Chicago Stout Releases (2018)

Cruz Blanca on Randolph has a new stout that I had last night, Medianoche, which I thought was very good. Good tacos too

 

I agree with your comments on Lizard of Koz. I drank a whole bottle of it and the vanilla and blueberry were very overpowering but interesting. I enjoyed the experience of seeing how it changed as the beer warmed. Glad I got a bottle but wouldn't get another.

Looking forward to the 12oz bottles for this years founders backstage series release. These bombers can be tough to get through by yourself.

 

This was very good. Imperial Oak is still my favorite local brewery and their barrel programs are excellent, especially quite giant.

Also of note, local brewery Metal Monkey in Romeoville. Their first BA release Admodeus was excellent.

 

I almost picked up a bottle tonight, it does sound interesting but I was worried the blueberry would be strong.

I decided to go with a bottle of try FiftyFifty BA Eclipse tonight. I was at a tasting at Garfield's, tried Buffalo Trace and Templeton Rye variants but ended up grabbing a bottle of the Apple Brandy.

 

I didn't want to do Koz in a bomber either in case it wasn't as good as it sounds- can't dump a $20 bottle if it is bad and don't want to slog through it because I can't dump it. That being said, they did have it on at Hopcat Chicago a few days ago if someone is more comfortable with trying a snifter of it.

Anyone else with a GI MBA try The Knack this week?

 

Well said @HawksBeerFan . I thought Polyanna BA Oatmeal was just okay. Last night I shared my Vanilla Abduction with a few people. It did not knock my socks off, that's for sure. Maybe it was my palate at the moment, but I got more smokey tones off that beer than I expected. I might drink my Big Hugs tonight, and have been excited to try it. I know that this is discussed ad naseum in other threads, but I think this year's regular BCBS is pretty rockin'. I had a pour of BCBCS on Black Friday morning and it was good, but I guess I expected a bit more. I'd like to put it up head to head against the Coffee Noir I drank the other day, which I thought was fantastic. Fortunately, I have a bottle of each so that may be on the horizon... Re: Lizard of Koz, definitely sweet. I thought it was good for the style - a heavily fruited BA stout. I was glad to split it among three of us though. It would be pretty tough to power through that big guy by yourself. My advice if you are on the fence on that one - share the bomber with at least 1 person, or just wait until you can get a pour of it.

One beer I hadn't seen mentioned yet was Cold War RIS by Myths & Legends. I got to try a pour of that from a freshly tapped keg while I was up visiting family for the holidays. I thought it was a pretty solid RIS. Was my first go at one of their beers and thought it was pretty good myself.

Also have a bottle of Am I A Hipster from Hailstorm. Looking forward to sharing that with some friends. Thoughts on it from anyone? Better fresh or to let it sit a bit? Maybe I've been fleeced and was seduced by the siren song of a fancy wax seal...

 

I had one and thought it was really good. I actually picked up a few more. It is a sweet stout (not like founders sweet stouts) and mine had a ton of coconut and chocolate...I sent one to a RTP and he enjoyed it as well.

If you like sweet stouts than I would say drink it fresh.

 

I had a pour of Am I Hipster at Hailstorm the day of release (Black Friday). You get a lot the gram cracker up front and coconut on the nose. Definitely have to let it warm up to taste the caramel and chocolate notes. Overall, a very sold milk stout that packs some heat at 13%. I’d say it’s worth picking up and I’ve noticed it on shelves as far as Downers Grove. Didn’t expect to see it distro on it but I guess they bottled plenty of it.

 

The Elijah Craig and Apple Brandy were both incredible.

 

I'd love to pick up a bottle of the EC12 but at $30 a bottle, hard time justifying it. Is it good? Yes. Is it worth $30 a bottle? That's a tough one.

 

I felt the same way you do for a while, but I think the pricing works for 2 reasons:

1) They make a bunch of different batches each year, so each one is unique in some way
2) BA stouts are getting pretty pricey in general, and $30 isn't far outside typical range
3) Pricing them at $30 allows them to stay on the shelves a bit, so that if you're in a typically dry BA stout month and really crave something (and don't have anything you want to drink at home), Eclipse will be there for you.

I don't really purchase bottles myself since I drink my hoard of stouts very slowly, but if I needed something, I'd probably grab a bottle or two.

 

Interesting points. It would be surprising to me if they priced bottles at this level to keep them on the shelves though. Seems like an odd way to try to drive revenue. At the brewery's bottle release day, Apple Brandy was going for $24. I think it's just a higher priced BA stout bottle from this brewery.

My unofficial range is $15-$25 -- obviously the higher the number the "better" it should be. So coming in at $30, I was hoping for something really special. It was good though, hard to not swing back there and get an EC12 and another Apple Brandy.

 

I'm not entirely sure they price to keep it on the shelves, but given that I assume it would sell faster at $20 or $25 (I agree with your unofficial range, fyi), they may have decided that to help it stand out as more than "just another $20-25 BA stout in the winter" it's acceptable to charge a little more and have it on shelves a little longer.

But that's all conjecture, obviously.

 

The DIPA 4 pack of 16oz cans is a much better deal?

 

Yeah, don't know why that's confusing. $30 for 22oz of beer I probably would enjoy, or $20 for 64oz of a beer I already know I love? There's other factors (it's helpful you can sit on a stout for a bit) - but if you simplify it I start questioning why I buy any BA stouts other than BCBS regular.

 

Please.....that is another thread alltogether.

 

BCBS is the benchmark, but I do the same thing with Big Bad Baptist- $10 for 22oz of a BA Imp. Stout that I'm perfectly happy with? I should just do a case of this.

 

Ah you just reminded me - it's the desire to try something different. I.e. - Big Bad Baptist is one I do want to try at some point. Don't make it to where it's distributed much though!

 

It's been covered, but I figure I'll throw in my take, since I assume this is partially in reference to my comment.

1) My collection of BA stouts from the last year (hell, last few months) is substantial enough that I don't "need" another. At this point I'm only buying if it's something I really want. I almost passed on Rare, and regardless of anyone else's thoughts on the bottle, it's been at the top of my list to purchase for the past year. So a $30 bottle that I don't absolutely love is not something I care too much about.

2) It's uncommon that it takes me more than a night (two max) to finish off a bomber, regardless of how high abv it is. 4 cans of 16 oz. beer lasts me 4 drinking days, and each is fresh as hell. 1 bomber lasts me 1-2 days, and by the second isn't as fresh. So the 4-pack just makes more sense there.

Either way, I'm fine with Eclipse's pricing, and am not complaining about it. But my priorities when it comes to BA stouts are pretty set at this point.

Can we not make this the 3rd thread in GL to complain/argue about pricing?