A note on spolied beer

For the second time, I was burned after buying a bad beer. This time, it was Oak Pond's Laughing Loon Lager, a dark lager I usually enjoy. But this bottle had gone sour, and there was no warning to protect me from wasting $3.50 on an undrinkable bottle of beer.

It's absurd that all beer doesn't have an expiration date. Food does, as do drinks that spoil. But beer can be expensive and no one wants to pay big money for beer that isn't good. It doesn't help that many stores carry good beer but ignore expiration dates on the bottles.

To some brewers: I don't understand why you wouldn't include expiration dates. A spoiled bottle of your beer might be someone's first. It's stupid to risk losing that customer for life because he/she thinks you have no idea how to brew.

To those who haven't tried Oak Pond, they're delicious beers, big on malty taste. You can tell the brewer loves Munich malts and adds them recklessly. Find some on tap or fresh. But if you see Storyteller Bock at a certain Auburn establishment, keep in mind that it's last year's winter seasonal brew.