Out of Code Beer and Etiquette

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by jparizo, Feb 5, 2016.

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  1. Wolfhead

    Wolfhead Initiate (0) Sep 1, 2009 Illinois

    In the past I've not bought old beer and certainly never knowingly purchased beer past the best by date. Now that said I have a case of Celebration left that was bottled on 10-1-15 and it has been drinking just fine, would I buy it with that date? No, but I'm not going to throw it out and I actually prefer it to the 3 week old Hopslam I have.
    I believe this is going to take some additional experimentation
     
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  2. BillHodson

    BillHodson Initiate (0) Jan 29, 2016 Michigan

    I've never been an I.P.A. fan, so I don't know how long they are supposed to keep. I was always under the impression that I.P.A.s were brewed to withstand a considerable length of time during transit. How old is old for that style?
     
  3. barflybastard

    barflybastard Initiate (0) Jan 28, 2012 Pennsylvania

    Find that this is generally good practice for a wide variety of uncomfortable encounters in life, for instance: when you encounter dirty champagne glasses at fancy restaurants, people playing long games of chess in the park, anything on a stranger's desk not at a 90 degree angle, etc.
     
  4. BeerVikingSailor

    BeerVikingSailor Grand Pooh-Bah (3,593) Nov 19, 2009 Ohio
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    This is a sweeping statement that has no basis in fact.....

    There are MANY breweries in the US (and elsewhere) that do not "date code" their beers and there is no regulation requiring it....reasons for this are likely many - too many variables in the supply chain which can affect the beer, many many styles of beer and all are not created equal etc etc

    I do not see this changing (unfortunately) anytime soon.....

    By all means though, if the shop you frequent has beer that is older than you think it should be, why not let them know about it? There is so much beer out there now, that if every shop / grocery store etc went through an "old beer purge", it would be shocking how much would be eliminated....who will pay for that?
     
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  5. BeerKarmaNYC

    BeerKarmaNYC Initiate (0) Sep 13, 2015 New York

    New-age American IPAs were meant to be consumed within 35 days of packaging, if not sooner. The beers will not be bad beyond that point but if you want to taste fresh hops you shouldn't let these beers sit around.
     
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  6. BeerVikingSailor

    BeerVikingSailor Grand Pooh-Bah (3,593) Nov 19, 2009 Ohio
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    35 days? According to who?? What is the basis for this statement?
     
  7. vabeerguy

    vabeerguy Grand Pooh-Bah (4,801) Sep 21, 2015 Virginia
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    I check out the dates before I buy (at least most of the time). While I am trying to find the date on the bottle I sometimes see a clerk kinda staring at me. I often wonder what he or she is thinking. Could they be thinking:
    1) that guy must be some kind of beer snob and thinks it cool to check out the dates,
    2) that guy must be a smart beer shopper,
    4) why the hell is he staring at that bottle, or
    3) I wish that old guy would move on so I can stock the shelf.
     
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  8. BeerVikingSailor

    BeerVikingSailor Grand Pooh-Bah (3,593) Nov 19, 2009 Ohio
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    Jack.....Stone is ONE of over 4000 breweries in the US.....this is not the standard, by any means
     
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  9. beersgud

    beersgud Zealot (645) Jan 31, 2014 Kansas
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    I don't think that there would be anything wrong with asking if they have fresher stock in back, but I do think it's kinda rude to imply that there is something wrong with them having 3-6 month old IPAs in their store. A lot of people don't mind that much.
     
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  10. nc41

    nc41 Initiate (0) Sep 25, 2008 North Carolina
    Trader

    Out of date is easy, if the brewer stamps a best by date on it whether it's 6 months or a year old it certainly hasn't expired if it's not past the date. I won't buy a 5 month old IPA on a beer set to expire a month away, and it's certainly not out of date. I bought a six of Pilsner Urquell with a July 16 date on it, so I figured it was about six months old, and it's not expired, but it was lightly skunked too, and it kinda sucked. I'm simple, if it's hoppy I won't buy if it's over 30 days, and I don't have to , I can find 6-7 IPAs and such that meet that date. I know damn well I can also quite easily find 6-8 months beers on the shelf too without much effort.
     
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  11. surfcaster

    surfcaster Initiate (0) Apr 20, 2013 North Carolina
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    Soooooo.....

    The Green Flash and Ballast Point "reps" are supposed to be monitoring date codes on bottle shops in NC?
    Perhaps in a perfect world but have yet to hear of that one. Certainly checking local isn't that hard it the brewery has an interest.


    I have really big problem with places buying out of date kegs (at a discount) and putting on tap to unsuspecting customers. Not a good long term business model but it happens quite a bit.
     
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  12. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,181) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Mr. BeerVikingSailor, no where in my post did I state that Stone is the "standard". Having gotten that clear the specific information on the Stone website clearly indicates that there is a "code length" associated with Stone hoppy beers (e.g., IPAs) and that "code length" is a relatively short period of time (i.e., a few months).

    Please feel free to drink beers like IPAs with more than 3 months of age but to intimate that hoppy beers (e.g., IPAs) are 'good' for many months is simply not the case.

    Cheers!
     
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  13. HopHunter19

    HopHunter19 Initiate (0) May 2, 2015 Missouri

    There's definitely no 90 day out of code requirement anywhere. That would be insane.

    On the other hand, I think that adds to the fun of beer hunting. Not knowing for sure that I'm going to find something great every single time makes it more interesting.
     
  14. nc41

    nc41 Initiate (0) Sep 25, 2008 North Carolina
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    It's really much simplier dealing with a quality local bottle shop, they know their inventory. I rarely do Total Wine except for newer releases, especially for hoppy beers. There's a few ipas I know damn well turn over and rotate quickly, just like I know I can find some old Knee Deep brews that were bottled in Sept. You just have to look and pay attention, shop at a good store and don't be afraid to ask questions. I don't expect retailers to pull product on aged IPAs that aren't out of date, some aren't dated at all, do how would you or they know? I don't so I don't buy it, but the retailer won't deep six it either.
     
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  15. nc41

    nc41 Initiate (0) Sep 25, 2008 North Carolina
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    This kinda concerns me. Why would a business sell shitty beer to their customers knowingly at that? If it sucks the business takes a hit, I don't know it's dated or out dated , I would think dirty lines. And I'd never go back, and I'd tell my friends. There's a bar I suspect in Greensboro who might be doing one or both of the above, known good beers here sometimes taste like shit. I avoid the 60 tap placed, the 120 tap places, no way they can pull all that off.
     
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  16. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,181) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Dale, you likely intended for that to be a rhetorical question but just in case.... the reason they do this is to save money in terms of purchasing the keg(s) with the 'hope' that the customers will not be discriminating and complain.

    Cheers!
     
  17. hophugger

    hophugger Grand Pooh-Bah (3,410) Mar 5, 2014 Virginia
    Pooh-Bah Society

    Couldn't agree more !!!!!!!!
     
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  18. Hoppy_Time

    Hoppy_Time Initiate (0) Jan 3, 2016 Maine

    I work for a distributor and our merchandisers/sales team are supposed to review stock, rotate, work out sales deals on older stock, and remove any out of date stock. They are supposed to visit every account assigned to them at least weekly. But this is a single distributors policy and I'm sure many are not like this. Except for when I'm out of state, I buy every beer I ever drink from stores we service or from the brewery itself. I rarely run into old stock beer, if it is older it's usually on sale (like buying oktoberfest beers in December). Our sales team is responsible for inventory at accounts and I'm pretty sure we eat the costs of unsold beer; this has two major implications: it's difficult to find certain beers because they don't sell fast enough for the risk of placing them in inventory and that by going to the right place you are ensured a fresh selection of great beer. It's kind of a win/lose, but I'll take it over a lose/lose situation. I have never personally pointed out older stock, but I have 'returned' old beer for store credits on a couple occasions and the stores were happy to work with me and retain my business. That is the way I will continue to handle things. Say I buy some west coast beer that has taken a while to make it to Maine, sat in distro for a week, then in the store for a week before I show up to buy it, I bring it home and it tastes like an old sock, I'll bring it back and explain that the beer is too old and has lost any redeeming qualities it once had, and quite typically the store will gladly refund/credit me, or let me exchange it for a new/equal value one.
     
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  19. nc41

    nc41 Initiate (0) Sep 25, 2008 North Carolina
    Trader

    Yes rhetorical, I realize why they do it, but pawning off expired beer is a bad business decision. Being the customer I wouldn't know this of course I would just hate that beer. If I happened to know enough about the importance of clean lines I might suspect they're negligent. If I suspected this I might think they cut corners in the kitchen as well, and most importantly I'd never go back, and I'd tell everyone I know. Foolish if bar owners do this, especially with craft beers guys many of which know better.
     
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  20. BeerKarmaNYC

    BeerKarmaNYC Initiate (0) Sep 13, 2015 New York

    The basis is having consumed IPAs days, even hours after being packaged and they might as well be a caramel soda after 6 weeks. Maybe I'm spoiled because I've gotten tons of fresh HT, SoS, OH, Carton, Grimm but if I see that a hoppy beer is approaching two months from the packaging date I won't go near it.

    I'm sorry if you've been subjected to stale beer for long periods of time but I won't tolerate drinking malt-bombs.
     
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