I'm thinking about making an order from Let's Pour for a few IPAs I can't get on the east coast. Question is, does anyone have any experience with this and will the beer be fresh? I'm not expecting weeks old, but at least less than 3 months would be desirable.
I haven't used Let's Pour because of price. If you haven't yet, you might want to check somewhere like beership.com, they are in Idaho and have lots from the West.
Freshness does seem to be a major issue with them. Given their model, it's just almost impossible to get an IPA to your door in optimal drinking time. Also, there was a thread a few months ago where somebody involved with the company very stubbornly refused to acknowledge the importance of freshness in a hoppy beer, so that should tell you all you need to know about how (not) serious they take it. You'll be much happier with trading in the long run.
Of course, that was within the context of arguing with a person that felt a 40-50 day old Jai Alai was completely unacceptable.
Here's where I get my mail orders. Great guys. Lot's of beer turnover. Unlike Total Wine, I've never had a freshness issue here: http://charlestonbeerexchange.com/
