Consumers vs. Wegmans

As Wegmans’ selection gets better and Consumers’ products stagnate, I’m more frequently turning to the supermarket my regular beer purchases. I’m tired of seeing the same old product on Consumers’ shelves. Wegman’s seems to get new, fresh products on a regular basis and they are usually cheaper. If I need something rare, I’ll make a trip up to Premiere, but for my general needs I think I’m done with Consumers.

Consumers is very frustrating in terms of freshness. I don’t really buy bottles there unless I know it has just been released or is dated. They really don’t seem to care about old stock - I’ve told them that stuff on the shelves is past date & its still there the next time I come in.

I’m trying to buy less & brew more, but when I do buy it tends to be at Village Beer Merchant or Premier. The increased selection at Wegmans is great, but I’m concerned about freshness there as well & (at least at the Amherst St. location) they have some of the beer RIGHT under lights, which isn’t good...

-rudy

In my travels, I have now noticed some supermarkets, ie. whole foods, allowing people to buy and drink their beer right on premises. A cheap and quick way to try a beer or two, and have your preference in food as well.

Originally posted by rudolf
They really don’t seem to care about old stock - I’ve told them that stuff on the shelves is past date & its still there the next time I come in.

-rudy

That’s BAD business, playing the ’short game’ in retail. The LONG game is offering products that are outstanding, well-priced and fresh, not only to bring repeat business but to also ’seduce’ the customer into buying more than he actually intended or needed - and being happy to do so.
Good faith in quality (with no need for worry and suspicion over freshness) makes people open their wallets with much less hesitation. They will take more chances on unfamiliar beers, because they know they will never get stiffed with beer gone bad.
Premier is no longer much more expensive than Consumers anyway, though and never forces you to buy a six-pack if you would like to try a single.

I’m going to Wegman’s more and more for some of my "go-to" beers- Prima Pils, Sierra Nevada Torpedo- it’s 1 to 2 dollars cheaper a six pack in some cases, which makes a small, but definite difference- and it’s just easier- I’m at Wegmans for food a lot anyway.

I still go to Consumers for the growlers- Wegman’s can’t compete with that. And now Consumers has homebrew supplies which is nice in a pinch. I like the service for the most part at my local Consumers on Transit, and they definitely get a lot of stuff Wegmans will never have. Especially newer 22 ounce releases.

But I agree regarding Consumers and freshness- if i didn’t know any better, and just walked into Consumers for some beer, I might walk out with very old product. Freshness is a problem- I think they try with the sticker dot coding system, but it’s suspect. However, I’m not sure brewery’s should not be taking blame here. Is freshness dating that difficult? A few places do it- it’s about time most places did.

I’ve also pointed out old stock (Stone IPA’s past the date) to Consumers to no effect. You’re right about the growlers though. I like the Growler Card they put into action this year. Although sometimes I wonder about the kegs too. They just tapped a Nugget Nectar last week. That has to be a 3 month old keg right? You’d figure with something like NN, you’d want to release it asap.

I’ve been making Goose Island IPA my regular Wegman’s pickup recently... the bottling date is consistently within 2-3 weeks. It’s not an IPA that blows my mind, but I prefer a super fresh GI to a shot in the dark.

I agree with most of the freshness gripes about Consumers with year round product, but I do give them credit for trying to get rid of seasonal products that are nearing the end of their shelf lives by pricing them to sell. There aren’t too many places out there that have buy one get one sixers and other deals like that for older seasonals besides Consumers.

I think more retailers in general need to be willing to part with a few bucks by either taking old products off the shelves or by pricing it to sell to make room for new stuff. Far too often retailers will hang on to that original price until the bitter end and it doesn’t do anybody any good. It hurts the reputation of the brewery, the store, and the beer IMO

Stopped into consumers today to grab the new 2XIPA and some Southern Hemisphere Harvest. Saw that there were a bunch of new Stone IPAs. Was excited because the last bottles I saw in there were months past the date; thought these might be fresh. Checked the date and the "new" batch expire two weeks ago.

Wegmans has just set up a mixed six pack section. $9.99 for any assortment. Their selection is limited at the moment but there are some winners in there. Edmind Fitz, ST Harvest, Optimator...