Regarding "Freshness"

State laws and retailers' return/refund policies can vary but I'd at least let the local distributor and Founders know - maybe they can "do something " for you.

(And, heck, it doesn't even cost you the 43¢ - or whatever the !@#$ 1st class is these days).

 

hmm, I never thought about contacting Founder's. Maybe I can get a free t-shirt.
It wasn't worth arguing with the college kid working the register. He promised to tell the manager, but if a beer is allowed to sit on the shelf for 16 months I don't think the manager much cares.

 

From the consumer side, I would much rather pay extra for fresh beer, even if it mean not seeing old standby's that I really like for a while in the store. Wouldn't mind seeing the empty hole where beer "x" usually is found for a couple months. I guess this goes back to my if hoppy beers were only sold seasonal 1x per year, we'd always know when its fresh, could quickly navigate the stores and get what we want and get out, without all of the guesswork and risks involved from the consumer side.

 

How do you think I got my North Coast Brewing Co's ACME hat?

Also a few cases of beer, a "tin tacker" sign, some refund checks, etc., over the past decades (not a lot, 'cause I've been a date code reading for a long time).

Yeah, but both the brewery and the distributor (who is supposed to check for freshness) should.

 

With the exception of Bell's (MI), and SN and OB (both with facilities in NC), those larger brewers are in western states that are far closer to Arizona than they are to the east coast. Their distribution networks are almost certainly more robust out there than in the east, and shipping distances less. It's not that easy to find even 3-month old FW or Stone beers here in NY (Deschutes doesn't distro here at all).

 

Obviously y'all are far more knowledgeable about this than I am, as I only really started to get into the craft scene in January of this year, and I'm glad to see some intelligent conversation on this subject. I have, since I've started in this scene, checked the best by or canned/packaged date before purchasing a brew. This is more of a check on the retailer than anything else. We are in the Asheville area frequently and I have always been able to find in the stores around there, Highland, Green Man, Burial, Wicked Weed, etc products canned/packaged within the last couple of weeks, sometimes only days prior.

 

It’s the advantage of having local beers that are of very good quality. It about puts most Cali beers as an example off the buying map. I saw a few beers a week ago at Total Wine in Greensboro that were a June canning, that seriously won’t work. When we go to Asheville Barleys is always on our list, and Highland IPA fresh is a seriously great beer, it’s flies so far under the radar you can’t find it. But on tap it’s a completely different beer. A big part of the problem here is the distribution companies, they do sell old shit to retailers, if the retailers don’t check they bought it. NC three tier system over a certain production point is ridiculous and should be illegal.

 

No way I'm reading that book of a post.

 

I hate to sound stupid, but what exactly is the NC three tier system exactly. Thanks for the tip on the Gboro TW. I go to the one in Winston-Salem and have never had a problem with old dates. Every time I go in there they have folks checking the cans.

 

Three tiers, brewery, distributors like Tryon or Caffey, or retailers making brewery pick ups. At least that’s how I look at it. If a brewery brews over X amount of barrels by law they are forced to use an outside distribution company such as Caffey or Tryon here in the Triad. Under that amount and they can sell and deliver their own beers under their rules. It’s why Old Mecklenburg is Charlotte only, they wanted to expand, but they would have went over the cap, so they said the hell with it and pulled back their operations. It should be illegal, but NC is one of the most corrupt states in the country.

 

Unfortunately this is not just a NC issue.

Cheers!

 

Just to add to your post, I think all but a few states use the 3-tiered system. The small brewery exception level that permits self-distribution varies by state, and you can find a compilation of the laws here: https://www.brewersassociation.org/government-affairs/laws/self-distribution-laws/ North Carolina has a minimum of 25,000 barrels, but Michigan has a 1,000 barrel threshold. So it looks like those numbers vary wildly by state.

 

Yes, when I see an IPA that is already 2 months old I steer clear. This isnt because I think the beer will taste poorly now, but I'm not a heavy drinker. If I am lucky I drink 2 beers a weekend, but with my work schedule I average 1 a week. If I decide to mix that 2 month old 6 pack up with a stout this week, or a pils the next all of a sudden that 6 pack is getting stretched out to a feasible 3 months in my fridge. Now we are talking 5 to 6 month old ipa. Yeah, that far out flavor can and does suffer.

 

I like to drink hoppy beers within one month of their packaging date.

 

F-ing A brother. Thank you for the knowledge. Since we seem to be close, let me know and I'll buy you one. Or two or three or...

 

Every state has a Three-Tier system, the factors discussed is whether it is mandatory or optional for breweries, if there are barrelage limits, etc. Many states (as noted in the individual pages on that B.A. Self-Distribution Laws site) allow any size brewery to self-distribute - that is how Anheuser-Busch is allowed to own distributorships (what they call "WODs" - wholly-owned distributors) in CA, CO, HI, MA, NJ, NY, OH, OK, OR and WA. https://www.anheuser-busch.com/about/wholesaler.html

 

Understood, thank you for the info.

 

If I’m buying an IPA from a big producer I try not to go older than around 2 months. Older than 4 and I’ get a different variety rather than roll the dice.

 

Two months is my limit too, but I begrudge that, it has to be a beer I really want and can’t easily get. But I can get great ipas from Burial usually half that, most times under 15 days old. So I rarely feel the need to stretch the canning dates. That goes for anything age sensitive, Pils, Ipas, etc, I’m doubly vigilant at places like Total Wine, it’s not uncommon to see beers past expiration dates, and truly unless it’s a special release if there’s not a canning date I will not buy it. Nothing worse than a skunked beer, or the hops are badly faded.

 

Can I just say, here, ISO?

On the topic at hand, I used to go to a store locally that would always have Firestone Walker’s double IPA four packs on sale for $2 off. From 11.99 to 9.99. Because they were 90 days old. The beer guy told me they ARRIVED at the store 60 days old, what could he do? (This was 4-5 years ago when only the geekiest geeks got too torqued over freshness, but his was a store that because of its insanely great selection and knowledgeable staff attracted the geekiest geeks.)

I tried a four pack and it was fantastic. I don’t know what bottling line FW used or what their tolerances were but this DIPA was great from 90-120 days. I started waiting for them to get discounted and then buying a case at a time.

But he he finally discontinued them...