What does retired mean and what beers get retired?
A. The ‘retired’ designation on Ratebeer is meant to identify those beers which are no longer commercially available and which are not likely to become commercially available again in the foreseeable future. As a general rule of thumb, all beers on Ratebeer are considered ‘innocent until proven guilty,’ or ‘active until proven retired.’ All beers are granted a one-year grace period of activity or non-retired status. The length of this one-year grace period is based upon the one-year release cycle typical of most seasonal beers. This grace period is applied to both seasonal and festival-released beers, and for limited-edition beers in general regardless of whether they appear on tap or in bottles. There are exceptions, as stated below. ‘One-off’ beers are typically created specifically for a single festival or limited-attendance event, and these are beers which the brewer does not intend to brew ever again and which are no longer available after the event is over. (In all cases, the bre
