Bell's Brewery (2020)

No, doesn't get distro'd to Illinois unfortunately. Had asked Larry in his AMA about it too.

 

It's based on their hop production at the brewery & I don't believe they have enough volume to distro very much.
Year 1 (2018) there was a massive line at Bells & they sold out quickly.
Last year there was a line but it didn't sell out & there was very little MI distro (I believe select places in W Michigan)
This year there may be more distro but I have a tough time believing that there's enough volume for it to be distro'd outside of Michigan but hey it's 2020 so who TF knows

 

Assumed that was the case, but couldn’t find anything to verify. Thanks, guys!

 

It worked, picked up the last 4 pack of 35th available at the Niles location. Still hoping for the final Leaves of Grass drop near me, everything far away. Had the first six of the seven part series.

 

Same, and it's reminding me of my record collecting addiction.

I absolutely HAVE to have this. Not because it's probably the one I was most interested in since they announced the beer styles (Larry goes lambic?? - sign me up) but precisely because I've had 6 of 7.

 

The phrase "collector's disease" pretty much sums up this whole hobby for me. Now I'm in the unenviable position of trying to decrease my collection while continually adding to it. Ugh and now we're already at stout season's doorstep. Half the time I don't even know what hit me until I've already hit myself with a 4 pack of it. I'm sure someone around here can relate.

 

It's a viscous cycle.

 

Yesterday I stopped at my local bottle shop for a 4-pack of pilsner. I walked out with that and 8 barrel aged stouts, a single oF Bell’s 35th Anniversary Stout and a 4-pack of IPA.

In my defense, my cellar was getting pretty ‘low’. It had dipped below 20. I was nearing the danger zone.

Really hoping I can add some Cafe Vanilla Black Note soon.

 

Sounds like a pricey one. Crazy how those just come out of nowhere like that. If I knew how to stop them from happening I would.

 

The worst is when this happens, and you forget all about the pilsner because there's all these sexy beers you didn't expect to be there. Then you get home and start putting things in your fridge and nothing looks good and you're all, "Shit. I just wanted a GD pilsner. What's wrong with me?" This has happened too many times, typically with hazy IIPAs. So now I always keep some Fader in my fridge as a preemptive strike to my stupidity.

 

Side Yard drinking nicely this year

 

Thankfully a friend of mine knew I'd want the 35th Anniversary Expedition & grabbed me a 4 pack.

I'm a HUGE fan of "regular" Expedition, so my expectations were very high on this one.

They knocked it out of the park IMO; it's definitely got that robust-as-fuck Expo vibe, but it does seem to have extra all around...extra bakers chocolate, extra earthiness, extra creaminess, and yes, a bit more booze heat.

I plan on doing a blind taste test between this and "regular" very soon...I'll report back if I was able to tell which was which correctly!

 

Please do this pre-Crowler. I want an honest - not hot - take .

 

Managed to find a 4 pack. I had one last night. Thought it was pretty damn good. Not the level of BA Expo, but it was a good beer, and I'm glad I found a 4 pack.

 

Anyone got any Wisconsin sightings of 35th Expo yet?

 

Their beer finder shows some stuff in state line area of Illinois/Wisconsin like Beloit and Antioch, and also up north more in like Sheboygan, OshKosh, and Appleton areas. Nothing showing in between, though. I did a Hail Mary search from Madison.

https://www.bellsbeer.com/beer-finder

 

As of around 2:30pm, Bolingbrook Binny's had about 5x 4packs of 35th Anniversary Expedition on the shelf if anyone is looking in the western burbs.

 

Totally agree, Bell's always works hard to make sure things are done the right way!
I don't expect the current growlers to stick around after Covid because Bells put a lot of money into the system that they normally use but I am hoping that the crowlers stay available