2016 BCBS Chicago Release (Black Friday & Beyond)

It should be available at most city Binnys locations, as well as Target.

 

I would guess Lakeview and Lincoln Park would still have some. I've seen post that other binny's in the burbs still have some.

Call up the closest binny's and ask.

 

Was there only one target location that got it?

 

I would say every Binny's likely has plenty right now

 

Apparently there's an option to purchase Rare with your vehicle sticker renewal.

 

Any idea if it's still available at Binny's Grand?

 

I was stopped in around 5 on my way home, and there was still 8 cases on the floor. I didn't even buy any, I was just curious.

Gotta imagine it will be available awhile.

 

Yeah, but you have to buy a 6 pack of Target diapers to get a Rare. Craft parenting is fucked. I quit.

 

With how long Reg and BW are staying on shelves... good chance it's there in a few weeks.

 

Rare should really be $30-40 a bottle going forth with the supply they have. It should be a yearly release, should just be regular aged for an extra year, and go by the name of BCBS 2-year....then they can start making 2-year variants too....BCBS 2-year coffee, 2-year rye, etc...

 

As much as I agree with you, and I do a lot, with how successful their $60 MSRP Rare '15 campaign was, I doubt they decide to go the cheaper route. If anything, they might go the other way.

 

Everyone who complains about Binnys should read this and understand how easy it is to become a "regular". It doesnt take 2 hours of conversation 3 times a week or 100's of dollars in out of distro beer. Just be social and nice.

 

What does exclusivity taste like? Im not sure thats a flavor ive experienced before.

 

As someone who enjoys "collecting" beer (and then drinking it, of course), I understand the tendency to want something that's rarer than your average beer. I, too, really wanted the wooden box that came with Rare, because I enjoy collecting shit like that (I have a few rarer bourbon bottles I'm saving, as well). I get why you'd feel like drinking Rare is less rewarding now, but you also have to see where others are coming from: There are plenty of people out there who just want to drink these in-demand beers, and they're getting shut out by others who want to drink them just because they're "rare" (or who want to trade/flip them). Not saying they deserve it more than the "collectors," but their reasons for wanting the beer are more straightforward.

For example: It took me a year to get a bottle of Rare, because everyone in Chicago decided it was the messiah of beers. I wasn't at Black Friday last year (so of course missed the single best day to get it), and every time I left work to run to whatever Binny's had just gotten a drop, I missed it by a few minutes. I went to Black Friday this year at LP Binny's, and that turned out to be the worst one to go to for a bottle of Rare. I went to Binny's yesterday and finally picked up a bottle, but saw couples grab two bottles a piece (totally legit, of course; just saying people are still hoarding it). If they're buying 4 bottles of a $70 beer because they think it's rare, they're possibly denying others who just wanna drink it, so I don't have much sympathy to the cause.

It's totally understandable if you feel duped by GI, but as others have mentioned, the beer was named Rare because of the process/materials used in brewing (just as it was in 2010), not because only 100 or so people were going to drink it. There are plenty of other hard-to-get beers that will continue to be that way (KBBS and Assassin, BA Dark Lord variants, etc.), so you won't be lacking for options in that area. If Rare really has lost its luster for you, I would suggest trading the remaining bottles you have to someone with regional whales you wouldn't normally be able to get here; no sense in drinking something that expensive that you're no longer enjoying as much as you should be.

As a huge fan of ~2 year-aged stouts, I am so firmly behind this idea that it's not funny. If a 2 year-aged BCS became as easy (or close to as easy) to find and as plentiful as BCS is this year, I'd die happy, even if they charged $30 or $40 for the privilege of drinking it.

I think the issue is that Binny's is not some singular quantity; different stores have different customer/worker flows. I used to go to LP Binny's once or twice a week, but I'm pretty sure no one would've noticed I shop there a lot, because I didn't see the same employees consistently. Grand on the other hand, I see the same two or three guys all the time. It really depends on what shop you go to, and what time of day it is. If you're there at the wrong time, you'll need to make more of an effort to find something and start a (less organic) conversation than you otherwise would.

Not trying to beat a dead horse, just saying that all these places aren't exactly the same at all times of day, and peoples' experiences are thus not always going to be the same.

 

I don't get this either but a friend of mine does. I think its something psychological that prevents or enables a full experience.

 

Fair. If anything im more pissed about being at work today. I understand the desire to acquire limited things. We all do or have that. I think however that saying or implying it effects enjoyment or that soemthing is not good because there is alot of it is off base.

 

Add one more person to the list of people who wish they were having this discussion from their couch instead of their desk!

 

I am so glad you guys haven't discovered lambic yet, it would crush all your hopes and dreams...