'16 Bourbon County Lineup

These early mentions of "tartness" really worry me. I will still pick up some, but I won't be going all out hoard-mode like I normally do for this beer. If it turns out to be just fine, I can always trade for some/purchase some for a reasonable price on the secondary market. Besides Coffee, I don't care at all about the variants after Scotch was scrapped.

 

I have always described regular and barleywine as having a "chocolate covered cherry" flavor. So I can see what he's saying.

 

Agreed, "tart berry" notes do not bode well...

 

Nope, no scotch barrel. Infected or at least off putting flavors per a friend of a friend

 

I will not spend my hard earned money on a company that doesn't stand behind their product. I'll make it very simple...
BCBS label clearly states that they "age gracefully for up to 5 years"... If that's the case, honor returns/refunds for that long.

 

I'll make it very simple...you clearly misquoted. Go back and read the label.

I can understand being a bit mad on missing out on the return window, but they have done a pretty solid job in the refund process. Perhaps more importantly, though, why did you even buy BCBS in 2015 if they haven't cared about the consumer for 3-4 years? Seems like a strange decision.

I would urge anyone who complains about the AB InBev buyout to send me bottles of 2013 Prop, 2014 Prop, Vanilla Rye, etc. since those were made with evil greedy corporate dollars.

 

You're misunderstanding my quote.
Trust me, I know when In-Bev took over GI. All I was saying is that the 2015 mistake, followed by them not taking 100% ownership over THEIR mistake by selling us bad beer is enough to push me away from them forever. That's great that they provided a refund window, but why do you need a window?? Stand by your product. Now because I had real life situations going on, and couldn't keep up with the craft news for a while, I'm out money and beer.
That's bad business.

 

I got nothing on AB InBev as long as they continue to allow the Bourbon County team to prioritize improving and creating quality products.. and hopefully more of it as time goes on. I don't think they could've done a better job in creating a solution that ensures no more infections happen from here on out. It sounds like pasteurization was the way to go. Those of us (myself included) can still cellar the beer and still maintain the integrity of what makes this beer great. I'm sure they've also cracked down on isolating productions areas where there was a high chance of infecting the product. If the flavor is off for 2016, well.. then we've got a problem.

But I agree on standing behind your product. I'm glad they offered refunds at all but it kind of sucks for those that have been busy at life and came back to see they've missed the deadline.

 

another review but the big thing to take out of it is next year is the 25th anniversary of bourbon county so expect big things!
https://www.porchdrinking.com/artic...oose-islands-2016-bourbon-county-brand-stout/

 

Isn't it the 24th? Last year shouldn't count.

 

In a situation like this, you MUST have a window. It's bad business to leave it open-ended and puts the company at some level of financial risk.

Furthermore, they are taking steps this year (flash pasteurization) to ensure that this problem doesn't happen again.

They're not perfect, but no company is. I swear, some people are sitting around thinking Goose will just show up at their front door with a giant check.

 

Financial risk is all part of business. Besides, I'm pretty sure they're financially stable.

Like I said, I got a refund from Deschutes for bad Abyss 2 years after it was bottled! Sorry if Deschutes set the bar too high, but I firmly believe what GI did on behalf of their mistake is laughable at best.

 

Not sure, but I highly doubt the amount dechutes had to refund was on the same level as bcbs. Doesn't seem fair to compare

 

I'd probably be pretty ticked if I missed the window too, but I'm sure they considered all factors and had to know they'd potentially lose some business from people that felt screwed over (perhaps they viewed that as better than the potential risk of people fraudulently getting refunds over the course of years if there wasn't a window...who knows). I get that part of your displeasure, but it seems like you are throwing other comments (e.g. "Ever since they were bought, they don't care about the consumer" or "I'm pretty sure they're financially stable") or misquoting what their label says - it just comes off as sour grapes instead of reasonable displeasure with how the situation was handled. Like I said, though, I can get why you're bummed on missing out on the window.

You're lucky you didn't have any Hipster Brunch by Odd Side.

 

I will admit there are sour grapes, and I might have been venting some frustration. But there is also reasonable displeasure mixed in as well.
Now please correct me if I'm wrong, but the refund process for BCBS was- regardless if you opened the bottle or not, you contacted GI, told them how many bottles you purchased, and they were supposed to send you a check? Does this mean that people with non-infected bottles got refund checks just based on "possibility"?
The whole process to me was handled poorly. BCBS used to be my "must obtain" stout every year, but the industry has grown and so have our choices.
So to your credit, and everyone that's been involved in this discussion, I'm sorry for throwing my little fit and throwing out untrue statements. However, in the most respectful way possible way, I will not spend any more money on GI.

Furthermore, if anyone's interested in trading for my BCBS, pm me.

 

There's been much worse around here than your venting - hopefully I didn't come across as a jerk either...was just trying to talk it out some.

As for the refund, if you had bottles on the "affected" dates (I say affected because there are some good bottles on said dates), you sent in the neck label and picture of the back label and you got your refund. So, some of those bottles that people received refunds for could be good. I have had a couple bottles from the affected dates that turned out fine.

It sounds like you've got unopened bottles with the affected dates - I would crack them open if I were you...you may just have a delicious beer on your hands.

 

Is there a 2016 Black Friday release thread? I see that they did tix for five different sessions this year, but didn't even hear about it until the night of when everything was obviously sold out. Will there not be a "first come-first serve" set-up this year at Binny's? Seems like poor marketing if that's the case, or maybe I've just been living under a rock for the last week.

 

The tickets were for GI Brewpub BCBS tastings, not Binny's bottle release. Binny's bottle release should still function on a first come, first camped out, first served basis.

 

haha.. gotcha, thanks dude

 

So this is going to make me sound like an idiot, but i recently bought a bottle of infected BCBS for $25.
In my defense, i completely forgot about the whole infection thing because last year i bought two bottles that were just fine and didnt follow the infection reports too closely. As for the overpriced bottle that's less defensible, but i was kinda drunk and had some OT money and was looking to buy something for my cellar. Looking at this thread to get some info for the new release i realized they recalled a lot of BCBS and sure enough my bottle is one of the dates they reported were infected.
I'm not sure if the infection is a health risk or just makes it taste bad, but if it's the latter i plan on trying it with a new bottle from this year.