Good Beer Hunting

Bring Them to Your Yard — How Freshness, Flavor Expectations Make Milkshake IPAs a Unique Challenge at Retail

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Conversations around “freshness” exploded in 2019, leading to greater investment and education by breweries. How has COVID-19 changed that?

Production and sales strategies have shifted, as well as consumer priorities. And that means previously taproom-only or own-premise beers are venturing further into retail.

Freshness or flavor? It’s a weird combo that acts more like a question on a SAT verbal test than a directive of how to sell beer—flavor and freshness are inherently linked. Some people seek out beer that offers big flavors and is newly packaged, but not all consumers associate flavor with freshness in the same way. It’s the difference between flipping a can for its packaged date vs. being drawn in to visual flavor cues. Sign up to read more.


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Words by Bryan Roth