2014 Bourbon County Brands release - Chicagoland

16.9 oz bottles is what I've heard thus far. $10 would be a good guess for MSRP, but I'm guessing most places will charge $15+.

 

The only way that would be acceptable is if they've finally managed to significantly up the amount of BCBS being sold, so that while we can't buy it in 4-packs, these 16.9 oz. bottles are plentiful.

 

It is indeed 16.9oz. The label you saw was a miss print. MSRP will likely be ignored by almost every shop except the big box shops. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw some places still keeping the same prices as last year even upwards of $39.99

 

I'm almost certain this was done to allow for larger distro of variants and for more people to have access to them. They have been producing more and more regular BCBS every year so it shouldn't be any harder to get this year.

 

That's what we said about 2014. And yet, 2013 seems the high point for post-craft beer explosion BCBS availability.

 

Yeah but...At some point we have to be right...Right?!?

 

GI/InBev want to spread distro. You may get less at one shop that you did a few years ago, but more shops have access to it.

 

It seems like, at least in Chicago, 2014 was the year of a few mega-accounts getting huge drops and everyone else getting very little. Castle Vav and the flagship Walgreens stores had a lot; everyone else had reduced allocations. Small shops either kept it for regulars or did extortion pricing.

Not sure what the situation was like elsewhere in the country.

Then again, you could reportedly grab cases of regular from Costco, so take that as you will.

 

Yeah, that was definitely the impression I got from the small stores I talked with. Everyone was pretty pissed, so hopefully they're working on remedying that for this year; it sucks that the A-B acquisition is already getting this sort of "I knew it, this is what happens when you sell out!" bad word of mouth around the industry (at least in Chicagoland).

 

Let's not totally jump on Goose. The new distributor relationship plays a big part in where the product lands.

 

I'm not blaming GI for it, and I agree that distribution was certainly an issue. However, I was told (and have heard other places) that one of the larger issues for smaller stores was the amount of GI/A-B beer that needed to be sold in order to get a Bourbon Country allotment, which might not just be a disty issue (although I don't really know how it works, so perhaps it is).

For what it's worth, you'll be hard pressed to find a bigger GI homer than I am; I just would like the bad publicity to be in the past.

 

Not my Costco. Two friends and I had to go through line twice to assemble a case. (Limit was a single 4 pack at the Bolingbrook store.)

 

Good to know. I just saw people talking about the Costco angle; never did it myself.

Still, the Costco having BCBS at all represents a shift in distro strategy away from local shops to mass retailers.

 

The Sams Club by me got 4 cases of regular and I could've bought all 4 cases at $18.99/4pack. Bought 1 case and left the rest. Similar situations of no limits were reported at other Sams Club stores as well.

 

Sad day indeed. Time to start hoarding other BA Stouts which are easier find.

 

So...12 oz. bottles confirmed?

Part of me likes the new design, part of me is bothered that it won't look like bottles from the other years I have.

 

While I don't like it quite as much (not quite as heavy or as rich), I think CW's BA stout is a perfectly acceptable alternative. Given that you're in Wisconsin, that'd be my go-to.

 

I second this. "Poor man's Bourbon County" as my brother calls it or "Aldi Brand Bourbon County" as someone here on BA put it.

Plus you don't have to make a complete fool of yourself just to purchase multiple 4packs.

 

Thats really not all that bad.