Big W - The Corrupter Of Home Brew

[browndog]

I was referring to supermarkets- the subject of the thread.

When you quoted me, I was refering to LHBS. No probs Bloke

 

[EK]

What did the hb shop owner say when you brought this to his notice?

stagga.

To avoid relating a long and boring story: I didn't mention it. I figured that he was well aware being that the newer ones were at the back. Plus, I was in a hurry.

EK

 

[matti]

Boil the crapp out of 'em.
The goo that is ^_^

 

[tcraig20]

I was at a HBS last year looking at a couple of kits, when I noticed that there was a lot of dust on all of the stock. After checking the dates on the cans I found that almost all of what I was interested in was out of date by at least a month. Which surprised me as there is usually a pretty good time frame, according tot he use by dates at least, before they expire.

No wonder home brew gets a bad name...when HBS's have out of date stock!

EK

When I was on holidays over christmas I ducked into one of the little brewcraft shops out of boredom. Ended up buying a tin of black rock pils. After walking out, I noticed the expiry date was 2005. Took the tin back and they were shocked: the stock apparently arrived last week.

Talking to my dad later on (he lives there), it sounds believable, they only started selling homebrew stuff 6 months before. So maybe the reatilers arent entirely to blame.

 

[turto77]

You could of got it for free :lol:

What is the legal standpoint on this? If it out of date can they sell it. I presume we are well within our right to ask for a discount but is asking for a freebie out of the question?

 

[Ross]

I believe it's dependant on whether it's a "best before" date or "use by" date.
Our local supermarket has a very high % of its products past their "best before" date.
I'm sure someone with enlighten shortly...

Cheers Ross

 

[SpillsMostOfIt]

So, where do I stand if I buy a bottle of Coopers Sparkling that is before its 'Best After' date? :blink:

 

[EK]

When I was on holidays over christmas I ducked into one of the little brewcraft shops out of boredom. Ended up buying a tin of black rock pils. After walking out, I noticed the expiry date was 2005. Took the tin back and they were shocked: the stock apparently arrived last week.

Talking to my dad later on (he lives there), it sounds believable, they only started selling homebrew stuff 6 months before. So maybe the reatilers arent entirely to blame.

This particular store has been in operation for some time, though it did change hands a couple of years ago. When I was looking for what I was going to buy, there were some items of the same product that were in date (at the rear of the shelf) and some that were out of date (at the front) and some that were out of date regardless of their placement on the shelf. Though these could have been an old batch from the manufacturer/distributor, I think it is unlikely given the amount of dust that was on the tins and the rings on the shelf when you picked up a tin.

Also, like most HBS's there was not a great deal of stock on the shelves so the stock should be moving fast enough not to gather that much dust.

I must stress though, that this was only the case with the Morgan's kits I was looking at, I don't know about any of the other brands, but there was a lot of dust on them also.

I know of a few people who have gone to this particular store and vowed never to go back, mainly because of the guy on the other side of the counter.

EK

 

[Lobsta]

umm, a little off topic here, but did anybody else see that PistolPatch had a comment in this thread, that first changed positions from page 1 to page 2, and now has mysteriously disappeared? i'm pretty sure im not going crazy...

Lobby

 

[EK]

umm, a little off topic here, but did anybody else see that PistolPatch had a comment in this thread, that first changed positions from page 1 to page 2, and now has mysteriously disappeared? i'm pretty sure im not going crazy...

Lobby

I think I saw a post in this thread by PistolPatch...and now that I check, I can't find it.

 

[Paul H]

Generally I am no conspiracy theorist however, if you bear with me.
If I had a big business that had of its major lines one that sold full priced alcohol(BWS etc) & one that sold cheap alcohol (homebrew) kits I wouldn't even stock the cheap alcohol kits let alone offer any level of service . I probably wouldn't worry too much about my mnajor competitor either who happens to be in the same position.

 

[ibast]

Bloke at work was complaining about his Cascade Pale Ale kit that didn't start well and then tasted terrible at the end.

so I'm betting he got an old kit, where the yeast was cactus. You'd think the brewers rep would be checking and getting up store managers.

 

[chovain]

Ross, I'm interested to know: do you lose much stock to passing use-by/best-before dates? Have you had problems with distributors giving you bad stock? My LHBS has thrown a couple of near out-of-date WLP vials my way that had only arrived that week.

[...] did anybody else see that PistolPatch had a comment in this thread, that [...] now has mysteriously disappeared? [...]

It was posted after 1am, and the new rules will stop him from editing it when the hang-over wears off. The basic gist of it was that it would be a good idea to have a thread where people doing kits post the best before date on the can, and let everyone know how the beer turned out. He proposed that such a thread may help to get a better idea of the relationship between the age of the kit, and the quality of the results. The post was, however, a bit longer than this paragraph .

 

[EK]

You'd think the brewers rep would be checking and getting up store managers.

This is why I find it surprising that there are kits on the shelves that are out of date. Then again, the reps may not be checking the shelves, but just ensuring that the stock gets to the stores. I know from working at a supermarket that some reps (usually of the larger corporations) go into the stores and audit and restack the shelves sometimes, but not of the smaller ones.

EK

 

[PistolPatch]

Yep sorry guys, I pulled that post. Had trouble editing it and then it kept getting longer and longer with each sip of beer

Mark's summary above is much better!

Be nice to see a Kit Register started though as I think it will answer a lot of questions on the date issue plus help the newer brewers/members get comfortable on the forum. The relevant bit of my deleted post is as follows...

Maybe start a thread and in the first post provide a template that others can copy and paste in their post. Template should maybe include the following...

1. Name of Kit
2. Expiry Date on Can.
3. Date of First Taste.
3. How Did You Rate this Kit (Out of Five Stars)
4. Where Did You Purchase It?
5. Subsequent Tasting Notes.

If an experienced kit brewer started the thread then maybe they could update their first post occasionally to reveal any trends that showed up in the register.

Spot ya,
Pat

 

[kook]

Yep sorry guys, I pulled that post. Had trouble editing it and then it kept getting longer and longer with each sip of beer

Mark's summary above is much better!

Be nice to see a Kit Register started though as I think it will answer a lot of questions on the date issue plus help the newer brewers/members get comfortable on the forum. The relevant bit of my deleted post is as follows...

Maybe start a thread and in the first post provide a template that others can copy and paste in their post. Template should maybe include the following...

1. Name of Kit
2. Expiry Date on Can.
3. Date of First Taste.
3. How Did You Rate this Kit (Out of Five Stars)
4. Where Did You Purchase It?
5. Subsequent Tasting Notes.

If an experienced kit brewer started the thread then maybe they could update their first post occasionally to reveal any trends that showed up in the register.

Spot ya,
Pat

Good idea Pat. Maybe those fields could be added to the recipe db for kits?

Alternatively, hbkitreviews.com might be able to add the date/expiry information to their site?

 

[hotboost]

Well went to Big w tonite to buy 2 more cases of pet bottles. They have a store special on kits , so i thought I'll check the dates lifted over I'd say atleast 20 cans of different varieties and they do have a good variety all the coopers stuff + others. NOT ONE OUT OF DATE , not even close . The closest thing one of out of date was jun 2009.
Mind you its a reasonably newish shopping centre but tp have instore specials of their stock ... I d say we have a manger that brews...

 

[Ross]

Ross, I'm interested to know: do you lose much stock to passing use-by/best-before dates? Have you had problems with distributors giving you bad stock?

Hi Mark,

Not lost any stock yet - our turn over is pretty fast. I had 20kg of yeast sent to me that was a few months off its best by date. When i complained it was offered to me very cheap, was tempting, but i returned for fresh stock - Quality is paramount.

cheers Ross

 

[OzBeer_MD]

So, where do I stand if I buy a bottle of Coopers Sparkling that is before its 'Best After' date? :blink:

You stand in the corner, waiting

MD

 

[drag]

I find that the kit cans turnover is higher in the lower type of suburbs than the well to do type supermarkets.
Is the supermarket in a rich type area?