About
The story of Bear Republic, like most other craft brewers, begins with homebrewing. It was the spark for our passion to create quality, hand-crafted beers. We are a family-owned brewery, located in the heart of Sonoma County, California. The company was established by the Norgrove family in 1995, with Richard G. Norgrove as brewmaster.

After 11 years of rapid growth, we opened our Factory 5 brewery in Cloverdale, California, where we brew and package all our beer that goes to market. We hand select our ingredients for each batch, the grains and hops we use are chosen for their unique characteristics and the recipes and formulations are patiently developed over time. Many recipes start as a home-brew and then develop into the commercial beer available in many retail outlets today. We pride ourselves in using our established methods while always looking to improve efficiencies and techniques that allow us to provide quality beer to share with the world.

Beginning 2023 thw brewery was acquired by Drake’s Brewing.
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nathanvc (7291) reviewed
Racer 5 IPA® from Bear Republic Brewing Company
2 years ago
7.6/10 — Appearance 6 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 6 Overall 8.5
Can from Beer Republic (advent calendar).
A: clear golden, small, white head.
A: orange peel, apricot, cake, pineapple, citrus zest.
T: sweet apricot, bitter orange peel, biscuit, cake.
F: bitter piney hops, grapefruit, citrus zest, soft gin-like alcohol.
P: medium body, oily texture, soft carbonation.
Very enjoyable quasi-DIPA.
Tried on 16 Apr 2024 at 09:33
one51 (2597) reviewed
Racer 7 from Bear Republic Brewing Company
2 years ago
7.1/10 — Appearance 6 Aroma 8 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 7.5
Bottle drunk watching Dune on the new projector screen. WOW what a screen. Hazy orange beer, middling head, nose of slightly dank pine and citrusy pineapple. Fruit bomb with lots of mango and pineapple, caramel heavy, a bit on the sweet side actually. Tasty!
Tried from Bottle on 02 Mar 2024 at 19:50
brnandersen (7194) reviewed
Racer 5 IPA® from Bear Republic Brewing Company
2 years ago
7.5/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 8
355 ml can from Beer Republic advent calendar poured into a Tulip. Slightly hazy golden colour with a thin white head. Fruity aroma with citrus, tropical impressions, pines, and floral hoppy notes. The taste is bitter. Full body. Dry and bitter finish. Nice old school West Coast action.
Tried from Can on 03 Feb 2024 at 19:41
one51 (2597) reviewed
Racer 5 IPA® from Bear Republic Brewing Company
2 years ago
7.8/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 8
Drunk watching Eurocrash on Prime. Hazy amber, nice head, smooth caramel, malt, and pine nose. Dank notes, big bitterness that lasts, classic. I believe this was one of the first high-IBU IPAs i had in the late 90s in Richmond and i remember it was overwhelming at the time. Hah!
Tried on 02 Feb 2024 at 22:38
Taboada (9307) reviewed
Racer 5 IPA® from Bear Republic Brewing Company
2 years ago
7/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 7
355ml. can. @home, as part of the Beer Republic Advent Calendar. 18/12/2023 [#6.967 Global - #1.233 United States of America - #2 Bear Republic Brewing Company] Pours dark golden with a big and lastinb off-white head. Aroma: caramel malts, grapefruit, toasted bread and yeast. Taste: plenty of caramel. Big malty backbone. Dry and bitter mouthfeel. Classic west coast. Next one please!
Tried from Can on 27 Dec 2023 at 12:00
WillemsUrenkel (5909) reviewed
Racer 5 IPA® from Bear Republic Brewing Company
2 years ago
7.1/10 — Appearance 10 Aroma 6 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 6.5
12 fl. oz. can from the Beer Republic advent calendar. Fat golden in the glass, slightly cloudy with a more than one finger white foamy head. Looks really good. Mandarine with british malt on the nose. Taste starts fruity, more on the citrus side with a big malt shot. Some honey sweetness. Less bitterness than expected. Nice one.
Tried from Can on 21 Dec 2023 at 21:34
Gyllenbock (17736) reviewed
HWY 101 West Coast IPA from Bear Republic Brewing Company
2 years ago
7.4/10 — Appearance 6 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 6 Overall 7.5
Can from Beer Republic. Golden with a white head. Citrus, some hay, pine and grapefruit. Bitter finish.
Tried from Can on 11 Dec 2023 at 12:10
cmacklin (5365) reviewed
Big Bear Black Stout™ from Bear Republic Brewing Company
2 years ago
7.8/10 — Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 6 Overall 8
473ml can. Pours an opaque black with a creamy, long lasting, tan head that leaves curtains of lace. Sweet aroma of roasted malt, dark chocolate, caramel, tobacco, licorice, earth and coffee. Sweet flavour of roasted malt, licorice, caramel, ash, coffee and grapefruit in a dry, bitter finish. Medium body with a smooth, oily texture and soft carbonation. Delicious, balanced and ABV is well hidden.
Tried from Can on 18 Nov 2023 at 02:53
mcberko (49191) reviewed
Formula R&D #3: Super Juicy IPA from Bear Republic Brewing Company
2 years ago
6.8/10 — Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 7
On tap at Portland Craft, pours a sort of hazy golden yellow with a white head. Aroma brings out pithy stone fruits, citrus zest, and resinous hops. Flavour is moderately bitter, with juicy stone fruits, citrus hops and bready malt. Not the most vibrant — could be Portland Craft syndrome where the keg is too old when it gets here. Decent.
Tried from Draft on 26 Oct 2023 at 05:03
oh6gdx (52920) reviewed
Café Racer 15™ from Bear Republic Brewing Company
3 years ago
7.8/10 — Appearance 6 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 8
Draught. Deep orangeish golden colour with a small foamy white head. Aroma is citrus, some pineapple, mild tropical fruits and some sweet malts. Flavour is floral, nectary, some tropical fruits and mild sweet malts. A bit alcohol sweetness too. Big bitter finish.
Tried on 26 Sep 2023 at 17:27