Goose Island Bourbon County 2019

Is it sad that I look forward to Prop Day more than FOBAB these days?

 

Enjoy mate! Make sure you get a taste of that keg when it gets cracked

 

The only place in my small town that had anything priced everything at $25 except for regular...at $20. I could not believe the $20 for regular or $25 for wheatwhine price. No coffee Barleywine.

 

I wish we had shelf turds in Western New York, you lucky presumably downstate bastards!

 

Damn. Did they end up selling any at those prices?

 

We got variants for the first time last year and it seems like it impacted sales of regular. Previously when it was all we got, regular flew off the shelves within hours. Most of it sold this last year alongside the variants but it took days, but then new 2018, and even some 2015, 2016, and 2017 turned up and is still available. It's in low enough volume that I would call it convenient rather than shelf-turding. If we keep getting variants, I doubt I'll buy much regular.

 

I was unwilling to pay double for wheatwine - but that’s largely (probably) because I was gifted one by a great BA. (This is a size comment, but while I love Bws and I love caramel flavors, the WW was just not my thing. I didn’t get as many of the flavors as other people, and not as much bourbon as perhaps I do with the BW. That said, I am excited to try the WW this year and see how it compares to last year.) They definitely did sell SOME regular, but as of a couple months ago, they still had some sitting. I’d recon they sold around 3 of the 6 cases it looked like they received.

 

Retailers around me would charge at least $40 for BCS in a fancy box. It doesn't matter what's in the box.

 

I don't mind paying slightly over going price for one example to try - say 10-20%, but sure wouldn't buy multiple. Last year I was prepared to pay the local going price of about $210 for a Sam Adams Utopias, but the only one I found in town was $300. No way.

 

I didn’t care for the Wheat wine either - not a whole lot of complexity and a bit cloying in its sweetness. I’d take regular over most of the variants at equal cost.

Managed to get most variants at a bar for $7 small pour last year to satisfy my curiosity and just stuck with a case of regular

 

I too got my first taste last year and must say that it is worth the price!

 

Nice!

I still have a case of 17 (and various previous years). Since 2018 was reported as having dark fruit flavors (not so much my thing), and I already had so much, I only purchased 1 reg. I have yet to try any BCBS on draft (reg or any variant from any year). Hoping to change that this year!

 

It's interesting that looking at the BCBS 2019 lineup of eight beers, four (regular, double-barrel, 2-year reserve, and reserve rye) seem to be the base regular BCBS varying only in the type and length of barrel aging. The remaining four variants (prop, wheatwine, cafe de olla, and mons cheri) have add-junk that isn't part of the base beer. I wonder if they did this because they believe that folks are less interested in add-junk than in the past?

 

I suspect there are a few reasons. Here’s my guess:

1. BCBS has a very strong BA presence - unlike pretty much any other BA beer out there. It’s bourbon heavy. By placing an emphasis on that bourbon and barrel presence they are embracing what defines BCBS at it’s core.
2. Per #1, this is GI going back to it’s “BCBS roots.”
3. People have given resounding praise for reserve the past two years, but even before that, OG Rare and Rare 2015 have been (perhaps) the two best rated BC beers of all time. My guess is only King Henry and perhaps Vanilla Rye might edge one of those out. Thus, the preference and praise for an extremely well done straight up BC beer is high.
4. I have to imagine that long-term game plan plays into this. While any one (or even a few) of these beers will not drive profit that much (it just can’t, there isn’t enough of any one or two beers), but long term this can set up repeat buyers.
5. These type of beers help segment the market further, separating them from their competition.

 

I would wager it comes down to profit. GI can get more money for the "Reserve" or single/double barrel BCBS's beers and they are cheaper to make than something with adjuncts.

 

Bingo!

Slap "Reserve" on it and they've found people will be okay with a doubled MSRP. Now they're trying "Double Barrel" which I'm sure they will more than triple the MSRP for.

I'd almost guarantee the profit margin on these are better than adjuncted ones.

 

If they wanna release vintages, they should break out some of the best year, 2009 (wishful thinking). Cracked one at March Madness this year, damn if it wasn't the best BCS I've ever had (been drinkin' em since '08 . . . love the screwtops).

that "up to" 5 year thing ended up a little pessimistic, YMMV.

 

I sincerely doubt the profit is that much better to make it worth it in any single year, or even for a variant or 2 (or 3?) year after year. I'd wager a bet that it is way more beneficial from the standpoint of keeping excitement etc., year after year.

 

They charge almost twice the price with reserve for doing the exact same thing as regular, except they put it in a different brand of barrel....You've just double the profit....

 

Likely more than doubled, assuming the different brand of barrel carries a negligible cost increase. Hypothetical numbers, but if a bottle costs $4 to make and sells for $15, that’s an $11 profit. If you sell the same bottle for $30, that’s a $26 profit, doubled plus 40%!