Hello BAs, wondering if anyone has any info on the Timothy Taylor Landlord bottle codes and whether they are the bottled date or best by date? I had a bottle recently, and it was excellent, but I am curious as to whether L7128 18:13 means the 128th day of 2017, or possibly a best by 7-12-18? Could the L signify the month (i.e., December)? Any help is appreciated.
If I had to guess, L = ignore, 7=2017, 128=day of year and it is a bottled date. Just a guess, though.
I'd go with this, especially since a quick online search turned up zilch. A best-by date would not normally include a time code, which this one appears to have (18:13). Also, a British Gregorian date code would be in a different format than MMDDYY. A Julian bottled-on date would appear to be the most logical choice.
Have you tried reaching out to the brewery and asking them? https://www.timothytaylor.co.uk/get-in-touch/
Alternately, there's also the US importer, Shelton Brothers. https://www.sheltonbrothers.com/contact/
Not heard of it? It has been acclaimed Champion Beer of Britain on four separate occasions.No other brew has done this. Gorgeous stuff when well kept and served, even in bottles it's still a lovely beer.
It does not appear to be distributed in Michigan yet, if it gets here I will give it a try. EDIT: $6.50 a bottle for a pale ale in the US, never mind too rich for my blood. What is that about 5 pounds? what does a bottle cost in the UK?
It depends on the store of course but ASDA which is related to Walmart charges 1.83 pounds for a 500 ml bottle or 4 bottles for 6 pounds.
It's a fantastic English Pale Ale. If you like the style then you'll definitely enjoy it, even with the unreasonable price-tag. Definitely not an everyday drinker at that price. Pretty interesting that you haven't seen any in MI before, I've only had it when I was living in Arizona. I haven't seen any bottles back East yet but then again I haven't been looking...
Timothy Taylor is quite a small brewery but is well known because of its reputation.My grandson was born in the same town. I imagine that the scale of production limits availability in the USA
See my earlier response. 4 bottles for £6 which is roughly $7. At its best which is on cask of course it would be about 2 times as much or more. But in a pub you are buying more than just the beer.
Update: I got a response back from Timothy Taylor’s. They said: “In response to your question the L number code on the bottle is a traceable batch code with no Best Before Date referenced within.” They were really helpful and honest in telling me the batch I had was a couple of weeks past the 12 month BB date they recommend. They make sure to ship it with plenty of time left, but said they can’t control what the distributors do. That said, I still gave it a high score, and would still say it was an awesome beer. I hope this doesn’t encourage them to pull from the US market!
