Why Doesn't Every Brewery Date Their Bottles/Cans?

In part, because when a beer is no longer "fresh" is subjective and can vary wildly - ever check the best by date on a bottle of Unibroue?

 

Dating bottles/cans for breweries is often about technology/cost.

Also, it's way easier to date code bottles than cans. In addition, many medium to smaller breweries are using mobile canning services which may or may not offer date coding. Also, one last note, smaller breweries will often date code the cardboard carrier as it's just easier to do and most often if there is an issue it can be dealt with at the case level anyway from the distributor/brewery level.

I also agree that to a point if a brewery knows they are selling out quickly (say under 45-90 days) then it's less of an issue, especially if their beers are always kept cold.

 

I tend not to buy beer that isn't dated. Missing out on some good beer names, but I have been burned before by stores that don't rotate their inventory.

 

I'm saying that under recent/current/until-further-notice conditions, a date on a can of Heady is an irrelevancy if you're part of Heady's market. If I were the brewer I doubt I'd put the money or effort into dating the cans that sell out each week.

 

Russian River (Pliny) and Three Floyds (Zombie Dust) sell out just as fast, if not faster. So they should stop dating their bottles cause "under recent/current/until-further-notice conditions" it's irrelevant, gotcha.

 

Since when was beer born? It's a damned silly expression. What on Earth does it mean? When it was mashed,when it was boiled, fermented, bottled/kegged/casked or even lagered or what?
To those who say it's a problem for brewers to date their product, how come that ALL breweries in the EU, regardless of size, manage to carry out this task with ease?

 

I think it's one of those things where if it's required of businesses, businesses will grudgingly oblige, they will find a way to make it work. And if they can't they'll close up shop or not open in the first place. Despite the greater amount of red tape, paper work and regulation required for opening and running a brewery in Sweden there are still breweries in operation. But the barriers to entry are of course greater, and the obstacles to success greater still. Taken as a whole, if there was less of a burden put on breweries, we might have more breweries, and the level of success that breweries enjoy might be greater. On the other hand, as a consumer it's nice to have a best before date on the product.

 

They are required by law, yes? The with ease part is just your assumption?

Don't get me wrong I think ever brewery should put the bottles on date on their product, but I think what you said is a little misleading. Unless of course I am mistaken.

 

Bottle dating is easy to understand.

Some brewers care about their customers experience and want them to have the best one possible while drinking their beer. SN, Deschutes, etc.

Some brewers care only about $$$ and could care less if their beer is old, flat, or poisoned. These brewers are going for the one time sale or the novelty sale (see Rogue's entire line-up) to less than suspecting customers who think beer is something that can NEVER go bad. I don't know how many times I've been told point blank, even at bottle shops, that beer NEVER loses freshness. The Rogue's of the world fall into this category. They simply don't care about your experience with their beer. They just want your $$$ not your business (if that makes sense).

Personally, I think BAs should strive to only purchase bottle dated beer that is fresh. Unless you are aging something then I guess it really doesn't matter if you're buying that 2011 Bigfoot that you found randomly. However, buying a 2011 Dead guy ale that's been sitting on the shelves because of the insane price tag should be a criminal offense against the brewery.

 

Because they aren't forced to.

 

I simply dont understand. I drink all kinds of beers but i generally drink at least a few ipas everyday and i dont understand why every brewery doesnt have a bottled on date. Is it more time consuming or costly? my question is what is the point of making beer without the intention of people enjoying it at the appropriate time?
bottled on dates on ipas is extremely important and the ABC shouldnt let any beer be on the market without a bottled on date in my humble opinion