Chicago Stout Releases (2020)

It's a new year, but the 2020 beer budget is pretty blown up already due to all the great ones that landed in the last two months of 2019. So it's time to really be smart about beer buying!
I appreciate the 12oz format (WAY too many Revolution cans are in my house LOL) and love mixed 4pks, but don't think I'll pull the trigger on the Temperance Might Meets Right mixed 4pk of 12oz cans at $34.99. (making it's way to all Binny's now) Anyone have these?

• Heaven Hill is the stalwart, the pure experience to which the others are compared: rich dark malts collide with vanilla, oak, and a hint of sweet bourbon. 12.3% ABV.
  
  
• ¡La Sorpresa! is blended with a myriad of ingredients: roasted cacao, Ceylon cinnamon, Madagascar vanilla beans, and three types of dried chiles - Ancho, New Mexico and Árbol - to give this variant a satisfying kick of heat. 12.3% ABV.
  
  
• Hot Cocoa (NEW FOR 2019) elevates the chocolate flavors and tops them off with hints of marshmallows melting in your mug. 12.3% ABV.
  
  
• Coconut Almond (NEW FOR 2019) melds the dark chocolate notes of Might Meets Right with toasted coconut and almond for a perfectly joyous variant, reminiscent of impulse candy bar purchases. 12.3% ABV.
  

 

I had the 3 variants over weekend with a friend. All were great flavor wise and balanced, but mouth feel was thin. We both liked the coconut almond the most. Hot cocoa got better as it warmed up. I usually don't like chiles in my beer but I thought this one was great. It had smoky chili flavor but not the spiciness.

 

I bought the Heaven Hill, Hot Cocoa & Coconut Almond (I'm not much of a cinnamon fan & didn't feel the need to revisit La Sorpresa).

I had the Hot Cocoa, and while I felt like they nailed the cocoa powder aspect (almost TOO on the nose, in my opinion), I must agree with @diamdiam that it was way too thin. Like, thinner than a porter.

 

So about as thin as a CW BA beer distrod in 4 packs? Or thinner? We talking consummating a relationship in a boat thin (ie fucking close to water)?

 

Thinner!!

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Anyone know if there’s any Surly 13 still hanging around Chicago? TIA!

 

I just double checked the mixed 4 pack I picked up from LP Whole Foods and found the same thing! La Sorpresa is 2018.

 

There apparently was a labeling error- the cans at Beer on Central in Evanston show 2018 on the face but have a manually-applied “repair sticker” vertical along the seam, roughly, with the 2019 info. See if your cans have that.

 

Edit: capnmike beat me to it. Also, it doesn’t appear that my image is displaying (on mobile at least).

I ended up buying a 4 pack last week. Didn’t even notice the dates, but my Sorpresa is 2018 as well. But then I noticed the stamp on the side...

 

Not sure if this helps but right after Christmas, they still had it at St Charles Binny’s.

 

Yep, my can has that too. Thanks!

 

I finally got around to opening a 2017 Neckbeard (Blanton's barrel aged) on NYE with friends. It is drinking fantastic and stood up against some pretty big beers that we had already been into.

 

Hopefully it wasn’t as sweet as Neckbeard Life. I had to prick my finger and puncture my stomach after drinking that one.

 

Anyone have the latest batch of Clare's? Curious how it's tasting this year.

 

I'm pretty biased since it's one of my favorite beers, but I think it tastes just as great as any other year. They brought in 5 cases of last years release as well.