Bell's Bourbon Barrel Aged Expedition Stout 2018

In the cafe now having lunch and enjoying BAE. It's heavy on the bourbon - just the way I like BBA beers.

 

The guy behind the counter took a call while I was paying and told the person "just a few cases left" so presumably the caller was asking about BAE.

 

In and out in the time it took to swipe my card just now. Love that they're even selling individual bottles!

 

I did the same.
And agree, to me, it was heavy on the bourbon. I enjoyed it on draft.
When I was in line I saw roughly 3/4 waking out with cases, and the other 1/4 were generally holding two 4 packs.
I made the drive so I wouldn’t have to deal with distribution. The reality is Bell’s could probably sell the entire 2018 run in Michigan

 

So is this really going to be sold out in the next little bit? Would be bummed out if they only released enough for those who got off work for the day, or work 2nd or 3rd shift. Was hoping to go after work to grab some, but it's not sounding promising. Hopefully distribution is insane and Meijer has 4pks for $22.99 on sale

 

I just called the general store they have less than 20 cases remaining as of 3:50 PM Eastern time. Not going to make the trek two hours from the Dearborn area.

 

Got there right at 2:00pm. In and out with my case in like 90 seconds. Cheers to Larry and the rest of the Bell's crew for another great release!

 

Sold out!

 

Hopefully a lot of the distribution amount gets to MI, as it would really suck to live somewhat close to the brewery and not be able to get some if you had planned on going after work, considering how much was produced.

 

Having a case limit on it was kinda dumb, IMO. Should have limited it to a 12 pack so more people could get it. I'm just hoping to get ahold of a couple bottles here. Never had it, but if it's heavy on the bourbon, I'd probably like it a lot.

 

Would anyone be surprised if they did another run at the General Store? Like this week?

Someone upthread mentioned that 480 cases is a huge amount and that storage space was a potential issue. If the reports about how much they have overall are true, I wouldn't be shocked to hear that they had more in stock at the General Store again this week.

Of course, maybe that's just the BNSS in me speaking. [shrugs]

 

Storage space at the store is an issue but they were wheeling in stacks of cases to sit behind the counter. 15 cases would sell...in comes another cart with 15 cases to replenish.

 

Yea I agree with this, i mean what is that a $150 + tax for a case of beer anyways?! Seems a little crazy (I have kids though lol) unless you planned on splitting it with friends

 

I was wondering the same kind of thing. I mean, when they bottled all 4K+ cases, they had to put them somewhere temporarily before the distributor picks them up, right? Why not just plan on selling more of those?

I should find something better to spend my time speculating on, I suppose.

 

I'l echo some of the sentiments above. Smooth process, I was about 100 in line and took about half hour to get my bottles. Draft pours were a tad boozy, but nothing crazy, I can see this aging terrific. I was shocked to see how little the genral store got, but if this is hitting distro to every state, that's a lot of accounts Bell's will make happy.

 

It all makes sense to me now. Bell's originated the silent release. Kept the locals happy, beer moved quickly, what was made was sold at the General Store. As years moved on and capacity increased, so did the allocations. General store employees would be bogged down with calls of anticipation and then once it was released, endless calls about how much is left.

Announcing this release curbed the anticipation calls, generated enough hype to sell out in 1 day, moved by the case(as was always the process until the 16 BAE release), and general store employees get to have their peace after a working day of mayhem.

Bells distributes to nearly every state in the country. The 3000+ cases are going there, and that's great for their own brand and marketing. People(in Michigan) that missed out on the general store release will surely get the chance starting tomorrow to get some at their local store. And the rest of the distro footprint will see it in a few weeks. I live 20 minutes from bells and I was fine with splitting a case 3 ways with 2 other friends. Could I have drank or traded a case worth? Absolutely, but years of doing this has given me some perspective on the constant chase and need for more.

 

I keep thinking back to batch 2 of 2016 Black Note which was available for a couple weeks in the store. Case limit, announcing the date in advance, only 10% of the packaged beer in the general store. Maybe it was an overcorrection. Buzz generated, beer sold and out the door in a day. Back to business as usual.

 

"Why?" should be rather obvious. Plenty of people were able to obtain cases, while many others were shut out. Those who missed out can't count on finding a highly sought after beer in retail outlets. The beer sold out before most people were out of work. That's a bit unfair, isn't it? I'm fortunate to have a flexible work schedule. I drove down to Bell's, had lunch, and picked up two four-packs. From a 5 oz. pour, I can report that it's an excellent stout, but not nearly the best RIS I've ever tried. I'm looking forward to trying a full bottle before long.

 

Who are you and what have you done with @ColonelHopslam