Southern Tier 2X Rye

Yikes. I'm not the most price sensitive beer consumer in the world, as I had no problem forking over $12 for a 4-pack of the Red's Rye (since I knew it would be fresh), but I wonder why the price point is higher than the other 2X series beers?

I actually came across this thread while doing recon on 2XRye because the beer guy at my local shop let me know that they had just gotten a case of this and that it was the only case they were going to get. I didn't think to ask how much they were asking, because I'm usually pretty flexible with my beer spending.

Normally, I would buy it without a question (see: Red's Rye for $12 and fewer bottles), but in this case, I don't know if I'm going to be able to pull the trigger at that price point for a beer I've never had. At least with Red's I know that it's worth the price.

Speaking of Red's, I'm going to second what the other person responded with and say that it was most likely a freshness issue. I've had Red's that is 6 months old as well as Red's that was under a month old and the difference in the nose makes it seem like two different beers. Six-month-old Red's is a solid rye beer with a middling hop profile. Fresh Red's is a floral, citrusy rye beer without many equals on the market.

That being said, I've never had Red's from the tap, so my logic is based on the fact that a keg has a higher likelihood of being fresh than bottles.