of the fact that they'll hold things for me if I call ahead. I'd feel like a dick buying up their dayman and parabola while mixing my 6s elsewhere. Their service is more valuable to me than what I'd save by shopping around.

 

I'm all about the small local store and I buy a vast majority from them. Ironically, though, on multiple occasions at multiple stores, I pointed out there were expired beers on their shelves (extremely politely). I'm talking 1 yr past due enjoy by dates on IPA's. What do I get in reply? Dumfounded looks and rolled eyes. You let Publix know that and it's off the shelf immediately. Bottle shops can't eat the revenue like big stores can. That's the fault of the distributor as well, I suppose though.

 

"They put new inventory on the bottom..." is called rotating. They rotate the stock so the oldest inventory sells first, First In First Out has been a mantra in the beer business and in the grocery business since before you and I were born. Please keep in mind that just because it may be 3, 6, or 9 weeks older than the freshest product in the store does not make it bad, technically or otherwise. I suspect that 95% of the consumers of craft beers could not tell the difference in taste of a bottle of SNPA brewed last week vs one brewed last quarter.
Your local beer store needs your support. With it they can adjust to the ever increasing number of SKU's and work to keep moving through the slower items, adjusting inventory levels accordingly.
Cheers!

 

I guarantee I can taste the difference between old hoppy beer and fresh.

 

I am jealous of your Californians who walk in to Costco and walk out with Abyss, Fresh Squeezed or Enjoy By, when I am walking out with a giant tub of Hellman's mayonnaise (most Costco's in NJ don't sell alcohol and the ones that do have a very poor selection).

 

Our local supermarket has a plainly stated policy of putting the freshest merchandize up front (does not apply to beer since the town has been dry until this June and even then the store can't get a liquor license). They specifically put the freshest cans, jars, bottles in front and push the old ones in the back and let customers know this. So the only way you get older stuff if the new sells out, in which case, you may thank your lucky stars there's any still on the shelves. I'm sure they'd do the same with beer if they had an opportunity--that's putting good relations with customers above profit. They get a lot of good will from customers--generally more than other chains. Liquor stores may not have that option if they have limitations on how they can discount.

 

I buy "macro craft" when hosting large parties. SNPA and LAGUNITAS IPA cases for 21 and 23 from costco this weekend = score. I have no problem paying mark up at a bottle shop in the mtns when i don't wanna go to total wine or road trip it to RR. I guess i shop at all beer venues, oh wait, had sister in law get almanac dogpatch sour at a wine shop in berekeley this week...ok now i covered all bases. Do APA's age like hoppy IPA's?

 

NO IT WON'T YOU JERKS!

Er...ummm...*cough*

Sorry, back on topic. While I understand that smaller stores are supposed to provide better, more knowledgeable/more personal service, that isn't always the case. Example: I just stopped in a store yesterday that had FBS in the cooler. Okay, it's pushing a year old at this point, but it's still a good beer. Not the fantastic "wow" beer it is fresh, but quite good. So I asked about the price. It took literally several minutes of flipping through a paperclipped stack of papers before someone finally said "$14.50".

Not only is that only 45% more than the last price I saw it for, but for a store with such a small stock to have to kind of scratch their heads and dig around before they could find the price? Oy. And that's how it always works there. Bought another bottle of something else on a different occasion. Asked for the price once, waited several minutes, and got one quote. Went in to buy it a few days later, and after nearly ten minutes (and three employees), got my quote - 25% less than just a few days earlier. Made me glad I didn't buy it the first time!

Anyway, moral to the story: more expensive beer at smaller shops doesn't always come with great service. Yeah, it's disappointing to see a small local store struggle to keep customers when they have to charge more. But if you're not offering good service, why should I shop there?

 

This is a great policy! I don't care what the product is (an IPA, milk, potato chips, etc.), I check the date on everything and always purchase the freshest of what's on the shelf. Grocery stores & Total Wine probably don't like me rooting through their stocks to do this, but you know what, it's my money!

If more places did this "newest up front" policy, I think it would satisfy a lot of people.

 

Went into a shop and found cantillon for $19.95 a bottle when most sell it for $25.95. The one on sale was 09 bottling while the more expensive was 2010 and 2011 bottlings

 

Coscto is also starting to carry cases of Deschutes Inversion too! The SN, Lag IPA, Inversion, and Sam Adams make many a bbq we throw now.

 

A lot of stores are starting to carry craft/micro/macro beer because of how popular it is right now. My brother was working up in a city just north of my own and asked me to text him what I was looking for. He text me a few minutes later and said: "Don't bother, these guys don't know shit!"

Many of the places I shop for my beer either having pricing on the bottles themselves, or I have built the relationship where I know I'm getting their best price. Demand creates the pricing and bottle trade bs you may find in some places.

 

I don't mind paying a little extra to support the little guys. I like the personal interaction and perks.