I have a family member in Bloomington who I asked to track down BCBS for me when it's released. Anyone know which spots in that area are good bets to have it? She doesn't have a car so it would be difficult for me to get over to Indy. Thanks!
I suppose the first question would be, what Bloomington? Assuming you're talking about Indiana, from what I know, the downtown Sahara Mart location has a list for most limited stuff. I asked how I could get on it at some point last year and an employee took my email address but I never heard anything. That employee said it's basically for their VIP customers. I guess the east side location might not do lists but they also don't have limits and people will often buy them out on release day. When I lived in Bloomington (I just moved away a couple months ago), I stayed loyal to Big Red, using both the college mall and downtown walnut locations. Outside of the CBS release, which went fine for me but I heard others had issues with it, I've been able to find any beer I've wanted there. The College Mall location will take your name down and they are very accommodating. Last year for BCBS I got 2 four packs weeks after release from that location. My first bet would be to go to College Mall 3rd street and put your name down but also ask or just look at how many names are on it already. They'll call you when it's in and you don't have to worry about hunting.
Sorry, didn't think about the fact that there must be more Bloomingtons than the one in Indiana. But yeah, I was referring to that one. Thanks a lot for all that info--really helpful. My relative there often passes by that Big Red location so she'll sign up with Big Red. Thanks again!
they'll have limits on limited releases - ie: the last KBS release was @ 1 bottle per visit, same for nemesis, oracle, and many others big red has a craft beer email list and will provide notice about new / limited stuff as its released. and yeah, *sometimes*, they maintain a list and will call.
i'd be shocked if big red was taking a list, and sahara mart isn't really a list that you can walk in and just sign up for. FWIW, the sahara mart downtown on 2nd street didn't even know they had BCBS last year - their 1/2 case went sitting upstairs in a random GI box for a month until I specifically asked them to open it and see if any was in there - and the guy that managed the beer there was shocked to discover he actually had gotten some. i'm not 100% sure what day GI stuff gets in here, but my guess is that, if she's on the ball day-of, it'll happen. on a side note, big red had at least 1 bottle of bcbs left in APRIL this past year (although it was behind the counter so most people didn't know about it). should be able to find somewhere in bloomington when it's released. if she thinks she'll be struggling to get out to places to try and pick it up, shoot me a message and i'll carpool.
I called the college mall Big Red and the manager said he has an email list for the new releases and seemed excited that someone was interested in signing up. He made it sound like they'd likely be getting the next GI releases (which I'm almost certain has to be the BCBS ones) but didn't sound like he wanted to make any guarantees. At any rate, thanks a lot for the info/offer; much appreciated! (And that's pretty impressive you had the beer-sense to know there'd be something special in that box, haha.)
ah, yeah - i meant big red won't be taking a reserve list - their email list is just to notify folks when things come out (and sometimes they use facebook and twitter well before they send out the email - so don't use it as your only source of info!). as for the box at sahara mart... well, i knew the other sahara mart had sent the one on 2nd street 1/2 their supply, so when that sahara mart denied getting any i asked if they had any random goose island boxes lying around and they mentioned one upstairs ("but definitely no BCBS in there", they insisted) - so i asked them to take a look! they were pretty wide-eyed when they saw what they had. happy hunting this week!
I have to firmly disagree. In addition to the email list, the College Mall Big Red definitely has (had?) a beer list. It's not for specific beers but for any beer that you would like them to order, even if it's something that they'll get in anyways. It's usually sitting behind the counter, on a clip board, behind the register closest to the door. Every beer I signed up for over the past two years, I've gotten a call on and they've held for me on release day. I did move two months ago so maybe that changed but they never failed me while I was there.
i'm pretty sure they've fazed it out, although i can't say for sure about the college mall location. the main big red on 9th and college seems to be pushing for all locations to do a 'first come-first serve' on all major releases, except for this past year's KBS release where they tried the call-it-in technique.
Funny, for the KBS release this year, both me and my fiance used the College Mall list and both got calls for our allotment when it arrived. As far as Bourbon County. I was in Chicago this weekend and stopped at a few stores and the Clybourn Goose Island location. No bottles to be found. Not a good sign if they are selling 10x more in the city this year than last. I did get 10oz pour from the brewery when they tapped it at 5pm. It was delicious. Wherever you find it, it will be well worth the hunt.
It looks like all Big Reds are falling in line with company policy as of just a few weeks ago - no more lists; first come-first serve on releases (as per my conversations with folks at the college mall location today)
Not sure what your motivation for spreading this wrong information is but this couldn't be further from the truth. I was in Bloomington for Pappy fest this weekend and after getting my ticket at the downtown store, I went over to college mall to see what the story was there. I wound up staying for about 2.5 hours because I was first in that line and spent that time talking to the staff and management. They absolutely still have the beer list and always have. We even had a laugh about this thread. I know this thread is old but just want to keep the information as accurate as possible. In addition to the pappy bottles, I also scored a BCS Coffee. They even still had a Bolt Cutter sitting on the shelf. Great store overall and always very accommodating. In my experience they are easily the best store in Bloomington and by far the best Big Red.
I'm not sure if you're insinuating suspicion of a sinister motive on my end, but I'll just give the benefit of doubt and go ahead and explain where I received this 'wrong information': the employees of Big Red. Everything I have been told over the last couple of months by the employees at the college mall and downtown Big Red has been that they have been told, on no uncertain terms, to stop using lists and move to a first-come, first-serve sales approach. So either that approach has been dropped since I was told this, or there is confusion among some Big Red employees as to what the policy is, or they are telling people selective information and I'm just not cool enough for their lists. Whatever the case, I spoke in good faith to try and help folks here stay abreast of what Big Red is doing with their sales. Nothing suspicious or malicious. I'd hope that's the impression people have of me on here, because that's who I am.
