The problem with being super

Those older than I will be able to remember a time when you couldn't buy liquor at the same shop which sold your vegetables, meat and nappies. You either had to head to a bottle store to take something home, or spend your imbibement time at a pub.

Part of me is glad you can put meat, veges and beer in your shopping trolley; there's something just so easy about ticking off the entire list, all under the same roof.

But at the same time, shopping for beer in a supermarket is a risky business. Sure, if you're lucky enough to have New World Thordon nearby you have no reason to worry. In fact, most Wellington supermarkets are well stocked and the stock is well rotated. However, I am not so lucky here in The Swamp.

For example - I once headed into New World Pioneer here in The Swamp. Apart from the usual bland crap, they had an island of great-looking brews, including Fuller's ESB, Kriek Boon, Epic Pale Ale.... and Emerson's Organic Pilsner.

There's just one problem - Emerson's un-organiced their pilsner in November 2010. That's more than a year since this beer was last brewed with organic hops.

Now, time for some beer nerdery....

Most beers fall into two camps - "drink fresh" or "drink aged". Pilsners, IPAs and lagers are usually best when had as close to the day they were brewed as possible. Other beers - imperial stouts, porters and Scotch ales t name but a few - can sometimes need a bit of time to open up and release all their best flavours.

So, for a pilsner to sit on the shelf for more than a year is not a good thing at all. No doubt if I had drank one, it would have lost its hoppy hit and been bland, boring and bad beyond any place the brewer imagined. It may also have had that chalky texture hoppy beers get when they lose that fresh bite. If the supermarket wasn't driven by profit and actually cared about its product, it would pull it. It hasn't and that annoys me to no end.

But New World Pioneer isn't the only criminal in this regard. There's a cafe right across from my work with a fridge full of "expired" beer, as well as multiple other supermarkets in the same boat. While it sucks for me to not get fresh product, I feel most for the brewers and the customers who do not know any better.

Think about it - you pour your time, money, energy and love into creating something. You send it out the door, flush with pride, only for some retailer to handle it badly and sell it when it shouldn't be. A customer wanting to try something new takes it home and thinks it's crap and vows never to try anything with your name on it ever again.

Does that make you feel stink? Angry? Frustrated? I wonder how Richard Emerson would feel if he knew how his product was treated by some up here.
 So while supermarkets are handy and can sometimes be pretty cool, I'm a big fan of bypassing them when doing beer shopping. Because sometimes, they're not so super after all.

Maybe the wrong time of year, but still delicious

And for the record - Emerson's Pilsner is absolutely delicious, bursting with that new world pilsner characteristic: fruit salad in a glass. A lot of people talk about a beer they would marry. Well, if I could have a summer wife and a winter wife (no offence hun), E-Pils would without a doubt be my relax-on-a-beach-in-a-swimsuit wife.

I have fond memories of spending two weeks off work doing nothing more than eating sandwiches, reading books, bathing in what had to be a record string of good Wellington days and drinking plenty of this beer. It really is one of those beers I just can't get enough of and can always depend upon to hit the spot. So, head somewhere where you can get a fresh batch of it and give it a hoon - it really shouldn't let you down.

I should also note that Pioneer NW has pulled all their Emerson's, but only recently. It was still there far longer than it should have been.