2014 Bourbon County Brands release - Chicagoland

Discussion in 'Great Lakes' started by Jaycase, Nov 24, 2014.

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  1. SeanBond

    SeanBond Pooh-Bah (2,880) Jul 30, 2013 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Also to play advocate to the devil, I'll point out (not that it's particularly relevant) that for all intents and purposes, the GI that has its roots in Chicago still exists, but basically at the Clybourn brewpub. Since the rest was sold off, it's basically now a brand of InBev, which has no roots in Chicago (I'm sure you're familiar with this, but I figured I should point it out anyway). GI Clybourn still does a great job taking care of Chicago, as does the Fulton brewery, but unfortunately once the stuff gets into distribution, all hell breaks loose.
     
    ravot likes this.
  2. Jplachy

    Jplachy Pooh-Bah (1,664) Feb 12, 2012 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Isn't it the distributors who decide who gets what? And even then if it isn't then doesn't Goose decide who gets what? AB-InBev had nothing to do with the Binny's BF launch as far as I can tell. Also, I don't know why I'm saying this again, but BCBS can't be more than a half a percent of AB's total sales in a year. Why would they care who gets what? It's all going to sell anyways.
     
  3. jpsy422

    jpsy422 Initiate (0) Jul 12, 2009 Illinois

    I'm pretty sure Brett Porter hand delivers every case.
     
  4. SeanBond

    SeanBond Pooh-Bah (2,880) Jul 30, 2013 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    I don't know if that was in response to my above comment, but my point was that GI as exists in disty is part of AB, so if AB decided it's in their best interest to keep big chains happy by giving them the lion's share of BCBS (assuming that the chains wanted it), that could be what happened. It might be nothing more than "we sell shitloads of your crummy lagers, give us shitloads of BCBS as well!" in which case, AB wouldn't care about BCBS, but they'd care about keeping their big chains happy. I dunno, it's the only thing that really makes sense to me, given that almost all the smaller stores (including places that aren't small, like South Loop Binny's) reported much smaller allocations than last year.

    I also assume that more of the beer went to LP Binny's this year to ensure that the launch there was properly huge (which I'm grateful for, as it's the only reason I got any BCBS this year), but that's just conjecture on my part.
     
  5. Jplachy

    Jplachy Pooh-Bah (1,664) Feb 12, 2012 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    There's no way any big chain grocery store gave 2 shits about carrying Bourbon County Stout. And there's no way any of them would stop carrying AB products if they didn't get BCBS.
     
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  6. htkeyes

    htkeyes Initiate (0) Feb 16, 2013 Illinois

    They probably don't care about the money they make from actually carrying the BCBS, but I think it matters to them because (a) they use it as a reason to get people in the store buying other items and (b) people now think of them as a place to get craft beer.
     
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  7. SeanBond

    SeanBond Pooh-Bah (2,880) Jul 30, 2013 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    I don't really want to turn this into a debate about who thinks what about what happened (since it's all conjecture), and I'm not saying I'm right, Jplachy, but what htkeyes said is along the lines of what I was thinking. I shop at CostCo, and while they have decent choices for beer (not a good selection, but the choices aren't bad), them getting BCBS jumps them up 7 levels from "place I could buy a beer from if I wanted" to "place I should check when a whale drops." I would imagine that's a win for them, but again, who knows.
     
  8. doublej584j

    doublej584j Initiate (0) Jun 19, 2013 Illinois

    Oswego Sam's did have regular on the shelf today. Thanks for the heads up. Cannot beat the price.
     
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  9. boilermakerryan

    boilermakerryan Initiate (0) Nov 8, 2011 Indiana

    Think what may we may start seeing is more things like..."We received BCBS this year and are having a lottery on day x and at time y." I want to say that liquor stores want to take care of their regulars however let's face it, your regular store manages to piss you off then you will just go to the next store a few blocks down selling craft beer. I feel that most places still have no idea how to handle the growing "situation" and distributors that are used to delivering cases upon cases of the same thing all of the time are now having to deal with store owners freaking out because they are not getting the rare releases.
     
  10. JakeT469

    JakeT469 Initiate (0) Jan 13, 2012 Colorado

    Awesome! Good to hear you got some, especially at that price.
     
  11. jokemon

    jokemon Initiate (0) Apr 3, 2007 Illinois

    anyone know of any tappings around chicago?
     
    hey5hitgoose likes this.
  12. fatdeets

    fatdeets Initiate (0) May 19, 2014 Illinois

    Hopefully I'm not blowing up the spot, but if you are down to pay $40, Fischman's is having their annual Christmas bash and I believe at least one or two variants will be pouring.
     
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  13. tinypyramids

    tinypyramids Pundit (897) Jul 19, 2012 Illinois

    fischman's advertises the shit out of this every year, so if anyone calls it 'blowing up the spot' they can go suck a lemon.

    edit: it also either doesn't sell out or takes a long while to do so, so locals have had plenty of chances to get tickets.
     
  14. Marksy

    Marksy Initiate (0) Mar 4, 2014 Illinois

    http://firstwefeast.com/drink/craft-beer-mules-exposed/

    Not to stir the pot, but just came across this article about established beer mule networks. A particularly interesting little tidbit being:
    I mean...damn. Maybe more mom and pop shops got it than was originally thought.
     
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  15. SeanBond

    SeanBond Pooh-Bah (2,880) Jul 30, 2013 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    I dunno, I doubt it. I've spoken with a few that are swearing off selling GI beer as a result of the complete fiasco that was BCBS this year (lower allocations, confusing demands for buy-in, etc.).
     
  16. sahd-1

    sahd-1 Savant (1,155) Jul 2, 2013 Illinois
    Trader

    Thanks for posting that link, even if it did make me throw-up in my mouth a little.
     
  17. gregdafdxguy

    gregdafdxguy Initiate (0) Feb 17, 2013 Illinois

    "The "real" reason that folks on here are so up in arms about the change in BCBS distribution isn't because they're good Samaritans looking out for the small, local bottle shops. It is because they've spent loads of money and man hours showing face and kissing ass at that small, local bottle shop expecting a nice allotment of BCBS."....

    My three small stores, which I go to often because they all have different products at different prices (including rum and bourbon, which are important too, dammit), got me very little BCBS or variants this year. But I never went to these stores to "show face" or "kiss ass". I like these places, and I buy from them as much as I can. I don't feel bad they couldn't help me get what I wanted this year. I still got all five BCBS beers, and never at an inflated price. I just had to work for it, which sucks, but is the new reality. (And my wife helped out too, which is a new wrinkle.) Took me 10 days of mostly constant rejection. But I love this beer, so it's worth the hassle for a week or so. And I'll still be at Beer Temple and West Lakeview (for whiskeys more than beer, what a selection) and La Primera (the rum and wine prices there are awesome, fun family that owns it) because they're the best, and they care about me, to some degree. That they couldn't get me the BCBS I wanted isn't their fault. But I was never playing that game in the first place with these guys. I can only encourage you all not to, either. Find a reputable store or three, give them your business, and enjoy having a relationship with people who care about what they do, and about you. It's the only remedy for beer rejection. Oh, and my second family at Half Acre...Heyoka and the yuzu pale out yesterday, almost -- almost -- makes my BCBS chasing seem silly.
     
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  18. Sebowski

    Sebowski Zealot (613) Jan 11, 2010 California

    That mystery person who was so "generous" flipped that Prop for 2 beers that were more rare, then flipped those two beers for 4 beers that were rare, and then flipped those beers for 8 beers that were more rare, and then sold that shit online for shit loads of straight cash that he spent on Pokeman cards. BTW.
     
  19. htkeyes

    htkeyes Initiate (0) Feb 16, 2013 Illinois

    Alright, I think bourbon county season is over. It's time for hopslam season?
     
  20. birchholz

    birchholz Zealot (621) Jul 21, 2010 Illinois

    Too late, it's already faded.
     
    forrestbetts and bozodogbreath like this.
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