Tired of faded hoppy beers.

Maybe if you, and people like you, stopped buying undated bottles breweries like Three Floyds would start dating their bottles.

What incentive does Three Floyds have to date their bottles? They have no problem turning over their inventory. If the product keeps selling then bottle dating must not matter that much.

 

I think complaints to store owners and distributes is more important. I buy 3 Floyd's because it is f ing amazing beer. I just prefer it fresh. If owners have to replace or refund bottles there might be some more accountability on a few different levels. But in this day and age it is pretty ridiculous not to date especially with the serious competition for the freshest and happiest brews.

 

Write a letter. Setting a bottling line up to print dates isn't cheap.

 

Geesh...let people rant sometimes... "I refuse to buy 3 Floyds because there is a 47.4% chance it's old and my buying habits will shift their policy." Bleh...

I hate buying old beer as well. There has got to be a store near you that turns it over quick enough to have mostly less than 3 month old goodies. Seek it out. Cheers!

 

I know it could come off as a dick comment but that was not the intent. I am all for bottle dating but if I think about it realistically most breweries have no incentive to date bottle. It is sad that the beer community is often its own worst enemy. We constantly complain about lack of bottle dating and ridiculous pricing but there is always a willing customer who justifies the brewery or store continuing their practices.

 

Wait... I can't counter rant?

Geesh... let people counter rant sometimes....

Cheers!

 

He counter ranted your counter rant.

 

True. And that's why you can get a case of ZD @ the brew pub dirt cheap for $35.

 

If you absolutely must drink it fresh, then you need to homebrew. Personally, I'm usually fine with most hoppy beers that are younger than 3-4 months from bottling. Yes, they have more flavor and aroma when they are younger, but they only drop about 25% and stabilize for several months beyond that.

So, my favorite kind of beer is one that tastes very good at 3 months old, not one that must be consumed fresh at the brewery to taste good. Fresh beer has such an exaggerated flavor and aroma and a very short window of maximum flavor and aroma.

 

Had a 3 month old IPA the last few days and it tasted very hoppy to me and didnt look like the hops faded at all.

 

I left my Rizing Bines out on the counter for 6 hours after buying it from a refrigerated bottleshop. I caught myself feeling bad because the hops could have faded. I had to slap myself back to reality. I do see your point, but I fear more for the kolsch and pilsners out there that I know stay on some shelves for months to years.

 

I've stopped buying undated IPA's for the reason of too many malt bombs and drain pours, I'll put my money into those with a "Bottle On" date as opposed to a "Best By" (been burned there too many times also). In the case of undated bottles the breweries are the biggest winner because they are moving the product but in turn, I think they sacrifice their reputation. With FFF's, I travel to the Midwest with some frequency but stopped buying their IPA's altogether (when I used to stock up on them)...malt bombs time and time again at $10+/bottle...gets really old, really fast. This isn't a bash on FFF's, this goes out to all those breweries who don't. Some date the bottle AND the case which is best. For those who just date the case, that's a problem when it comes to buying anything less than - i.e. bottle shops, grocery stores, etc., I pass those up too.

kzoobrew hit it on the head with the first post.

 

Be happy that you can get a limited brew like Three Floyds.

I agree with some others though. I always look for a date on a hoppy beer and will not buy something past 2 months old. Fresh beer.

 

Ah, the eternal problem. I wish scientists would devote some of their time to learning how to preserve precious hop flavour.

 

I bet someone at most breweries keeps an eye on these threads to see what's being said about their products.
So bringing up issues like bottle dating might get more of a response than just "not purchasing" their beer.

 

Within the last 2 months I bought a double and triple IPA from 2 different breweries, neither had dates and they were both drain pours, at which time I decided not to buy anymore IPA's from them or any other breweries that don't date the bottles. My local stores do turnover 3F beers very quickly so I will continue to buy fresh stock from them. Also one of these beers I discovered later had a date on one of the 4 bottles in the 4 pack, its to bad for me I didn't look at that bottle first before buying that 4 pack.

Old Dreadnaught tastes terrible by the way for anyone who hasn't had the pleasure.