fresh racer 5 in MA?

Last time I saw it hit fresh was probably about 2 months ago alongside Cafe Racer - but that's a limited set of stores.

 

Tough to find fresh these days. Not sure what the date is when it is received at Atlantic Importing, but out here in western mass, we see nothing but 60 days+ I prefer my Racer 5 a month old or less. Maybe shoot a line to your favorite shop and ask them to inquire with their wholesaler.

 

Freshest I've ever seen racer 5 at retail in the area is just under two months old. I bought it that one time I saw it just under 2 months old and it was starting to exhibit oxidation characteristics. I pretty much ignore it now and don't even bother to check the dates.

No date on the outside of the 12 packs, so unless you open the taped box no way to know how old they are..

 

I've given up - which is a shame because it's one of my favorite IPA's when fresh. Most of it seems to be at least 2.5 months old around here (if that).

Been burned too many times by way past-its-prime 12-packs. I've even gone the extra step to contact Bear Republic directly, and they didn't seem to care that much to even start date coding the 12 pack boxes.

Oh well - other IPA's I can spend my money on....

 

Redstone does. If something good comes in, it's posted - if something is unusually fresh, they'll post the bottling date (I've seen local stuff show up there the day after bottling.)

 

I hear it will be a couple weeks until another fresh shipment hits. as they are ironing out a few brewery issues.

 

Racer 5 is off my list until further notice. Truly a game changer when I first had it a few years back, but I never see the stuff fresh. Like SunDevil said, other IPA's to spend money on

 

If the question with this thread is really just "Fresh Racer 5?" The answer is "Get a map, find Healdsburg, CA. Go there. Enjoy a fresh beer." No sarcasm intended. Based on my travels and many pints/bottles of said beer, outside of NorCal, Racer 5 is never fresh and just doesn't taste right. Buy some Flower Power instead.

 

Just a general question (and I'd like to try one): How recent would the brew date have to be for it to be considered "fresh"? (Closer the better, but is there a cutoff people use?)

 

I usually go for most under a month but there really is no cutoff. The way I see it, there's so many IPA's to choose from and the market is so saturated with the IPA style, I'll usually buy the freshest or buy local which tends to be very fresh.

 

I agree - within a month of bottling is "fresh" when you consider how slow distro can be. Of course, Heady Topper is purchased and often consumed the day it's canned. I consider week-old Heady to be old

 

Avoid the headache and drink local.

 

It really depends on the beer. Anything less than a month is a real coup, but for most under 2 months works for me. Or find a local brewery and get it fresh as can be.

 

I hope so - even on draft I haven't had a good one in quite some time. And the last Hop Rod I had tasted like hot dogs.

 

Glad I'm not the only one. Do you guys think this is a Bear Republic QC/packaging issue, or just a recipe quirk?

 

This made me chuckle

 

I just think it's a light/golden IPA that's fragile (doesn't hold up over time & temp extremes) and needs to be consumed quickly for optimum taste. I think kegs seem to keep it fresher, but I've had some obvious stale draft pours of R5 in the past few years too.

 

They should put it in cans. I heard that helps prevent oxidation.