Stone IRS and Espresso IRS?

Interesting... I'm headed down to Galveston today. Worth a stop? Never had it...

 

Regular IRS, or Espresso? Regular is a phenomenal stout that ages with the best of them. And it's like $7/bomber. I've had Espresso only once, but I enjoyed it thoroughly as well. I think that both are in the top 250, for whatever that might be worth.

 

I got both IRS and Espresso IRS from Shell Station in Friendswood yesterday. They only got one case of each and it was a one bottle limit per.

 

More Stone Espresso IRS in at E1G

 

Regular Stone IRS and Espresso are at Whole Foods on Waugh... have to ask for Espresso

 

hm I just asked for Espresso and two beer guys there said it was on tap last week but not currently in bottles.

oh well. I still got two IRS. thanks!

 

Can someone with some actual knowledge of the distribution of these two beers chime in and explain - in terms a simpleton such as myself can understand - why the hell these beers are seemingly "limited" in Houston? The production of Stone IRS (and its bastard cousin, Belgo Anise) have been so staggeringly high in the past that tripping over cases at convenience stores is more likely than being told "limit 1" - what the f gives?

 

picked up Espresso at Growlers Montrose, they also have IRS, 1 limit

 

Espresso was on shelves and when I asked for IRS they said it wasn't there.

 

Plano - S n K just got 6 more cases of espresso. No limit. I got a case no problem 2 weeks ago on first shipment. Enjoy

 

lol wow

 

Great question. My local specs (Round Rock, so not even Austin but a northern suburb) got 3-4 cases of each, and then got ANOTHER 5 cases of each, so its been more than plentiful here. Houston makes no sense.

 

It seems to be an issue with BEK distributors. If you look at any beer that is distributed by BEK, Houston is the last to get it and sometimes not at all, i.e. Dissident. For whatever reason BEK likes to shaft Houston on beer releases.

 

This appears to be the theory here on BA.

These Stone limited releases are hard to find, yeah, but damn my local small specs gets them eventually. My issue is TX' labeling laws + distro...these brews are released sometimes a month before in CA b4 they ever hit Houston.

 

I like coffee. Got 3 of the EIRS. Trying to decide if it's worth it to get some IRS (if I can find it)...

 

Absolutely worth it. One of the very best "regular" imperial stouts we get, and it ages very well. Decently priced, too, at $6-$9 for a bomber.

 

I can't disagree that labeling laws have an effect on how long it takes to get them to Texas. But the distribution is what is causing it to take so long to get to Houston. Just look at kmello69's post above, Spec's Round Rock got 3-4 cases of each initially and then got an additional 5 cases of each. Where in Houston have you seen that kind of allotment for RIS or ERIS? I have only seen either beer at one place and they only got one case of each. My example earlier was Dissident from Deschutes. Yes, it took a while to get to Texas but after it got approval and was able to be distributed, BEK didn't even bother distributing any to Houston. So yes, TX labeling laws do play a part, but BEK is the main culprit.

 

I haven't...yet. While in both LA and SF, I'd only see one or the other with IRS and EIRS. Definitely a limited beer but I'm not going hunting over these Stone's limited seasonals. They'll show up. They always do.

 

I was fortunate to get one of each a week ago so my hunting is over. I hope you are right and they do start showing up in Houston sooner than later. I've only been into craft beer a little over a year, so this was my first time seeking them out so I have no idea about their availability. I did find a bottle of 2012 RIS at Stein's in New Orleans last month.

 

In the past 2011 and earlier, it was available almost year round. 2012 it took a few months to sell out. I'm guessing 2013 will hardly hit the shelf.

Craft beer is growing exponentially (well at least the frenzy is) in the last 2 years.