Fourteen cases moved — not the ones we expected

Weekly inventory came back with numbers that didn't match anyone's guess. Fourteen cases of Ridgemont Blonde Ale left the cooler since Friday — nobody ran a promo, Mitch didn't mention it during his shift, and the shelf tag is half-hidden behind the Kölsch display.

Meanwhile, the Thornhill Helles we restocked Monday? Still sitting at eleven cases. Clean label, solid 16 IBU, exactly the kind of thing that usually moves by Wednesday. It didn't.

What actually happened

Best guess: the Ridgemont six-packs are two rows back, eye-level if you're shorter than average, and the cardboard has a matte finish that photographs well under the cooler lights. Three customers asked if it was new. It's been on the shelf since March.

The Helles is front-facing, correct price tag, same distributor as the Millbrook Red that moved last month. Sometimes placement doesn't predict anything.

Restocking notes

Ridgemont's down to six cases as of this afternoon. Thornhill stays where it is — no reason to bury it further back when the issue isn't visibility. If it doesn't pick up by next Tuesday, we'll rotate one case to the single-can fridge and see if smaller pack sizes help.

Turnover doesn't always make sense on paper. That's why we count twice.