Bear Republic Freshness in Virginia

Discussion in 'Mid-Atlantic' started by JohnNickel, Nov 17, 2015.

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  1. JohnNickel

    JohnNickel Initiate (0) Jan 4, 2006 District of Columbia

    I love Racer 5, however I wish I could regularly get it fresher. I was told the year-round beers were created 6 months before the BB date, except the Stout which is 9 months. And seasonal beers were created 4 months before the BB date.

    I purchased today from Total Wine in northern Virginia, and it was bottled 4 months ago (the best buy date is 1/24/16, meaning it was "brewed 7/24/16 and bottled shortly thereafter"--that's how the Bear Republic publicist phrased it).

    The Racer X I bought was a bit better, as its best buy date was 1/18/16, meaning it was bottled about 9/18/16.

    Does anyone have any luck in Virginia getting fresher Racer 5?
     
    #1 JohnNickel, Nov 17, 2015
  2. GoldLikeJoel

    GoldLikeJoel Initiate (0) Oct 5, 2015 Virginia

    I haven't bought any Racer 5 lately but at least here in SWVA the distributor who has the rights to Bear Republic now also has the rights to: New Belgium, Sierra, Bell's, Laguintas, Oskar Blues, Sam, Founders, Great Lakes, Avery, Stone and more (including picking up almost every other new mediocre and below average Virginia Brewery) so unfortunately I think Bear Republic has fallen pretty low on their priority list.
     
    #2 GoldLikeJoel, Nov 18, 2015
  3. stickboy1125

    stickboy1125 Initiate (0) Jan 28, 2012 Virginia

    I love racer 5 but I have pretty much given up on it, as you said it's rarely ever fresh plus it seems like the price has gone up recently (used to be under $10, now it's like $12). I also really enjoy Racer X, Cafe Racer and Apex but even these are almost always older than I prefer for a premium priced DIPA. I'm in NoVA, fwiw.
     
    #3 stickboy1125, Nov 18, 2015
  4. montman

    montman Maven (1,444) Mar 10, 2009 Virginia
    Trader

    It's weird, I do not seem to have a feel for it, I know a little while back a local shop in SE VA posted some fresh Café Racer (or was it Apex) and I grabbed some. And yet it seems the ones on the shelves are frequently months old.
    Like the poster above, I rarely look for it anymore.
     
    #4 montman, Nov 18, 2015
  5. Cubatobaco

    Cubatobaco Pooh-Bah (2,057) Jan 27, 2013 Virginia
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    It is unfortunately rare to see "fresh" BR beer here. I love their stuff, but wish I could find it with less time on it. I have to order bottles to enjoy them.
     
    #5 Cubatobaco, Nov 18, 2015
  6. hophustler

    hophustler Initiate (0) Apr 24, 2013

    What?!!? You mean you are having a little bit of difficulty finding a fresh IPA brewed in CA and then shipped across the country? Crazy talk! Wholesalers should be shipping Bear Republic across the country one case at a time to ensure the product is always super fresh!
     
    #6 hophustler, Nov 19, 2015
    BearRepublic likes this.
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