RACER X ON THE ROAD, RACER X ON THE TRACK

Have heard a lot about BEAR REPUBLIC BREWING’s RACER X over the last two years, but never have I and this beer been in the same room at the same time. It’s their turbo-charged version of RACER 5, one of America’s finest IPAs, and a beer that’s becoming very popular on taps in Northern California these days. RACER X, on the other hand, appears to be a seasonal double IPA, brewed every now & again in small batches, and only served on tap – never in bottles. There was a keg of it at Oakland’s Pacific Coast Brewing this week, and I pounced. Hmm, wow, that’s almost like a barleywine, isn’t it? A thin-bodied, ultra-hopped sweet IPA? Why not? If some marketer started calling it a Barleywine-Style IPA, or an “IPA Wine” or something, you’d probably believe it. Hell, I would too. I liked its bitterness and how smooth it was, and how at the end of the day there was no real overpowering bite. It didn’t taste much like Racer 5, outside of the liberal dose of hops. I like it. I’ll drink it again. 7/10.