Goose Island Cthulhu

Not trying to hype this one too much, but (re: Stout Fest):

From the Clybourn FB page:
"WOW! All Sold Out! We look forward to seeing you on March 13th! But if you can't wait, check out this lineup available every Friday at 7pm leading up to #StoutFest2016, and join us March 7th for 2013 Cthulhu bottle release. Details to follow."

 

Wow, I stand corrected

 

In all fairness, this could easily be Cthulhu '13 aged longer, and THEN bottled. I guess the smart thing to do is to grab a glass on 3/4, and see if it's worth the hassle.

 

It was already in barrels for 18 months, what's another 30? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

Pass

 

$35 per bottle was announced today.

 

Commence shitshow in 3...2...1....

 

I'm still unsure if I'll go for the bottle release. Leaning towards doing it, but the price and the fact that I have family in town that week could stop me from making it. Hoping to get a taste on draft beforehand to help with the decision.

 

I was considering this as well. I'm a big fan of Cthulhu, but $35 + lining up would require the 2013 stuff to be pretty special.

 

If it's anything like the Cthulhu I've had on draft prior to Black Friday '15 (they had it on draft every Tuesday for the month before Black Friday I believe), it was pretty damn good.

I will be there for the bottle.

 

Oh yeah, I've had Cthulhu on tap in the last year, and it was great. I'm just curious as to whether this stuff (the bottles of '13) tastes the same as what they've had on tap more recently.

 

$35 a bottle is ridiculous for this beer, I don't care if its been cellared properly. Its a good (not great) beer, but nowhere near worth that price (However, I wouldn't pay $20 for it). And hell, its on tap it seems few months or so at the brewpub.

 

This won't be the case anymore - they say this is the last of it. Unless they "find" more as part of the sale of the brewpub.

 

I would disagree with the "good (not great)" portion of your statement, but $35 seems a bit much for a bottle (could be more of that "FoBAB tax" everyone complained about with Cherry Run). Most of my curiosity about the bottles comes from hoping that the beer has been in barrels longer than standard Cthulhu, because that would really take it over the top (which is why I want to have it on tap again before deciding whether I want a bottle). Also:

Clybourn has made references to this being the last of the Cthulhu; whether that means the last of the original 2013 batch or the last time they're doing it, who knows.

 

I've never had the bottle version, so I can't vouch for that, but having had it on draft multiple times, its just my opinion that its not great. I prefer a little more body to my BA stouts. I did think it was very balanced with the barrel, but just on the edge of getting hot. I guarantee I would be less of a fan of barrel aging it longer, if that is in fact true, but that's just my preference.

 

I wasn't giving you shit for your feelings on the beer, just saying that I like it a real lot. The reason I'd like it to be in a barrel for longer is that every BA stout I've had that was "extra-aged" has been phenomenal (Rare, Rare 2.0, 2 older versions of Haymarket's Indignant), because a layer of complexity is added to the taste (which I really dig). Keeping it in the barrel longer would (I think) give the beer a thicker body, too, although I could be wrong on that portion.

 

You're missing the point.

1. It's Limit ONE per person!
2. There is wax on the bottle!
3. This is the "LAST" of it....unless they brew it again....which they easily can/will....but with DIFFERENT BREWERS (OMG!)

Did I mention it's LIMITED?

 

So Goose has answered these questions a couple of times and did just again today. GI said in reference to brewing more Cuthulu, "It's possible, of course, that another brewer will take it on in the future. But, for now, this is the last brewed by its original brewers and we don't have any more in the works."

GI said reference these barrels being for sale, "Unfortunately, these came out of barrels in 2013 so we don't have them anymore! But I like your ambition!"

 

So how was getting bottles? I was going to try to get down there around 6 last night but had sick kids at home and figured it would be a shit show anyway. Just hoping someone can tell me it was a mess just so I feel better about missing it!