Old Firestone Walker bottles everywhere

That may seem why Sierra Nevada et al are opening but it is more for distro. 55% of SN output is SNPA alone. Driving beer 3000 miles across the country is expensive. Freshness will be a bonus but the hopheads on this site checking date codes represents a fairly small percentage of who is buying what pays the bills for these folks.

I for one am excited they are all getting closer to or in NC!!!!

 

Ultimately, that secondary freshness benefit may prove to be more beneficial to the company than initially anticipated.

My one and only experience with Torpedo was a 6mo old 4pk that tasted like crap. Ended up being a drain pour. Maybe it was the beer....or maybe it was the age of the beer. I'll never know....and neither will SN

 

In my experience, the old bottle problem is also prevalent in California, particularly Southern California. It's a systemic problem that seems to affect FSW more than other breweries that I've noticed.

 

I live in VA and my local shop has about 15 cases currently of Union Jack that is dated July sitting on shelves. When I alert an employee, they say wow I need to pull that. Of course it never gets pulled, they will just sell to those who don't know better.

 

Sorry, I should have said, one of the reasons they are doing this is because of freshness. Obviously, shipping is one of the larger expenses in these situations, but you are referring to the 2nd largest craft beer company in the U.S.
However, if you take a look at STONE, or Lagunitas, I think the freshness in their beer matters a ton. One of the reasons STONE pulled out of Wisconsin is because they had old beer everywhere, not because it was expensive to ship. They got fed up with the loyalty to local brands and bolted. When you think about it, it's absurd that Wisconsin doesn't get STONE.

 

Not sure why it would be considered "absurd" not to get Stone in Wi. Its about production and distribution. Look at good sized brewers not far from you--Founders and Bells--certainly not everywhere. Heard the same complaint from some west coasters about inability to get some of the Founders rarities but bottom line is those go where the big distro goes and for now that is predominantly midwest and east coast (with Az an exception). Don't see a lot of Oregon stuff in NC and that's ok. In addition, it has to be worth the breweries money to get a lot there and THEN it has to move.

Freshness is important but it is a double edge sword. You have to move product fast for it to always be fresh. It can't be fresh if it gets there old but no matter how fresh it arrives, moving it is equally important.

 

I'm well aware of the trading forums, thank you, but it's a catch 22. You have to be able to get rare beers to trade for rare beers.

 

Price point may have a bit of blame coming it's way as well. Union Jack sixers go for anywhere between $12.99 to $14.99 here depending on where you go. When faced with options that are fresher than 2 months old for several bucks less, guess what happens. So that's how we get 6 month old $14.99 FW shelf turds in my area. If I see it less than a month old (yes, possible due to the magic of tractor trailer movement) I will buy it at that price. Just doesn't make sense though if it's a few months old when I can get growlers of pretty darn satisfying fresh IPA's made locally.

 

Their probably experiencing this because of saturation issues in the market. There are a ton of killer breweries in Cali making world class beers especially hoppy ones