2016 BCBS Chicago Release (Black Friday & Beyond)

Do people really think this year's Prop is worth $50? That's insane to me. Sure it's a very good beer but that's how much I paid for Derivation 6 (which is more ounces as well).

Just crazy.

 

If you're talking about @Ken134 's comment, he was talking about '14 Prop. If the coconut hasn't fallen off, I think $50 isn't too bad for that beer.

I haven't had either of my bottles of '16 yet, but regardless I'd agree, a ~$22 beer well-distributed throughout Chicago isn't worth $50 within a month of release.

 

Interesting article in this morning's Trib. Echoes a lot of the sentiments discussed here...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/dinin...ut-rare-beer-makes-return-20161220-story.html

 

I've never been able to detect coconut in that beer with the overpowering cinnamon dump.

 

Wow totally misread that. 2014 Prop is the one with Cinnamon by the way, one of the best BCBS variants of all time IMO.

 

To quote Han Solo, "that's the trick, isn't it?"

The first 3 (or so) bottles I had had a lot of coconut (more so even than '13) in them (I was surprised, since after '13 I didn't expect a strong coconut flavor to come through); I was always taken aback when people referred to it as a "cinnamon bomb." The 4th bottle my gf and I shared (I've mentioned before that it's her favorite beer) was disappointingly almost 100% cinnamon, to the point where it was hard to finish. Our final bottle had coconut in it again.

tl;dr - Either the coconut drops off quickly/randomly, or there was some really strong variation within batchers.

Yeah I know, see above. I wouldn't pay $20 for it if I knew ahead of time that it'd be all cinnamon, but if it's still got some coconut in it, I totally agree.

 

I'm in no way trying to poo poo the beer (and I'm not suggesting that that is what you're suggesting I was doing). After all, when it comes to beer, it's always going to be different strokes . . . . And that's what makes beer great.

Perhaps it's the way my palate reacts to cinnamon. But I swear every time I've had it (and I'm not being hyperbolic), that's all I've tasted. I had it fresh at FOBAB in 2014. I poured it out. And the same thing happened the next year, and the next. I'm the dumbass that stood in line every year thinking I'd like it this time. So much for fool me once . . .

For me, cinnamon is overpowering to begin with, and tends to drown out a lot of other flavors. But I felt the coconut water was WAY too subtle. And that's probably why my palate only detected cinnamon.

 

I'm not taking what you said the "wrong" way, and even if you were dissing the beer, that's cool. I dunno, I have a hard time believing it's entirely palate-based, since both my girlfriend and I have had the exact same experiences each time (coconut-forward and cinnamon-forward). I've read plenty of cinnamon bomb reviews on BA, so I figure it's just a luck-of-the-draw thing (and your draws were not lucky). I didn't have it at FoBaB in 2014, so I can't comment on how that batch tasted. I certainly wouldn't get that hyped up for the cinnamon version; it needs to be better balanced, a la BAMCC for me to enjoy cinnamon in a beer.

Also, keep in mind I never had a bottle of '13 that I thought was super coconut-forward; it's my favorite beer because the coconut added a creaminess to the base beer, but the bottles of '14 I had were much more coconut-tasting than '13 (and yeah, I'm aware that it's toasted coconut vs. coconut water, before anyone gets pedantic).

 

I only had the good fortune to try it once, and my thought was, "there's coconut in this?" It was fine, but would have been great with about 80% of the cinnamon.

I have the same feeling with fresh Abraxas. It's just one step below the Cinnamon Challenge.

 

Wasn't planning on buy a 2014 Prop but when they offered it. I couldn't resist. This is one hell of an expensive hobby.

 

I can remember back in the 70's going into the local store w $3.10 and coming out w a case of Rhinelander. Times change as do tastes as well.

 

My equivalent is seeing 4-packs of BCS for $15 in Walgreens and wondering how there's a beer that commands that sort of cash. Took me weeks to gather up the nerve to buy a 4-pack.

Nowadays I'm buying 4-packs of IPAs for about the same, and being glad I'm keeping it under $20.

 

Binny's is getting Rare as well. Based on their twitter, it sounds like they're going to do some kind of release event.

 

I get excited now when I get 12 beers for $50.00.

 

There is no coconut in Prop 14, there is coconut water. Completely different things. It's like saying their is steak in one bottle and steak juice in the other. You are going to get completely different flavors from them as coconut water is very subtle. The oils is in coconut meat, like in Prop 13, is what is going to give you the flavor. The coconut water is just a gimmick as it has very little flavor...it has water in the name after all.

I'd take Prop 16 over the other Props all day., love the chocolate flavor and pepper. Hated 14 and may say it ranks up their with the undrinkable '15 soured line-up. Complete one dimensional cinnamon bomb every time I've tried it. If I am given a bottle, I will boil it down to harvest the cinnamon for my spice cabinet...or just start selling barrel aged beer cinnamon (then again I was the only one who said Prop 16 wasn't a complete pepper bomb, so....)!

 

C'mon brah, it's right there in bold! '13 is my all-time favorite beer, '14 is probably top 5 or 10, so I'm well aware of the different adjuncts in both. '14 is definitely not a great beer when the coconut water doesn't bring through any coconut flavor though, so I get how you'd hate it.

In terms of calling coconut water a "gimmick," well, I don't know what to tell ya; that gimmick made the "coconut flavor" come through much stronger for me than the toasted coconut ever did (which is a shame; if the flavor came through more on '13's end I'd probably still be buying bottles of it for $200...okay, maybe it's not a shame!).

For whatever reason, I got more coconut from Benthic than from '13, and they're both made with toasted coconut. So maybe the cacao nibs + coffee brought it out more for me?

 

Jewel in Shorewood had Rare for $79 and Barleywine (didn't buy any so don't know the price). I heard the Aurora Jewel was charging $129 for Rare today.

 

See above

 

I feel bad that this thread got off topic yet again (not pizza this time, at least!), and this time it's about whether Prop 13 or 14 had a stronger coconut flavor.

To change subjects, what are the thoughts on current Prop '16 bottles? I'm having trouble finding it on tap and so am thinking of popping a bottle, but if it's still coming through pretty spicy, I'd probably rather hold off.

 

We cracked a bottle a week ago, and I thought the bottle was a little less spicy than on draft. Still has a kick at the end though.

I'm sure Fulton will have it on again at some point, and a quick check on beer menus it looks High Dive in Ukrainian Village has it on tap.