2016 BCBS Chicago Release (Black Friday & Beyond)

BCS is probably my favorite non-adjunct BA stout, but I prefer adjuncts in general, because I'm one of those trendy assholes that loses their shit every time something with coconut or vanilla is released. This is why I put most of my efforts into acquiring BCS variants; even last year's Prop was better (to me) than regular BCS, which I know is pretty close to heresy (and I'm ashamed to feel this way about it).

*commits seppuku*

 

^ at least you're honest lol

 

Ha. I've used every ounce of will power to resist the temptation of BCBS hunting this year despite wanting to.

 

Just came from Meijer Algonquin, they put out today, 1 case of coffee & bw and they have 13 cases of reg, coffee was opened when it hit the floor with only 7-8 bottles left, there were only a few of us there and a couple were meijer employees who just wanted regular....That being said the coffee still went quick

 

Yeah, I freely admit I have douchebag tastes. It works out for everyone else, too, because I typically pass on a decent amount of Reg, BW and Coffee every year!

 

I feel pretty similar. People took the piss out of last years Prop (before it was infected) and was surprised when I drank it I found it to be pretty damn good. I think they're all good. Similar to the rabid fanboy hype for the beer there seems to almost be a bandwagon to hate the beer.

Like what you like, and give a fuck what other people say. I just find it funny I'll read reviews here bashing a year of BCS but yet it's neigh impossible to find anything without waiting in a 2 hour line.

Nabbing a couple of beers to drink so you don't have to look at your one like it's gold either is a nice feeling. Sort of wish there was a better balance between hoarding and looking at the one Coffee you have and not think that it will be the last beer you will drink in your life.

Cheers!

 

Yeah, agreed on all that. I'm not actually ashamed to prefer this stuff, but I do feel a little bad, because I know that I'm part of this whole "extreme flavors!" thing that's taking over craft beer. With that being said, I'll always support BCS partially because it tastes so damn good, and partially because first and foremost, it's a Chicago tradition; even if my mouth wouldn't entirely miss it over the year (since there's so much other shit to drink), a year without BCS would be sort of how last year's 55 degree Christmas felt to me; just not right.

 

people that whine about BCS either can get it rather easily in Chicago and therefore its not that hip and is "overrated" or they cant get it at all. and what better way to be a beeradvocate than bash beers you have never had or cant get in your area without waiting in a 5 hr line that you will cry about.

gotta love the Chicago beer scene.

 

Yeah, I'll admit I'm always amused by the "it's overrated" comments like that. There are plenty of beers I think are overhyped/overrated, but I don't jump into threads about them and say "Meh, I'm not gonna waste my time on this stupid beer, there are others that are easier to get AND better!" I also don't understand "I can get this easily" as a criticism; I'm extremely excited at how easy it's been to pick up Navaja in Chicago, because that means I CAN DRINK IT. Collecting great (rare) beer is fun, but even more fun is consistently drinking great beer.

 

damn right. there are so many good beers on the shelves around Chicago that it gets old hearing people whine about whales. there is probably better beer on the shelf that you will pay no mark up for. don't get me wrong, the hunt and events are part of the fun, but I am generally never super disappointed to miss out on something.

 

BCS is a Chicago beer scene casualty for me this year. I had fully intended to head out on Black Friday, but circumstances outside of my control prevented that. Now that its past, I see Capone's event, WFs, and I just couldn't/can't get up for them. It's somewhat foreign to me, almost as if the craft scene is moving so fast that BCS is in the rear view (for this year, not in general) and I'm looking at what's coming next. I'm sure I'll be kicking myself down the road.

***not an overrated, over priced, beer lines are lame post**

 

WF is usually a sure-bet for me in that I work relatively early in the morning and am pretty close to one in the Loop. I agree that BCS is one of those things where if you blink, you can miss it; yes, places get their drops/have their events on different days, but you have to be pretty lucky to grab any if you're not at the place right when they get it (i.e. you have to go to a smaller place or random grocery store). And even then you probably won't get variants (as was my problem last year).

 

I think I worded my post poorly, or I'm misinterpreting your post. I meant "get up for them" as in motivation. I'm fortunate to work full-time from home so the logistics of the secondary releases isn't normally a problem. I think it's more like the anticipation of the Black Friday release is so huge that I'm justifying hours of my time and giving myself no budget whatsoever, but when I missed it, it became yesterdays release and I'm on to the next thing. Almost like missing someones huge birthday party and trying to have drinks with them the weekend after, or watching a championship game you already know the outcome of on dvr. I should probably see a doctor.

 

No, I got it, I was just saying that I can understand losing interest after BF. The only reason I'd personally care about WF is that it's convenient enough that it requires little extra effort before work.

I agree with the feeling after you miss it, although like you said ("I'm sure I'll be kicking myself down the road"), I was salty as hell when the new year rolled around and I realized there was no longer a chance to grab Prop or Rare (for close to MSRP, I mean). When there are a bunch of other great releases it's easy to forget one, but when stuff starts to slow down, that's when I'm sitting around like, "shit, I really wish I had an extra bottle of BCS right now."

 

Are the one who hasn't had Ninja vs. Unicorn? Can't keep my IL people straight. 2-day old NvU at Binny's on sale for $10.99!

 

Walgreens at 410 N. Michigan Ave has 5 or 6 Regular in the walk-in cooler, $9.99 no limit.

 

Maybe I am!


I appreciate the heads up, but I'll probably just have it on draft sometime soon. I can't justify one more purchase this week, given that I just bought 2 tickets to Spiteful's fest next Sat., a sixer of Enjoy By, a couple bombers of Juice Pants, a 4-pack of Cumulus and $100 worth of BCS in the last week.

I'm running out of places to put the beer, and ways to lie to my gf about it.

 

Lying to the wife is completely normal.

HOWEVER, lying to the gf.....you got some issues!

 

To be fair, much of this situation is created by the artificial market inefficiency of three tier distribution. Goose Island purportedly (and I say purportedly, because I don't know how strongly they really feel) wants to see these beers sold at certain prices, which is why they set the MSRP where they do. If Goose distributed directly to retailers, they could make it a condition of the receipt of an allotment of BCBS that it be sold only at MSRP (which then I supposed would be MMRP - manufacturer's mandated retail price).

The forced inclusion of the middle-man means that Goose doesn't have that direct relationship with retailers and has less control over pricing that it might otherwise. Of course, Goose could secretly be happy about seeing its products sell at high prices, knowing it gives them some future flexibility to increase prices themselves, all while still having a "well, we told them to sell it for $9.99" air of plausible deniability.

Moving away from Goose specifically, there are obviously many brewers who do want to see their beers sold for less than what the market will bear, and three-tier distribution hinders that ability. Folks that can self-distribute obviously have a lot more control.