Old beer in bottle shops...

Yeah, true - every now and again, I'll see a "store aged" I call it - stout - BCBS or KBS or such - some of my stores stores actually put some aside from a release so they have them to put out with some age on them - a convenient treat...

 

I care. You should. Stay woke. Beer goes bad. It is intended to either A) be drunk fresh as possible. B) age. If it's not a high ABV don't age it. If it's a light or hoppy style don't age it. If it's not wild/conditioned. Don't age it.

I've passed on beer I couldn't find a date on.

 

Can confirm that when I worked in a liqour store, the guys from carton went straight from the truck to the beer box. Sat there until in the system too if it was new stuff.

 

If the distributor is delivering old beer, the retailer can refuse to accept it. You're dealing with a retailer who just doesn't care.

 

By the time the beer gets on the retailer's shelf the retailer is often the third to have ownership of that beer. Very few brewers have the clout required to inforce their requests for something they don't own.

Distributors generally don't buy old beer, but retailers sometimes accept delivery on old beer. What would you suggest that a small brewer who sells their beer to a distributor in another state is to do to enforce their requests? They no longer own the beer and the distributor no longer owns the beer. Further, why should a retailer care if the customer buys the beer?

 

When you self-distribute within your own state you can do that. Suppose they shipped beer to a wholesale distributor in PA, who then sold it to a retailer. What would you propose Carton do to enforce their request?

 

Two roads started contract brewing for carton a few months back. Those cans are available warm all over NYC.

 

My local place has no old beer. That is why I go there.

 

Is it your experience that the heat a beer is stored at could create diacetyl (buttery flavor) in a beer?

 

There is part of me that says "Yay", Carton is contract brewing so there will be more Carton available. The other part of me says "Bummer" since the distribution system will not enforce the conditions that Carton does in NJ when they self distribute.

Cheers!

 

If the beer was brewed properly the answer is no. The principle issue of beer exposed to high temperatures is accelerated staling which can create a myriad of issues:

• Hop fade in hoppy beers
• Cardboard flavors in pale beers (e.g., AAL beers)
• etc.

Cheers!

 

Very true, that is a good point. I guess then they would need to incentivize the end buyer/seller of their product. It seems that most of us point to the retailer/and distributor is cases. So those are the parties that need to control the product. Now how that is done is up for discussion lol. Anyway, its fun to discuss since it seems to be a big problem for everyone.

 

That's just the double edge sword vs controlling your product in every facet vs growing as a company to make more profit. Actually the cans I get in south jersey are from the Two Roads contract brewery and they are always cold so I don't know why people are seeing them warm. I guess I have a retailer that follows the wishes of the brewery.

 

I noted that you made no mention of the breweries. Is it not possible that the breweries are producing more beer than consumers are willing to purchase in a timely manner?

Cheers!

 

Yes, unless you don't care about getting what you paid for. ; )

I follow the local bottle shop on social media, in part in the interest of seeing/knowing what has just arrived.

Twice I have gotten bad old beer, from brewers that don't date. Both times , including tonight, they gladly
did a refund, and checked the remaining stock, in order to pull it, if need be.

 

Permit me to suggest the tactic that I take: no date, no purchase.

Cheers!

 

Best by dates are arbitrary and completely useless.

No date don't buy on beers that are age sensitive. Pretty simple, if more retailers got stuck with old beers they'd change the way they do business.

 

I'm frequently surprised, make that shocked, by the age of craft beer I see in shops. I regularly see beer 2+ years old and IPA's 3-6 months. What's really surprising is the age of locally brewed beer. Just today, I saw several locally brewed IPA's in cans from early May. I'd rather buy it fresh at the brewery.

 

I'd also submit that if the beers aren't dated the retailers have no idea what they're buying. If any retailer willingly buys say two month old ipas he deserves to eat them. If not dated there as blind as we are, and they have every right to say to. Make the distributor eat it.

 

If it's not dated I won't buy it either. Life's too short to drink old beer.