Old Firestone Walker bottles everywhere

I've been on the hunt for fresh Double Jack in NJ lately, but haven't found anything fresher than April.

 

So this post made your FW not fresh?...

 

For sure!!!. It actually totally ruined my entire enjoyable FW drinking experience a few weeks back. I feel so dirty, cheap, and cheated. I can't shake the malt bomb from my tongue. I am so confused. I will never drink another IPA the same again.

-HOPwinked In Michigan

 

What I think some on this site would benefit from is an intentional aging experiment. Grab a sixer that's nice and fresh and drink one every several weeks, or once a month. I know this won't be et ceteris paribus, since different days/different foods/different hydration levels/blah/blah/blah, but it can still be pretty informative. FWIW, I've certainly had FW beer that's been a little long in the tooth before, but when I get them fresh and then let them age in my fridge, the effects aren't all that pronounced. Some folks act like a 2-month old IPA is heresy, but I say that if it's a quality brew, it ought to still be pretty darn tasty.

 

I just picked up bombers of Wookey Jack and Double Jack last week, with the intent of giving them to someone in a few weeks -- after reading this thread, I thought to check the bottling dates and the Double Jack was mid-August (2+ months old), the Wookey Jack was bottled June 26th (almost exactly 4 months ago). I'm obviously not going to gift them, but I am interested in seeing how they taste -- I honestly have no idea of how old most FW stuff I've had in the past was, but I've found everything tasted great... so maybe I was lucky with the bottling date or maybe I like old FW.

And I actually bought it at almost exactly the 120 day mark -- I may try and check a couple of my usual haunts (who have different distributores) this week and see if they differ and/or if they've purged the "old stuff"

 

I think we all forget that the IPA of the world in a traditional sense were meant to be aged a bit. Say sailing time from England to India. This journey did not take two weeks, but rather 6 months with fair winds and calm seas in the non-refrigerated haul of a ship. To me the argument for fresh is like saying you believe the sourdough bread starter is too old. Ah first world problems.

 

Even buying older bottles I haven't been disappointed. Not sure why they stay on shelves, but I'm not sure a little age really hurts their beer much. Wookey is the only one I haven't liked after it sat for a while and even then it wasn't bad.

 

Those beers certainly weren't hopped for the aggressive late-hop flavor and aroma that nowadays beers are.

 

I have a shop in VA. Seems like we can't get it from the distributors less than 1 month old.

 

Fresh hops matter especially within the current paradigm, and I think it generally makes a noticeable difference to have fresh beer. I've done blind tastings with Hopslam and Enjoy By (both stored in refrigerated environments), and it's remarkable how much difference 4 to 6 months makes. This is not to say other comparisons won't come out more favorably, but DIPAs need the freshness IMO.

 

“…but when I get them fresh and then let them age in my fridge, the effects aren't all that pronounced” Yes, cold storage does indeed help. The ‘challenge’ with purchasing older beer from a beer store is how was that beer stored for the x months of age? Warm storage is not forgiving.

Cheers!

 

Bombers of DJ simply should not exist. Cases just sit in PA because who would pay 50% more for a case of bombers?

 

Last night, I went on a beer run. I got very excited when I saw some new-style 22oz bottles of Double Jack on the shelf next to the old-style 22oz bottles. I assumed they had to be fresh... until I checked the date - Bottled in early July. They had just been put on the shelves this week, in a store that puts everything out on the shelves, so I assumed this is a distributor and not a store issue. Even worse, when I checked the old-style bottles, they were from December 2013.

 

^
This, all over New York.

 

The distributor must really suck then

 

I'm just jealous that you guys get Firestone Walker. Getting beer that is two months old, stored in refrigeration is fine most of the time anyway.

 

I was looking for a 6 pack of this years Velvet Merlin. First one I came across was from September...2013. Granted it's a stout, but it's a 5.5% non -bal aged stout, and at a year old, is just not as good.

On another note, the fresh six pack of 2014 VM, seems really low carbed.

 

I always see 3 to 6 months also. This is in Boston ,Maryland, and Philly. Like others I just stop even looking as much as I would love to try some FW.

 

How do you do a blind taste test with Hopslam? I thought it only came out once a year in one big batch. How could you have six month old vs. fresh Hopslam..is it year-round at the brewery or something?

..

On topic.. I've been living in FW distribution for about a year now and haven't seen any bottles younger than 6-9 months. Six packs are usually about six months old and bombers hang around a year.

 

Same here -- I have actually been at 4 different stores in the area and seen Wookey Jack, Double Jack, and Pale 31 all beyond the "4 month" age limit -- one store DID have 2 month old Double Jack, and the Wookey Jack was right at 4 months, the other stores had stuff bottled as far back as January.

The interesting thing is that FW bottles are among the easiest of all of them to read the bottling dates on (some were sitting on the top shelf of a cooler with the date right at eye level).