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The specialty selection available from Whole Foods
How many of you have taken a risk on a lavish bottle of beer only to be let down by the thick overflowing aromas of sherry and cardboard, characteristic of an oxidized/stale beer. A tear rolling down your cheek as you think to yourself, “I paid how much for this?” Distraught you pour the beer down the drain, giving your pricey beverage to the sewer rats. Well there’s no reason to despair, help is here.
Beer’s short lifetime is both its beauty and its obstacle. Beer doesn’t travel well and most don’t stay fresh long so it often needs to be drunken as soon, and as close to the source as possible. The problem is that many retailers still treat all beer as a simple commodity, largely due to the big breweries who are selling it as such. Well craft beer is quality, not a commodity, and needs to be treated with care to retain that quality. Beer is a live beverage, just like milk, and must be maintained in the proper conditions to ensure freshness. So what can we do as consumers to assure we buy bottles that are still in good condition and therefore our money well spent?
Most of all: know your purveyors; become familiar with the liquor stores surrounding you and which ones move their stock. I’ve included a list at the end reviewing some of the most notable stores in the Santa Barbara area. Here’s a couple quick checks one can do to protect themselves from buying a bad bottle.
Look for a ring of gunk around the neck; right where the liquid ends. If there is any buildup or debris around the neck this is usually a strong indicator that the beer is past its prime. Its best if the store refrigerates their beer and not just for the convenience of being able to buy a pre-cooled brew. Room temperature storage will quickly diminish a beer’s quality and leave it tasting like cardboard, wet paper, sherry, and other off flavors.
Sunlight and even direct fluorescent lighting will chemically affect the beer so make sure the bottles are protected by shelving or some other covering. Look for a date on the bottle. A general standard is that bottled beer has about 6 months after the bottling date. The “best before” date can be misleading because sometimes federal regulations require brewers to list a date even though the beer may be able to age longer than that. Keep in mind that not all beer needs to be drunken close to its bottling time and some are capable of being aged for years or even decades.
Next hold the beer up to the light and look for flakes within the liquid; not yeast but rather the large snowflakes that form when beer components begin to combine and turn the bottle into one unique looking snow globe. This is a clear indication of an oxidized bottle. You can tell the difference from yeast because yeast will often sink to the bottom and have a finer texture; more like sand than the oxidation flecks. The oxidation flakes will often be distributed throughout the liquid but can settle out so shake the bottle gently to uplift the “yeast” residue on the bottom to check its consistency. There are no sure tests but hopefully these will help you in your pursuit for better beer.
This is the best store I’ve found for variety in selection, rotation of stock, and prices. Mark, who oversees the liquor department, is extremely friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable. His recommendations and food pairings have never steered me wrong. They focus on local and organic beers along with a nice canned section and a higher end selection. I highly recommend the Maui Brewing varieties which are well priced and beautifully made.
Located in the bustling college town, Isla Vista, this store offers the widest selection available and they‘re all refrigerated…however you pay for the variety and cool conditions. Many bottles are marked slightly higher than what you will find them for in other markets. The stock is slow to move since most of the business is coming from college kids buying 30-packs of Natty. However that means beers that are meant to age will have been aged far longer than anywhere in the county. There is a beautiful selection of Lambics that have a good year or two on them from the time of being distributed. I suggest Orval; the current selection has two years on them which provides a well-established wild note in the beer.
Located at San Roque and State St., this store offers a good selection at fair prices. They have moved all of their beers into the coolers and the stock rotates moderately quick. Because of this San Roque will often have special edition beers after they have sold out in other places.
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