Why isn't CBS a regular yearly release?

I believe it says on the label, "brewed for us". Meaning they dont give a f*ck what you think.

 

THANK YOU

 

Are you a Cub's fan by chance ????

 

This guy:



Find it. Buy it all. Reap the CBS rewards.

 

Ha ha! Good one man, it probably actually comes from being a Lions fan. Each year goes by and we all keep saying, "Maybe next year"... But this truly is the year! Probably for both CBS and the Lions!

 

I was told by a Founders rep last November that if they don't release it this year (2013) then it will be released next year (2014). He didn't have to tell me anything. He could have just said "We're considering bringing it back" or something just as vague. He instead chose to tell a big Founders fan who he'd been talking to for a while at a Founders tap take-over that it WILL be released again within the next 2 years. So either he's a terrible rep that lies to good customers for no reason whatsoever or it's actually coming out again within about a hear and a half. My money is on the latter.

 

Fear not people! Founders is currently working on a new project! To keep customers happy, they will only focus exclusively on class 3 offerings. Due to them being not as readily available, they don't need all of that space! So they have ripped the tap room in half and removed the gift shop. Hours will now be Wed-Fri 5PM to 8 PM. No more pesky piss offerings from class 1 and 2!

 

Neither CBS nor KBS would be in the top 5 beers if they were more available. That's not a comment on whether or not they are deserving, but rather is indicative of one of the many severe flaws in free-for-all crowdsourced beer rankings.

 

I thought founders has a dorect contract with that compay to get the maple bourbon barrels?

 

Dream on!!

 

I asked a Founders rep yesterday at a tasting event and there is not a plan to release CBS this year, and its not on the radar for early 2014. But he was pretty certain it will be done as another Backstage release at some point.

 

That's what they want you to belive...

 

I can tell you I had it fresh and opened a bottle 2 weeks ago. The recent bottle was a shell of itself. No jealousy and no hate. Just my opinion. If you like the sweetness and maple you could make an argument but this beer needs the roast to be exceptional. On a side note, I had a fresh Black Note right after the CBS and it crushed CBS. Crushed it.

 

Because of this post, I went out and bought another bottle BLiS. I still had a half-full bottle in my house but I really want some CBS..

 

Not sure if serious. BS is not the base for KBS. It is, however, the base for CBS.

 

Few points:
I believe BlLiS is one of the only bourbon barrel maple syrup producers and Founders has exclusive rights to their barrels. There are a few other producers on the internet but seem very very small. Therefore, I believe all of Founders MBBA beers are from BLiS barrels (Better Half, Pather Cub, etc.)

I can't imagine volume wise how many barrels it takes to produce a batch of CBS to meet the slightest market demand (i.e. the first bottle release) but I'm sure it has increased exponentially. Founders isn't going to release a beer that won't reach the majority of it's markets. Looking at how many of those tiny syrup bottles could fit in a barrel, it probably is a few year process of acquiring barrel stock to produce a batch large enough to bottle.

Now, you could argue that Founders hasn't used that many maple barrels since CBH. BC used a blend and there have been the few event beens (Panther Cub, the maybe fresh batch of CBS, etc.) so they should have a stock built up but then again, CBS is probably aged for a year, no?

 

I want a CBS!

 

As someone who was at the Backstage release to get my 2 bottles for $18 a pop, and then had the opportunity to add 4 additional bottles from a local bottle shop at $35 a pop. I have tried this delicious nectar of the Gods from day one. My buddy and I actually just cracked the last one a couple of weeks ago in Milwaukee.

Let me be clear, this is a beer that is best drank fresh. The last bottle had nowhere near the Chocolate notes the first bottle had. It was still delicious, but it wasn't that phenommenal liquid pancakey taste that I know and love so well. If you have it Cellared, drink it now before it loses any more of its flavor.

 

Could we get CBS remade any faster if we all started buying up the Blis BB maple syrup around thus creating spent barrels?

 

I'd like to think they learned from the lumps they took after the first CBS release. For me, that was the real first "jump the shark" moment in distributed beer, with consumers, retailers and distributors all acting like complete jackasses over 25 ounces of liquid. We'd had truck chasers and phone call craziness before in Ohio, but CBS took it to another level, the likes of which has (unfortunately) been seen again with Westy 12 and a few other releases since. Founders seemed sincere when they wrote their apology, and I'd love to think they won't release a CBS or Black Biscuit until they know they can supply states with 2-3x's as much as with the original CBS release. If they don't raise supply considerably there will be another complete shit show and I'm sorry, but there's been warning and I'd have to point the finger at them.

In their defense, the last few Backstage beers have been a bit easier to track down, but I think that's a demand thing and not necessary supply related.

On the other hand, this year's KBS release really makes me think they haven't learned a thing. Remember the talk in 2012 where they responded to the on-site release with saying there would be THREE TIMES more KBS produced in 2013 than there was in 2012?

Ohio got almost exactly the same number of cases in 2013 even with the promise of three times the production. Should we have expected 3x's as much? Probably not, but to get the exact same amount given the increase in demand and the fact Ohio has supported the shit out of Founders from back in the early days is unacceptable IMO. KBS 2013 was hands-down the hardest to score. Stores that have supported Founders for years got once case and sold out in an hour by selling one-bottle-at-a-time. I predict 2014 will be even worse.

The fact this happens time and time again makes me fear that the unfortunate truth is that Founders sees no problem severly underdistributing their most hyped or popular products (in terms of saturation). Sure, they won't release a beer that doesn't reach the majority of their markets. But that's not the issue. Mike Stevens put it well - it's about better availability and I don't see them following through on that promise.

I hope I'm wrong. I understand we'll never see CBS sitting on the shelves for weeks, but I really hope they never release the beer again until they can do their best as a manufacturer to give the end customer a better chance at a bottle.