Too much stale ipa/pa inventory?

[schomberger]

Maybe its just around Richmond Hill, Maple but I'm sure noticing a lot of (like stacks of 3) trays of Mad Tom, Red Racer, and Crazy Canuck sitting on LC (unrefrigerated) shelves approaching or past bb dates, week after week. I think there is way too much inventory of these beers, especially with all the US products there as well (and they are fresher!); is there too much ipa suddenly flooding the market, between regular lists, seasonal lists and brewery features?

[markaberrant]

Gee, makes me really happy that Central City stopped distributing on the prairies to concentrate on the Ontario market...

[Torontoblue]

Nah, it's just the usual beer geek crowd buying one 6 pack of something new and then moving onto something new before moving onto the next new thing........and then bemoaning that their beer isn't fresh because it's been in/on the warehouse/ store shelves for 2 weeks.

Sorry for the sarcastic reply, but 'us' beer geeks are our own worst enemy.

[Kekumba]

Wait, what's the code depiction on Crazy Canuck? I think it was a letter and year on the last few cans I bought, and I figured that was "canned on" rather than "best before." Regardless, my last 4-5 cans of it have tasted a little odd.

[TheBeeraholic]

The Canuck out my way is great D2313 and is drinking great.

[schomberger]

The 36 crazy canuck at Bathurst Rutherford are over 8 months old according to their packed on date. The 36 mad tom is expiring in early July. The outlet at Dufferin Major Mack has a similar situation.

What I'm wondering is what happens to all this beer if/when it goes to waste? Does the brewer eat the costs? And will the LCBO drop these products from those outlets? And why doesn't the LCBO put these products on sale as they approach bb?

[Belgian]

And why doesn't the LCBO put these products on sale as they approach bb?

I just saw a LC store 'discounting' some Granville beer that had expired around November of 2012. To me that is like stealing from the unsuspecting customer, no way anyone would buy dead beer if they saw the date on it.

I think the initial surplus / expiry / waste of pales and IPAs - in some stores - is part of a process of transitioning these type beers to Ontario's market. More people discover and like them as time goes on. I do not think the LCBO will just stop selling all these IPAs in slightly slow stores that now have them, and the demand should continue to grow to fill the gap.

[Derek]

Apparently the Red Racer was sitting on the shelves here in Kelowna as well. My local BC Liquor gets their mixed pack, but that's it. Private stores carry the IPA and the odd specialty bomber, but they're often pricie!

There are piles of Tree beer everywhere, but I've never checked the dates... I just go to the brewery.

For other stuff, I tend to stock up when there's a fresh shipment and get it in the cellar/fridge. Which reminds me, I should some more Hacker pschorr munich gold... it's great when it's fresh!

[markaberrant]

I asked the SLGA execs about tracking beer freshness. They told me they check it when it comes into the main distribution warehouse, and reject anything that is stale.

I asked if they track the age of the beer throughout their warehouse, distribution, retail stores; even though they do in fact track the location of every product, they don't bother checking the age. At the very least they should know how long the product has been in their system, but apparently they don't care.

They told me it is each store manager's responsibility to remove old beer by manually checking bottles. They must be doing a really shitty job, because at Christmas 2012, I went to 4 different stores, and all of them had big displays of Sam Adams Winter Lager that was brewed in Oct 2011.

Shameful.

Anyways, that is how it works in SK. the private stores are no better here either, both have product on the shelf that is close to 4 years old.

[icemachine]

I was at Champane's in MI recently, and found IPA's 8-12 months old, and many without bottling or best by dates. I stuck to picking up mostly local beers for that reason, and even still a sixer of Bell's Two Hearted was showing some signs of having sat for too long

[schomberger]

Belgian, I agree putting expired product on sale would be / is shameful.

I was thinking craft product that has reached, say 75% (or less ...50%?) of its shelf life be put on sale to try and move it, especially when there is several trays of it sitting there unrefrigerated, aging, with too few buyers.

On the other hand, I would still probably opt for any similar product that was fresher, as freshness means far more than price for me (and for most bartowellers i would guess).

[rejtable]

I religiously look at freshness at the grocery store when buying meat/dairy stuff, and often see things like milk or yogurt either right at or even beyond their BB dates. So, even where retailers are much more aware of things like freshness, crap happens.

Beer consumers are becoming more aware, and even if folks like the ones posting on here are an infinitely small percentage of the overall market, eventually more people will clue into the BB dates and and the LCBO and other retailers will catch up.

[Torontoblue]

I asked the SLGA execs about tracking beer freshness. They told me they check it when it comes into the main distribution warehouse, and reject anything that is stale.

I asked if they track the age of the beer throughout their warehouse, distribution, retail stores; even though they do in fact track the location of every product, they don't bother checking the age. At the very least they should know how long the product has been in their system, but apparently they don't care.

They told me it is each store manager's responsibility to remove old beer by manually checking bottles. They must be doing a really shitty job, because at Christmas 2012, I went to 4 different stores, and all of them had big displays of Sam Adams Winter Lager that was brewed in Oct 2011.

Shameful.

Anyways, that is how it works in SK. the private stores are no better here either, both have product on the shelf that is close to 4 years old.

Also appears to be the same process in AB & BC. I do get the occasional request from BCLDB about the freshness of our beer due to the brewery using the European date system; it really confuses people here.

The stores here in Alberta are getting better at taking older stock off the shelves.......just.

[MatttthewGeorge]

I was thinking craft product that has reached, say 75% (or less ...50%?) of its shelf life be put on sale to try and move it, especially when there is several trays of it sitting there unrefrigerated, aging, with too few buyers.

When a product goes bad they send it back to the brewer, at the brewers expense. If they are part of the LCBO system then it goes back to the warehouse to be destroyed, and a credit is given to the LCBO. If they are not part of the LCBO system, like us, then we have to pick it up and destroy it, and give the LCBO a credit and/or replace the product. So there is no insensitive for the LCBO to put it on sale, as it doesn't cost them anything when it expires.

As for the LCBO selling expired product, although it is technically their job to pull the expired product off the shelf, I often do it for them in my territory, as the last thing I want is someone buying our product without looking at the expiry date. Although people could/should look at the LCBO as being at fault (as I do when I unwittingly buy something past it's expiry date at a grocery store) I think brewers need to also take responsibility for their products.

Case in point: I once had a licensee who was selling our beer 6 months past it's expiry date, and I walked right in and took all our beer back, without issuing them a refund. When they called me and asked if I was going to replace it, I said they wouldn't sell expired meat, nor ask the butcher for a refund, so why should they with beer. They were representing our brand poorly after many attempts on my part to do promotions, etc. with the bar, which they rejected. At the end of the day, we, as craft brewers, need to take control of our own product and make sure people are always getting the best representation of what we make.

[mahcinesquad]

I was thinking craft product that has reached, say 75% (or less ...50%?) of its shelf life be put on sale to try and move it, especially when there is several trays of it sitting there unrefrigerated, aging, with too few buyers.

When a product goes bad they send it back to the brewer, at the brewers expense. If they are part of the LCBO system then it goes back to the warehouse to be destroyed, and a credit is given to the LCBO. If they are not part of the LCBO system, like us, then we have to pick it up and destroy it, and give the LCBO a credit and/or replace the product. So there is no insensitive for the LCBO to put it on sale, as it doesn't cost them anything when it expires.

As for the LCBO selling expired product, although it is technically their job to pull the expired product off the shelf, I often do it for them in my territory, as the last thing I want is someone buying our product without looking at the expiry date. Although people could/should look at the LCBO as being at fault (as I do when I unwittingly buy something past it's expiry date at a grocery store) I think brewers need to also take responsibility for their products.

Case in point: I once had a licensee who was selling our beer 6 months past it's expiry date, and I walked right in and took all our beer back, without issuing them a refund. When they called me and asked if I was going to replace it, I said they wouldn't sell expired meat, nor ask the butcher for a refund, so why should they with beer. They were representing our brand poorly after many attempts on my part to do promotions, etc. with the bar, which they rejected. At the end of the day, we, as craft brewers, need to take control of our own product and make sure people are always getting the best representation of what we make.

That's appreciated. Nothing worse than buying expired product at a bar - especially since you don't get to see the best before date.