Old IPAs - What to do about this problem?

@ELS I sympathize and I would rather have more shelf space allocated to excellent breweries like Ballast Point and such, but unfortunately there are other factors that make the shelves look different.

There's the "one and done" crowd who buy stuff just once then move on. Collectively that does account for some of the demand for stores to try to stock everything.

And another factor is in the miscellaneous set of reasons why people buy something other than taste, price, and freshness. Even if there are better tasting IPAs on the shelf, many people prefer to buy local and support local anyway. Many breweries do stay in business even though they never have and never will brew something as good as a typical beer from Ballast Point. Many consumers don't know the difference, especially now that craft beer is more mainstream than decades past. Actually I would argue that the social media, marketing, and hyping of buying local is more important to a brewery's success than actually making above average to great beers.

I truly wish that what gets shelf space would be the best tasting beers from the best breweries, at the most competitive prices. But unfortunately the shelves and tap lines are going to be different due to other factors.

 

I agree with the pricing aspect. Around here 3 Floyds goes for $12.99 a 6 pack. I'll occasionally pay that for Zombie Dust, but for Yum Yum, Alpha King, or Robert the Bruce? Just not worth it. Stone seems to be creeping up as well with most of the 6s being $11.99. And don't get me started on Sun King's pricing for the quality of their beer. I'm sticking more to Founders and Bells these days, with a lot of Lagunitas and SN thrown in.

 

It's one reason why I never ever buy anything hoppy from Total Wine unless it's a new release. Too many beers that are way out of date. It's not just a TW problem it exists everywhere , Modus Hoperandi is a nice IPA, as is Avery IPA, but the turnover is very slow, the stuff is always old.

Find a smaller bottle shop who actually has to monitor their inventory and you'll have more success finding fresh stuff. I always ask if it's not dated, some beers are case dated.

Sculpin and it's brothers are ridiculously over priced vs the quality , I might buy the odd Grapefruit If it's ultra fresh, but regular, and Big Eye are a never buy. There's about 3 local options that are always fresh. I still don't get Sculpin, it's not terrible, but there's 4-6 in state offerings that are quantumly better, and much cheaper.

 

I have no problem with high-priced beer, but value is the key factor for me. St. Bernardus is $13-14 for a 750ml, so that's fairly pricey (to me). But when all things are considered, St Bernardus is an incredible value. Allagash bottles regularly (here) get to ~$20 for a 750ml, and those are inferior products.

On the point of Sculpin specifically (not freshness in general), I fully agree. Firstly, Ballast Point has awful pricing that simply does not reflect the quality of the beer. I would take fresh Celebration over fresh Sculpin (or the GF variant) easily, and I just got a 6pk of Celebration for $8.49... $14.99 for a 6pk of Sculpin is honestly laughable. This is made even worse by the fact that-mentioned in the OP- Sculpin does not hold up well at all. Actually, it's one of the poorest I've had experience with. It should be noted that I'm not remotely a freshness fanatic or anything, but Sculpin seriously doesn't even last 2 months...

Now, is it a horrible beer a 2 months? Absolutely not, and I think that is what some people are addressing when ragging on those who have freshness concerns. It's not like the beer is a disaster at 2 months. The problem here becomes, Why am I buying a 14.99/6pk IPA that is rarely available in it's prime when I can get something far fresher, and at a far better price? What this ultimately boils down to for me is that Ballast Point will likely never be getting my money.

 

Is that the Claymont De. store? I was at the Milltown store yesterday and had the exact same experience. Left without buying something even though there were 5 beers I would have bought. I was hoping the bigger size of the Claymont store allowed them to have better inventory control. I have pretty much given up on TW and do all my beer shopping at State Line which has their own inventory problems.

 

While I agree this should be done, unfortunately it will drive up prices.

 

Probably 80% of the beer I buy is singles from TW. I do check the dates. It is rarely past best by date, or 4 months beyond made on date.

If you are looking for under 2 months old, there may be better places to look.

Thing about TW is that shelf space is practically unconstrained. Local beers, great national beers, and plenty of mediocre national beers, can all live together in harmony.

 

I have been having a bit more success at Total Wine lately when it comes to pricing and freshness. I still see a lot of dust on the bottles though. It is nice to have such a huge selection. I like sculpin, and I buy it when I have the bucks for it, however I really like two beers from a local brewery that I can often get for $3-4 a bomber. It is tough to pay double that for a beer that could be priced the same as the local.

The local brewery is Rubicon here in Sacramento and Monkey Knife Fight and Rubicon IPA are just very good beers for the price point. I am looking forward to trying their DIPA.

 

Yemen mocha

I was just reading The Audacity of Hops. Seems Fritz Maytag really discovered Anchor Steam ar Fred Kuh's restaurant in SF. Which had only one beer on tap. Anchor. Not because Fred thought it was the best in the world. But because Fred liked stuff that was local. As did Fritz by the way. It was heavily marketed at first based on its local origin.

Locavores and American craft beer have gone hand in hand since the beginning. It is not the invention of millenia hipsters. The very founding fathers of "good " beer in America believed in buying local.

 

Yup.

It is indeed a big store but I am convinced there is zero desire of the employees to perform inventory control duties. I brought the out of date German beer to one of the employees. The expression on his face expressed disdain for me bringing this old beer to his attention. I made no effort to point out the other old beers since I really did not have a wish to receive more dirty looks.

Cheers!

 

I tend to go in and buy beers with a certain budget (40-50 dollars a trip) and go from there

I have no problem buying a 12.99 bomber or an expensive 4 or 6 sometimes. If I'm going to get something "basic" I'll buy SN or SA.

 

Your TW is different from my TW.

Cheers!

 

BINGO

A local shop is key. The place I frequent concentrates on buying an amount that moves and doesn't carry everything just to do it. He sells out of things and that is ok because something else uber fresh is there. Sure you could save a dollar here and there constantly checking out the different grocery stores and TW but just not worth it and I like keeping the local guy going.

AND--our TW is the same craft beer graveyard others have alluded to--I have gone to get a special release here and there to take the pressure of the local shop whose allocation is good and want him to be able to "spread the love a bit." Honestly--nowhere can carry that much stuff and have it be in good shape. It's a warehouse.

 

Some good points. The main point I was making is that the economics of selling/buying beer are changing. Brewers that put out average or overpriced beer that sits on shelves are going to find it hard to compete. The consumer, with so many options for good craft beer no longer has to settle for mediocre, dated, overpriced beer. Times are changing.

 

All about supply and demand..if people don't pay and beer sits on shelves and gets sent back..eventually prices will come down..especially with IPAs

 

I would guess there exists nice inventory and sales software. I would think the thing that would help would be if retailers could integrate with wholesalers who can integrate with brewers to adjust to market conditions and get the right amount of beer to the right place.

 

As long as the title of the post is beer economics, here's a few items to consider when talking about pricing.

Location - I don't think I need to explain this.

Greed - I better not need to explain this.

Supply & demand - Since the minimum and maximum price of beer isn't regulated like spirits in some states, the selling of beer can be compared with the selling of illicit drugs. When more people want beer [drugs] and are buying it, the middle men [distributors, retainers, dealers] can reset their prices to whatever the market will bear. As craft beer [drugs] become more popular, the supply of certain desirable beer [drugs] will decrease. And what the market will bear depends on location and the level of greed of the price setter.

 

I'm at my TW every week so I rarely buy beer that hasn't recently come in. I call TW 2-3 times a week to find out what they are keeping behind the counter. Usually a lot of CCB special or quarterly releases, some Funky Buddha and then some special national releases. I rarely buy single 12 oz. bottles of IPAs off the shelf because most aren't dated. I'll buy a six pack of Jai Alai which dates the bottom of their cans. I can usually get it a week after canning. I know a lot of people say the freshness argument is ridiculous but I find that certain IPAs like Jai Alai and Sculpin make a big difference in taste and smell when fresh.

 

That may indeed be true but first the retailer has to have the desire to truly not sell old beer. If that desire does not truly exist then this software would not be purchased/implemented.

Cheers!

 

I agree 100% with you on those two examples.

Cheers!

P.S. Why does your TW keep beer behind a counter? Is that their regular mode of business?