American craft brewers have copped another hiding for their perceived lack of commitment to ensuring their beers reach Australian drinkers in the same optimal condition they demand at home.
Recently in the firing line was Firestone Walker Brewing Company, whose export director Adrian Walker told Brews News loudly and clearly that its beers would only be ranged cold in Dan Murphy’s, a claim he later repeated on the podcast.
“If you find it’s not in the fridges, someone needs to tell me,” Walker told Radio Brews News.
Keen-eyed readers did just that, bombarding Brews News the following week with pictures of Firestone Walker beers sitting in ambient temperature on shelves in stores across the country.
Dan Murphy’s did not comment specifically on the miscommunication, with a spokesperson instead providing the following statement to Brews News:
“While we make every attempt to climate control beer through our supply chain, we are not yet in a position to ensure beer remains chilled from source to our customers hands and this has been our consistent response to inquiries from craft brewers both in Australia and overseas.”
Quite how Walker was under the mistaken impression that he had been guaranteed pride of place in the fridges remains unclear, as he has not responded to requests for clarification.
It was a perplexing claim from the outset, particularly given that the cold ranging feat could not be achieved by Ballast Point and Karl Strauss, which were launched in Australia 12 months earlier by the very same company that distributes Firestone Walker, Global Craft.
In May 2016, Global Craft co-founder Eli Raffeld was quite open about the fact that the beers from San Diego would be unlikely to enjoy refrigerated conditions once they left Dan Murphy’s distribution centres.
“Of course, just like in the US, once it gets out to the individual stores, you’re lucky if it’s kept cold,” he told Brews News.
“It can be ranged in the cold box eventually but unfortunately that’s just the status of the industry, and I think it will stay that way for a long time.
“We wish we could ensure the cold chain all the way through to that guy picking up the bottle and cracking it.”
Stone accused of double standards
Meanwhile, Stone Brewing has again come under fire for its dual policies of a 90-day ‘enjoy by’ date on its beers at home, versus 12 months in Australia, a seeming contradiction highlighted by Beer Is Your Friend earlier this year.
This week, an Australian fan gave Stone short shrift on Facebook when the brewer again trumpeted its commitment to beer freshness.
“We’re proud to be at the forefront of making sure our fans are able to get the freshest beer possible,” the company wrote.
The Australian claimed there are currently bottles of Stone IPAs in Sydney retail outlets that are 11 months old, eight months outside the 90-day shelf life the brewer commits to at home, but still within the date it considers acceptable abroad.
“Sorry Stone, but you’re running double standards here,” he said.
“Don’t go making smug posts about your beer being super fresh if you don’t give two hoots about what it tastes like overseas whilst still being in date.”
Subsequent discussion on an Australian Facebook group saw criticism over the freshness of Stone’s beers levelled at the company’s distributor, Experienceit Beverages, whose managing director Johnny Latta told Brews News the assault was unfounded and unfair.
“We bring fresh beer in monthly and openly guarantee every single beer we sell for quality, if quality is not up to scratch, then no questions asked we will credit it,” he said.
“We follow a strict first-in-first-out inventory process which is industry standard and our aim is to rotate beers every four to six weeks, but on selected lines we do carry bulk as these lines are in high demand from major customers and can’t run out.
“During winter sales slow down and rather than shifting stock every four to six weeks, it might take six to eight weeks.
“The beers in question he received 3.5 months after brewing and they all had minimum six months, up to eight months left on code. Well within the product’s life cycle,” Latta said.
Managing expectations
Clearly, American brewers need to do a better job of managing the expectations of Australian drinkers who demand access to these beers.
But, as eloquently put by Liam Pereira on the Sessionable podcast, drinkers themselves need to consider the impact of their promiscuity when it comes to craft beer imports.
He pointed out that freshness will depend, in part at least, on drinkers’ willingness to continue to support the beers after the initial excitement of the launch has subsided.
“The problem is the consumers here, it’s the whole Untappd, ‘I’ve checked that in, I don’t need to buy that anymore’ thing,” he said in May.
“People whinged and bitched and moaned that they couldn’t get Stone here legitimately, and then they didn’t support it by buying it when it was here,” he said.
“It takes a long time for beer to come out here… If you want these beers out here, these are the type of things that you need to take into consideration.
“If you want to bitch and moan about it [freshness], go out and buy them so they can turn over quicker.”
