Upset with Lagunitas...

Agree, and I rarely buy Lagunitas anymore because of it.

 

said it once, will say it again. I know I look like a big douche bag when I walk into the local ice house and start pouring thru the bottles and holding them up to the light, I usually put them back in the cooler because they are too old. I think the distributor dumps old shit on them because they just started carrying craft. I usually end up with a local beer or coors banquet.

 

You guys are blind. I've never had a problem reading the bottled on day on Lagunitas beers. It's printed at the same spot on every single bottle. Save the complaining for the breweries who don't do it.

 

I'd say you're in the minority if you've never had trouble finding/reading the date on a Lagunitas bottle. Other than Sam Adams and their antiquated notching system, I can't think of another brewing company that is remotely close to the same size as Lagunitas who isn't clearly printing dates on their products, either using light colored ink or printing on the label (Stone, NB, SN, OB, BP, Bells, Founders, Deschutes, Green Flash/Alpine, DFH, etc).

 

Deschutes has that perfected. The sad part is I can't find a fresh sixer of mirror pond to save my life. I haven't had it in years because every time I look it's all over a year old.

 

Their date code is right on the fill line. Kind of annoying. True. But.
A quick flick of the bottle should get some CO2 to come out of solution and give you a look which solves both of your problems next time you crave some Hop Stoopid.

 

Heineken was founded and is still headquartered in Amsterdam, and the Dutch Heineken family still retains about 50% ownership of the corporation. Among their current leadership, lots of Dutch, French, Belgian, Mexican (via FEMSA, probably) executives a few from the US, UK, Poland, etc. no Germans that I see.

 

Better local options anyway. There's a difference with clearly bottle dating and putting dates or codes in places which makes it difficult to find or read. Oh yes we date it, you just have to find it and figure out the code. Sucks is case dated I believe, so once it's broken down it's difficult. This vs Wicked Weed clearly putting a bottling date, on turning a Buriel upside down and there clear as a bell is a canning date. I'm not jumping thru hoops to figure it out anymore.

 

Date code and selling out alone probably wouldn't have stopped me from buying, but what has are some of the posts by its founder along the way.

 

Wouldn't the simplest answer be to petition for a law that forces all brewers to put a bottling date on their product similar to a milk expiration date?

 

Not really.

That would require changes in 51 different sets of laws (including DC). Even the milk expiration date you mention, if it exists at all, is a state level law and does not exist at the Federal level.

 

Okay, the beer drinking population can continue to write nastigrams to 4,000 plus individual brewers rather than notes to petition 51 sets of laws.

 

Well, I don't know about you, but personally I have found that it is easier to have an impact on the breweries than on a state legislature.

But you should certainly feel free to go ahead and lead the charge for getting all 51 sets of laws changed. (If that's what floats your boat.)

 

Well to be honest it's not all that important if they all do, the fact is some do and those are the ones you buy. If you don't buy they won't make money and they'll be stuck with old beer they can't sell. That's how you get clear canning dates, back the beer up into the brewery.

 

Sometimes it's the best value gas station/supermarket beer around. At $8 a sixer for IPA, $9 for other varieties, it's often worth the short-lived pain of locating/calculating the Julian date.

 

Just goes to show you how seriously we take our beer. Arguably more serious than we take our natural disasters. Hell, I can't blame the guy. IPA freshness is a top priority.

 

Although difficult, reading Lagunitas date codes from the bottle isn't impossible. If the mothercarton is within sight, the date code is also printed on the exterior (top right, long side).

However, a simple change to the ink color like blue (Weyerbacher) or yellow (Dogfish head) or on the label itself (Founders) would make our beer purchasing lives much easier.

As for what Lagunitas calls their year-round beers...they do not all share the same visibility. Aunt Sally, New Dogtown Pale and Imperial Stout are never seen in my area in NJ. It is also a very, VERY rare occasion to see PILS and 12th Of Never on the shelf.

Thankfully, they stopped the quart-sized bottles of Sucks...that was just a disaster marketing campaign (although their latest One Hitter - Sakitumi was recently released in this format. Since it uses rice, it is an Ale version of a Malt Liquor known to be packaged in similar vessels).

 

Hunterdon distributes Lagunitas side-wide in NJ. If your retailer carries any Lagunitas I can't imagine that Hunterdon would refuse to sell them any other available Lagunitas beers, regardless of the particular region of the state. If you don't see 'em, it's the retailer(s) fault for not ordering them.

I've see all of the above in central Jersey.

Huh? Can you explain that better?

 

I don't buy Lagunitas much anymore. Love the 12th but it's always old and it's pretty expensive. Not seen dogtown in many moons. I bought a case of hi west last November I think and a six of fresh stoopid when it was released. That's it. I like Sally and daytime but $40 plus a case is too much.

Anyhow the dates are easy to find on case , 12 or single. I like the beer but there is better at less $.

Enjoy