Somebody left a half-case of Ironwood Stout in the walk-in

Locked up at eleven and spotted the cardboard first — brown, damp along the bottom edge, shoved between the Ridgeline and a stack of empty flats. Half a case of Ironwood Stout. No delivery tag. No receiving slip taped to the box. Just six bottles, 8.2% ABV, sitting there like they'd always been part of the cooler.

Checked the manifest from Tuesday's truck. Nothing. Checked Wednesday's. Also nothing. Asked Kara if she remembered stocking it. She did not. Asked Len if he saw anyone bring it in through the back. He shrugged and said maybe it came in with the Meadowbrook order last week, which doesn't make sense because that was a Schwarzbier run and Ironwood's brewed two towns over.

The beer itself

I cracked one. Chocolate up front, faint coffee on the back end, roasted malt that doesn't quit. 42 IBU if the label's honest. Pours thick, leaves lacing on the glass. It's good. Better than good. The kind of stout that makes you wonder why we don't stock it regularly.

Except we don't stock it. Never have. I checked the system twice.

What happens now

I moved the box to the top shelf in cooler two, next to the Copperline restock. If someone comes looking for it, we'll figure it out. If no one does, I guess we've got six bottles of Ironwood Stout that appeared out of the cold and the dark and a loading dock I should probably stop thinking about.

See you Wednesday.