2014 Bourbon County Brands release - Chicagoland

if he was annoyed, it wasn't specifically at binny's. in general, seems like whole foods in general got less than last year. downtown location had the second biggest drop. first place is in lincoln park. also, new accounts were added i imagine. i can't recall but did costco have bcbs last year?

prices were increased this year so costco charging 19.99, i can bet they lost money. quite possible they didn't update their invoice pricing system. anyway, it's definitely a great deal. otherwise the 24.99-26.99 is about MSRP.

varies from store to store i guess. but it's nothing new.

 

Whole sale was $17.99/4 pack

 

not sure how many stores got it in illinois but with costco, i'd imagine a bare minimum of a pallet drop? that's probably 2 accounts per pallet drop? so definitely less spread this year.
i'm terrible at maths. and a few beers in.

 

And also, they will NEVER do this because they want to make this a bigger thing, not smaller. They want this to be national. Be on the lookout for more beer available in smaller quantities at higher prices. I would expect the four packs to go away and all versions to be line priced. They see what people are willing to pay, and Goose as much as any brewery I can think of has been testing the waters of what consumers are willing to pay. Think $30 Gillian and $25 Juliet.

Personally, I think they may try to push more towards big showcase releases at high profile stores (think Castle Vav) supported by big, regional and national chains that can be dealt with in bulk. They want to handle huge regions with only a few discussions. Places like Costco and Walgreens are ideal, since they have very limited shelf space (or SKU space) for beer, but huge sales overall. That means if you get a placement, it's worth big money. If they can convince the average drinker that Walgreens can supply them with quality craft beer of all types, from the Tuesday night 312 Pale to the ultra high-end BCBS, then they'll see that as a huge success.

Of course, smaller breweries like the ones the craft movement was built upon can't work as well in those scenarios. Buyers at huge chains can't meet with every self-distro guy that comes around, and maybe not even with every wholeseller. Smaller boutique shops and bars cater to that crowd. Things there are too murky for AB. Too many choices. Customers bounce around too much. Odd how those shops got reduced amounts this year.

 

which is why i skipped out on the "sisters" this year(price) and the same reason (price) i can STILL see them on the shelf.
@Vav mentioned the first price increase in 4...or 5 years (for BCBS)? i forget the post from a week or two ago. definitely great of GI and A-B InBev. Anyway, if they keep it "clean", i (wish)expect the prices to stay the same for the next 4 years or indefinitely. They definitely tested the market with Gillian and Juliet prices. 3 years later is the BCBS jump. someone can quote me or save this message. the next price increase i see for BCBS i will pass. I've been fortunate enough to have BCBS before the releases, after the releases (events) or tastings. I will toss my money at the @NOTpipeworks , off color brewing, half acre, revolution, etc.

 

Friendly bet: BCS prices will increase again in 2015.

 

i hope i'm wrong.

If the price increases next year: i'll assist with one of your tastings/samples at your shop (then for sure i'm forced to visit your shop as i've always wanted to but haven't been)

Central Waters Bourbon Stout 2011
Central Waters Bourbon Stout 2012
Bell's Black Note 2012
and to wash it down:
New Glarus Enigma (2012)
New Glarus Wile Sour Ale (2013)
provided by me. nothing crazy.

MSRP this year would be ~ 24.99 - 26.99 (not including the big box 19.99 prices)

 

Yeah if I'm not misremembering, I think he said he refused Black Note because they shipped him a laughably small amount, and then the next year they learned their lesson, and shipped more.

It sucks that this is being discussed with Bourbon County, of all beers (given that it's a native Chicago brew), but hopefully the new barreling facility will actually show full yields next year, and we won't have to have this discussion again.

 

Tony's on Elston has 4-5 cases of regular right now. They're in a stack in the aisle in front of the checkouts, right in the front of the store by the entrance. They didn't get any varieties.

 

Stopped by there around 4pm yesterday and it was completely gone.

 

Agree with you 100%. My wife and I are also in to wine and I made the comment as to what's stopping craft beer from going in the direction of fine wine? No one knew California wine in the 1970s until it got international recognition. Fast forward through the years and people are paying $50, 100, 200+ for a bottle of, essentially, high end spoiled grapes! I remember when Rare came out and it sat in a local small shop for months because they were charging $50-60/bottle. Seems pretty reasonable for a bottle of Rare now (to me at least) and that was only a few years ago!

 

While I agree with you somewhat that, certain beer, will go the way of cult Napa Cabs (15 years ago Harlan Cab was $50.00 now over $500) and increase in price. Ultimately though, beer is not as land dependent; great wine can only be produced on very specific parcels of land that cost fortunes to procure- beer not so much.

 

At least until the marketing folks convince us that their super expensive, flagship beer is only that good because of "single origin" hops that are only grown on this one specific hill in the Yakima valley (which they conveniently have a contract for the whole lot) or barley from Farmer Bob who's a direct descendent of our lord and savior, Jesus Christ, and are sown from his own blood and tears.

2024 Exclusive Members Edition BCBS, only $400/4 pack!

 

Exactly! I could see this happening and the companies with the big bucks will procure the "best Hop and barley land".

 

If anyone happens to know somewhere that has or will have either of the variants on tap over the next few days I would greatly appreciate it if you could post here or pm me. Hell, if it works out I'll even buy you one or two. I'll be in Chicago until Sat and although I have no hope of finding any of the variants in bottles I have little to no hope I may be able to at least try it on draft.

I've tried using beer menus but the one place currently listed is out I believe.

 

Ha, should have seen what they were doing for Pappy, charged 2x retail, plus you had to buy 4 bottles of either eagle rare 10, blantons, angels envy, or Buffalo trace 1L. So basically a 23 cost around $700 after tax.

 

Point taken on being land dependent for sure. I do think it will be interesting to see the impact though of the decreasing supply of barrels and hops. There are only so many Pappy barrels to go around and other "high end" bourbon barrels that some might seek out. Competition for certain hops seemings to be a concern for some brewers I have talked to.

 

For sure, there are definitely some variables, as you pointed out, that will continue to raise the "prestige" and price of some beers. Interesting times ahead... I think we are headed for some increasing growing pains; buts the beer industry will adjust.

 

Tony's in Plainfield had 2 cases on the floor about 45 minutes ago