Let's talk good beer

[over the mountain]

I moved to gaithersburg in Montgomery County and there is a craft beer store down the street. The owner is cool so i wont name his store but the prices are eye gouging and the beer is super stale.

sculpin is 24.99 per 6 pack. great divide stuff is 18.99 range.

i decide to buy a sixer lagunitas sucks (bc their beer seems to be always fresh) and at 16.99 its not totally over-priced compared to the normal rate of 11 or 12.99.

i get home and lag sucks taste like shit. i google if they do born on dates and they do, its in black ink along the neck bottle and they use the julian dating - i.e. 071 = 71st day of 2015.

the lag sucks i got was from like March 11th.
-----------------------------

good news, i stopped by perfect pour and picked up a bottle of great divide's yeti - oatmeal imperial stout with a born on date of July 26, 2015. plus a stock load of other fresh good beer.

question - does the freshness date matter as much for non-hoppy beer like an oatmeal stout?

81 - ive been meaning to try great lakes stuff, they sell it in DC so i might swing through the district to get that and some deschutes and founders (if its fresh).