Anatomy of the beer cooler and … life beyond IPA

by James Robinson, Your Co-op Sommelier

I wrote last week about the world of wine that’s crammed into Aisle 5’s 20 linear feet, yet the same holds true for the beer cooler on the opposite side of the aisle. In fact, those that take a moment to look will discover there is life, on Aisle 5, beyond India Pale Ale (IPA).

While there is no doubt that Northwest craft beer – and particularly Northwest IPA – forms the backbone of our set, there is, without a doubt, much more on offer. Here’s a shelf-by-shelf breakdown:

Top Shelf

Bottled beers. The set begins on the left with 22-ounce bottles from Port Townsend Brewing Company and Propolis Brewing, then gradually transitions into other bottled Northwest options and then Europe. Within the European mix we offers German Pilsners, Lagers, Hefe Weissbier and Bocks – roughly six German beers in total. Representing Belgium, we feature six sours, three Trappist beers, golden ales and Abbey Beers for a total of 13 world-class Belgian beers. Beer aficionados will recognize names such as Ayinger, Gaffel, Weihenstaphan, Orval, Rocherfort, Westmalle, Petrus, Rodenbach and many more.

Second Shelf from the Top

On this shelf shoppers will find canned options that are not IPAs. In other words, this is the place for domestic pilsners, lagers, sours, ales, Belgian-style beers and hefeweizen. Look here for seasonals (not IPAs), innovative co-lab beers, and canned selections from the United States, Europe and Japan. The product mix changes frequently.

Third shelf from the Top

India Pale Ale – The product mix begins with a selection of rotating 16-ounce cans followed by the traditional 12-ounce six-pack. Here you’ll find most of our core set, including beers from Aslan Brewing Company, Fremont Brewing, Georgetown Brewery, pFriem Family Brewers and Reuben’s Brewing.

Fourth Shelf from Top

Domestic bottled beers. Many shoppers likely remember the days when premium beer always came in a bottle and cheap beer came in cans. Those days are gone. The most innovative, cutting edge and coveted craft beers now come mostly in cans leaving many die-hard bottle drinkers longing. Nevertheless, and despite the shrinking list of options, shoppers can find non-alcoholic ales and pilsners, IPAs, ambers, stouts, porters and Belgian styles. We work every week to find new and interesting bottled options for our members. Recently we tracked down Eel River Brewing’s organic IPA and amber – both offered in a bottle.

Fifth Shelf from Top

The fifth shelf from the top is where you’ll find canned non-alcoholic options from the Athletic Brewing Company, gluten-free options from Ghostfish Brewery, bargain beers from Ten Barrel Brewing and Red Hook and beer styles that need representation, but may be considered ‘out of season.’ For example, the bottom shelf is the current home to our canned stouts and porters. During during the summer months, we reduce the number of stouts and porters and those that remain live on the bottom shelf. As the weather cools in the fall, we’ll rotate them back up to more prominent placement on shelf number two.

Break the Six-Pack

Did you know that we’ll sell any multipack beer as a single item without an up-charge? In fact, we encourage it. What a better way to explore the wide array of beers available than to mix and match your own six-pack. In fact, many stores charge a single beer premium if customers break a six-pack, but not the Food Co-op. We simply divide the cost by the pack size to get the single beer price. Pretty simple.

First and Third Tuesdays

The first and third Tuesdays of each month are exciting days in the Food Co-Op’s beer and wine department. On these Tuesdays, we receive deliveries from Browar Polska and Orcas Distributing.

Each company offers a weekly ‘hot sheet’ of new, rare, allocated, coveted, delicious, independent, small batch beers. Orcas Distributing specializes in Northwest craft beer while Browar Polska sources from farther afield, mining the East Coast and Europe for the finest craft beer available. If you’re a beer lover, the first and third Tuesdays of the month are your opportunities for first crack at the fresh new arrivals.

Core Beers

We call these ‘core’ items, because these are the beers that form the core of the product mix. These are the items you can find on the shelf day-to-day and week to week. They include offerings from: Port Townsend Brewing Company, Propolis Brewing, Georgetown Brewery, Fremont Brewing, Aslan Brewing Company, Fort George Brewery, Reubens’s Brewing and Pfriem.

Basic Organization

On each shelf where different beer styles are represented, the product mix begins on the left with the lightest beers and moves left, growing darker as it does. For example, you’ll find In addition and within that framework, beers are organized alphabetically from left to right.

The IPA shelf is organized alphabetically, from left to right, by brewery. That’s all there is to it.