Stoneface IPA Dates

Discussion in 'New England' started by AshlandNacho, Jul 24, 2015.

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  1. AshlandNacho

    AshlandNacho Initiate (0) Apr 14, 2013 Massachusetts

    Anyone know if Stoneface dates their beers or had batch #s (I see a # like 00000071 on this bottle).

    Picked up a few bottles at Glen Beverage last week and just cracked one and, man, this is not the IPA I recall. Granted it's been a good 3-4 months since I had this but I remember being incredibly impressed with this beer and this is just ..... meh.

    Anyone have a similar experience recently?
     
  2. joshjim

    joshjim Aspirant (225) Mar 22, 2014 Connecticut

    They stamp the cardboard case on the outside top flap with the date. I know this because my friend came down from N H in June after raving about it. I had one sip and looked for a date on the bottle. Then looked at the case and the stamp was almost 2 months old. I hear you should buy it from the brewery to assure freshness.
     
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  3. AshlandNacho

    AshlandNacho Initiate (0) Apr 14, 2013 Massachusetts

    Ah this place had these out of the case on a rack nuts. Honestly this is almost borderline undrinkable - I'm baffled at this.
     
  4. joshjim

    joshjim Aspirant (225) Mar 22, 2014 Connecticut

    I was also. I feel if a brewery takes pride in the freshness of its IPA's, the bottle or can should be dated. Unless your the Alchemist of course.
     
  5. papposilenus

    papposilenus Grand Pooh-Bah (3,232) Jun 21, 2014 New Hampshire
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Criminal. I buy a case at a time so I always know the date but it shouldn't have to be that way. It also shouldn't be sitting out in summer weather. This is a beer that benefits from being kept in the cooler.
     
  6. AshlandNacho

    AshlandNacho Initiate (0) Apr 14, 2013 Massachusetts

    FT: 3 bottles of Stoneface IPA (hahaha jk)
     
  7. KMDiPas

    KMDiPas Devotee (307) Sep 9, 2014 New Hampshire

    I've had similar experiences with their IPA. The first few times I had it I thought it tasted incredible, but since Feb-Mar I haven't cared for it too much.

    Mozaccalypse is world class and very consistent. Pretty sure they are in the process of brewing Hopulization right now too.
     
  8. Sweatshirt

    Sweatshirt Initiate (0) Jan 27, 2014 New Hampshire

    Not a beer that hits the hype anyhow. Cheap base with a beer geek approved dry hopping.
     
  9. AshlandNacho

    AshlandNacho Initiate (0) Apr 14, 2013 Massachusetts

    Quick update to avoid any type of "shit-on-the-brewer" type of thread here.

    Those guys emailed me first thing this morning. Asked for batch #'s for the bottles and offered me something, you know, for my troubles (gratuitious Caddyshack quote). So big kudos to them for awesome customer service.

    Still curious if anyone else noticed this specific from bottles with "000000071" on them or if I was just a victim of poor vendor handling. . . le sigh . . hahaha.


    UPDATE - that batch was 10 weeks old. Sitting out on shelf-space in a non-air conditioned store. F*****-A man, I hate when places don't handle beer right.
     
    #9 AshlandNacho, Jul 24, 2015
    Last edited: Jul 24, 2015
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  10. jhavs

    jhavs Grand Pooh-Bah (3,587) Apr 16, 2015 New York
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Was it a cold rack? Its tough not having the dates on the bottle, need to trust the bottle shop. When fresh, or purchased from the brewery directly, this IPA is still outstanding. The meh bottle must have just been old or not handled properly (IMO).
     
  11. Auror

    Auror Pooh-Bah (1,641) Jan 1, 2010 Massachusetts
    Pooh-Bah

    As someone who sees a lot of Stoneface cases, the dates have definitely started to get a little older in the last couple months from the distributor (coming into stores 2 months old), although the most recent stuff coming in was better (only a month instead of two). Seems the marketplace is finally saturated.

    Hopefully they're able to regulate production now to keep the cases fresher.
     
  12. Justin42

    Justin42 Initiate (0) Apr 3, 2013 Massachusetts
    Trader

    I've really enjoyed every Stoneface beer I've ever had and would buy them if they were available in MA, but it doesn't surprise me that this sits at stores given the format/price point.
     
  13. Auror

    Auror Pooh-Bah (1,641) Jan 1, 2010 Massachusetts
    Pooh-Bah

    I wouldn't say it sits (the IPA anyways), at least not in my experience, but their production has caught up so that the distributors have a steady supply and at times the dates have been older than ideal.
     
  14. Faxmesomehalibut

    Faxmesomehalibut Initiate (0) May 22, 2014 New Hampshire
    Trader

    Not sure if $5-6 for a 500ml bottle is an issue for most consumers of IPA nowadays.
     
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  15. AshlandNacho

    AshlandNacho Initiate (0) Apr 14, 2013 Massachusetts

    I had a really good email exchange with those guys today. For as disappointed in how skunked these old bottles are, it made me appreciate them more from how up front they were with me. Need to get back up to the brewery itself and replace these w/ some freshies!
     
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  16. Justin42

    Justin42 Initiate (0) Apr 3, 2013 Massachusetts
    Trader

    I'd pay those prices from time to time, but it's a steep price in an annoying format, particularly when I think about the cans of Green I bought yesterday for $3.75. But really it's the format that I find annoying more so than the price.

    Didn't mean to derail this, just making an observation about why an otherwise excellent IPA might be sitting around. But it sounds like there may be other reasons.
     
  17. Flashy

    Flashy Pooh-Bah (1,767) Oct 22, 2003 Vermont
    Pooh-Bah

    They must start printing some type of date on the bottles. I never see the cases and refuse to buy, just put two back on the shelf on Monday and brought something else more reliable.
     
    papposilenus likes this.
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