Too Much Inventory?

I really enjoyed reading your posts, but I really disagree on this. To me, a customer has absolutely no responsibility whatsoever to "help out" any retailer.

Retailer's job: offer things to sell
Customer's job: buy things whenever and wherever he/she feels like it

Buying beer is strictly a business transaction. You may like some people more than others with whom you do business, but as a customer, I'm looking out for my own interests.

It's business...not douchy.

 

The distribution chain doesn't work like that. Your 30 day rule is a sisyphean task at best.

 

When I bought my Ten Fidy for this year at whole foods the date on the can was 8 days prior - same brewery and Chicago is 1,000 miles away. They managed to go from the canning line, to wholesaler, to distributor, to wholefoods in suburban Chicago in 8 days. Now if they can do that for a beer that can happily sit and age for years, why can't they do that for a pale ale / IPA / hoppy whatever.

I don't mean to be a douche (well that is a lie - I actually do mean to be a douche, but I am comfortable with it) but if the chain that supplies wholefoods can manage this, and this is the same wholefoods was where I picked up a 4 pack of Founders KBS on the day of release (so can supply my Japanese-esque whale hunting) what are you doing to differentiate and get beer buyers in the door? I mean, at whole foods I can get a slice of organic pizza to round out my hipster beer dinner...

 

Myself and my BA friends are pretty much 180 with this statement. Our favorite craft stores in town is the 1-2 owners that marks sale prices on some of their older beers. And that is one of the top factors why we like those stores. Many other stores have bigger selections, but I go here more frequently to see if there is a good sale. If not there is is still plenty of selection where I don't have to leave empty handed.

 

Help from customers in this retail setting, happens all the time. My wine customers want help by knocking $1 or $2 off the price of a bottle. I help them with price, they help me by buying 6 bottles. That's reality, that happens. And you couldn't be more wrong about my little retail shop in my little hamlet. If people love having a shop that features good wines at good prices, and want delivery to their home, on house accounts....then yes....it is their responsibility to keep me in business. If they stop shopping, I close my doors, pure and simple. If I close, customers have to slog several miles away to get product, probably more expensive and certainly not delivered to their door with a smile. The kicker is you'd be surprised how many of my customers offer that fact up. They themselves think it's their responsibility. Mostly because, given the sense of trust that I build with my clients then in no way is it just business, it's a relationship.

 

So, you only buy what he has on sale....ergo, you'll never be at the old price point. Thus, feeding the cycle of old beer.

 

Oskar Blues does contract brews all over the country. That beer most likely originated in IL, perhaps even on Goose Island equipment. That facility on Western Ave. isn't brewing Goose Island beers all day every day, I can guarantee that. I get my Oskar Blues form North Carolina of all places. That sure as hell isn't Longmont, CO, but it sure as hell is closer.

 

Fair enough - I didn't know that, so thanks for the correction. I realize with a bigger brewery they can have multiple brewery locations / license agreements but they still get it done and in my hands a week later... I am not fussed how - I am just pointing out that it can be done so it isn't an unreasonable expectation

 

Uh no. Only a couple sales in store at any given time. Most of the time I buy something fresh or new from those stores. But if something on sale that I've wanted but was too pricy for me catches my eye, I buy it. I really don't understand the old price point/feeding cycle of old beer point your trying to make at all. I'll pay premium for fresh hopped beer and might consider buying it older at a discount (because its a risk to me, based on my numerous bad experiences with older dated IPAs/Pale Ales.

 

You mean, you shop like a completely normal shopper - like me, and almost everyone I know - how unreasonable of you...

 

Excellent points, completely relevant, hit home here with a few, but let me take a moment to give a perspective of an old fart.

This is all new. We are in what could wonderfully, and accurately, be called a shake out period. We are in an age where a huge amount of new fans are discovering fine beer. It's only natural that so many compete, there is so much growing interest in what we all love. Add regional breweries, now resurging in popularity, established breweries, new (under 5 years old) breweries, and the craftish beers from corporate brewers into the same pot and this is what you get.

For the retailer and distributor it is maddening, but the point is AAL sales are going down, for whatever reason. Retailers sell craft because it is a money maker, and sales are growing. How to cash in on this is the question, though. And what you see as a problem, we see as amazing.

Sure you look down at those who check the dates. It's sure great for us that we can find fresh ones on the shelf, and since you carry old ones and also fresh ones of another brand, can you blame us for choosing fresh? Or if we can get fresh at some other store, because you don't have, do you blame us? How can you blame a customer who wants a premium product for wanting it at its best? I won't get into the part of your post describing what you to believe happens to IPA on the shelf, but we disagree. Strongly.

Sure we try to get to the best beers when they are released,. and often don't buy the "regulars" that need to get added to your sales in order for you to get quantity, or any at all, of the limited releases. We buy what we can afford to buy. There are so many breweries now trying to get us to buy their beer. You have a crazy quantity of beers, for whatever reasons, but it won't always be this way. It can't. Eventually some of these breweries will fail. Eventually some of these beverage stores will fail. Right now though it is a tough time for beer retailers, no doubt, but a freakin great time for the rest of us.

That I believe was the point of this thread, and if that is your point also we agree.

 

@cavedave

I don't look down at date watchers, like I don't look down at point watchers with wines.......but it's not the only criteria by which to buy a product. Certainly I look down on those who think date/point watching IS the only criteria to buy products, and then get down on me because don't think that way. (To clarify that happens with my customers, not anyone here.)

Good discussion peeps.....Now please come buy some of the Otter Creek Overgrown IPA a value @ $9.99. It's 60 days old....and it's drinking well.

 

That's so true Doug. I've picked up Jai Alai or Tocabago Red here in Jax that was canned 5 days prior. Hard to get much fresher than that!!

 

All of these kids complaing that they can't get their IPAs less than a month old. I'm lucky if I can get an imported pilsner, hefeweizen, or Helles less than 3 months old, and usually I have to settle for less than 6. And that's if they have dates at all.

Freshness doesn't just benefit the IPA, but most haven't had a super fresh well-made pilsner to understand this.

 

Funny you say that. I've thought about this thread a good part of the day...popped into a large chain bottle shop that I almost never go into and ended up pulling a dozen or so random bottles of IPA and PA that I'd likely drink or know is considered a good brew. Of those that I could easily understand the bottle dating only two that I checked were within thirty days old. They were both MBC and on the shelf (The MBC in the cooler was way older). One was MO and the other was a special release. (I won't throw California into this mix as I'm aware that those beers have a long way to go through distribution.)

That said I really have not bought those style of beers in beer stores...save for Lunch...which is almost always two weeks old on arrival to the stores in MA.

Instead I buy those beers directly from the brewery (Trillium, Night Shift, Lawson's, Hill Farmstead) or from a brewery that self distributes (Alchemist).

I can say that two years ago this was not my approach. I did not know then what a Hoppy beer could taste like when it is fresh. And the learning has been slow...many malt bombs that I pulled from my own refridgerator for having kept them for a long time.

 

You sure about that contract brewing part? They have two breweries, one in Colorado and one in North Carolina, both owned by OB.

 

Someone needs to buy up all these old beers and open up a beer spa like they have in Europe. I'm sure you could get a deal on them, since it would be wholesale probably at the distributor level.

 

Check dates, every man/woman for themselves, the market will equalize everything.
I feel bad for the people who buy the old ipas and other beers meant to be drank fresh, I used to be one of them.
People will learn, but it sucks for the craft beer movement.
#1 Reason I do not buy IPAs or most beers at grocery stores.

 

I recently grabbed some maine beer co off the shelf at a store that I usually don't go to. Didn't taste anything like I remembered so I looked at the date and sure enough, it was 11 months old. I know it's my own fault for not checking the label ahead of time, but I can't help but feel the retailer is responsible for maintaining freshness, especially when "Enjoy this beer fresh. Hoppy beers do not age well" and "Drink within 90 days of stamped born on date." are printed on the bottle. As this industry matures, I hope that retailers will pay more attention to freshness and keep more stock in coolers vs on the shelf. In the meantime, I see no reason to buy old stock when I can get fresh from Trillium, Jack's Abby, etc.

I think an interesting, but unlikely solution for old inventory that doesn't move is for some third party to start buying up the stuff that lends itself to ageing and starting a aged beer festival or something.

 

Funny I was living in Vegas a few months ago and I love Kilt Lifter from Moylans and a HUGE label says keep this beer cold live yeast.....where do I find it? On the shelf and it became a sour scotch ale...made me sad to drain pour a beer I love but the tools at that liquor store cant read past 3rd grade level