2014 Bourbon County Brands release - Chicagoland

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

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  1. maxcoinage

    maxcoinage Maven (1,256) Apr 6, 2012 Illinois
    Trader

    In line at BG Binnys at 7:15 and 1 4 pack of regular was all I was able to procure. That was the same time I got there last year, but last year I was 9th in line, this year I was around 50th. A couple of my local places (Jim's Liquors in Mundelein and Beer Bazaar in Hainseville ) should be getting some later- so hopefully can score a little bit more. Not going to even bother with LZ Binnys tomorrow, will probably be 2X as worse as BG based on the fact that it's probably the only place releasing tomorrow AM
     
    #201 maxcoinage, Nov 28, 2014
  2. bertram

    bertram Initiate (0) Dec 18, 2010 Illinois

    I must have just missed it - I was there arond that time and it was gone. Poop.
     
    #202 bertram, Nov 28, 2014
  3. pseudo-Fed

    pseudo-Fed Initiate (0) Nov 19, 2012

    Real fucking shit show all over distribution. Binny's was as fair as they could to people as always. Didn't make it to the castle but thank you Saint Vav for all you're tireless efforts! Regular small shops reply was all the same; "our AB hasn't shown up yet," "it wasn't in our delivery." Why the hell was Costco the best place to score reg.?
     
    #203 pseudo-Fed, Nov 28, 2014
  4. Kua808

    Kua808 Initiate (0) Feb 3, 2013 California

    AB-InBev is a joke. Costco gets 90 cases and the moms and pops none? CostCo??? Wheres the craft in craft. What a shame.
     
    #204 Kua808, Nov 28, 2014
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  5. jcsilves

    jcsilves Initiate (0) Jan 26, 2013 Illinois

    Costco sells boatloads of those 24pk craft cases throughout the year so it doesnt surprise me that they got a good amount of regular.

    Is it possible that goose is sending a message to the mom and pops who sold all their BCS before black friday last year? Maybe those places weren't high on goose's priority list because they weren't following the request of holding off sales til friday? I dunno, just a thought that ran through my head
     
    #205 jcsilves, Nov 28, 2014
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  6. stephenieman

    stephenieman Zealot (552) Oct 14, 2011 Illinois

    Yes!
    The small shops I stopped at this week (all two of them) both sold early last year and had the same report: Goose and the Distributors were pissed they sold early.
     
    #206 stephenieman, Nov 29, 2014
  7. Sparty1224

    Sparty1224 Savant (1,122) Jun 18, 2014 Michigan
    Trader

    Can also confirm this. They're also pissed that places were marking up big time. These small places may still get some though, just not today. Source: GI rep at an event today.
     
    #207 Sparty1224, Nov 29, 2014
  8. Ckoz

    Ckoz Savant (1,174) Feb 15, 2014 Michigan
    Trader

    Well Walgreens and Costco both sold early in multiple locations so it seems kind of odd if that's really the case. Not to mention that GI Twitter account retweeted multiple people this week who said they got it early. I don't think they really care all that much. Just a sign of the times. They would rather push product through larger retailers than mom and pop shops who sit on inventory for months some times.
     
    #208 Ckoz, Nov 29, 2014
  9. bocky24

    bocky24 Initiate (0) Apr 10, 2013 Iowa

    Tough sledding today, only 2 4 packs of regular. Some better then none though. Cheers everyone!
     
    #209 bocky24, Nov 29, 2014
  10. HOP_KING

    HOP_KING Initiate (0) Jan 30, 2013 Illinois

    It's probably cause the mom and pops gouged the shet out of us last year. Can't even wait to see what my local places are going to charge this year in a few days when their shipments come.
     
    #210 HOP_KING, Nov 29, 2014
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  11. Jplachy

    Jplachy Pooh-Bah (1,848) Feb 12, 2012 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    You really think a Costco got 90 cases?
     
    #211 Jplachy, Nov 29, 2014
  12. jcsilves

    jcsilves Initiate (0) Jan 26, 2013 Illinois

    the costco in schaumburg had to have had 10-20 cases
     
    #212 jcsilves, Nov 29, 2014
  13. Jplachy

    Jplachy Pooh-Bah (1,848) Feb 12, 2012 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    So 90 4 packs.
     
    #213 Jplachy, Nov 29, 2014
  14. Theredflame2

    Theredflame2 Zealot (608) Jul 30, 2011 Virginia
    Trader

    Jewel on Sheridan north of Evanston had 4 cases. In the back have to ask. 1 per person. I grabbed the first one so 23 left,. Have at it folks.. Regular only

    Cheers!
     
    #214 Theredflame2, Nov 29, 2014
  15. Drift

    Drift Maven (1,295) Mar 26, 2014 California
    Trader

    My god you guys made chicago sound like a shit show for bc, crazier then in California.

    A lot of places here had 1 Bottle of REGULAR per person lol. just had to go to the right places
     
    #215 Drift, Nov 29, 2014
  16. Jaycase

    Jaycase Grand Pooh-Bah (3,858) Jan 13, 2007 Illinois
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Some rambling thoughts from the day...

    - Firstly, a big thanks to all the retailers & their patient, hard working employees releasing today. The two stores I encountered today were Binny's & Walgreens and they were awesome. Without question it is a thankless task where one is damned if they do, damned if they don't on how the release is handled. I'm sure many of them would rather not deal with the headache. There is a (growing) subset of beer consumers who feel they are entitled to everything & then even more. Hopefully the thankful customers outnumbered the, well, less than thankful. I thanked all the employees I came across and I hope others did too.

    - Special kudos to @Vav for today. He handled it as fairly as possible. Wish he could handle the entire GI BF release across the entire state. Well, don't want to wish that on him certainly. But big thanks to him. We all owe him a beer.

    - Benefits I see of adjusting allotments based on the line is that it a) is fair and b) does not promote & encourage people to line up earlier and earlier each year with people who get completely shut out coming earlier the next year, rinse, repeat. Yes, the early birds still get first dibs on the variants but this still allows the more casual craft beer fan to secure some good stuff, and hopefully make more people happy of at least getting something. Although casual craft beer fan is probably a misnomer anyway :wink:

    - Related to Walgreens Bucktown, the manager there was great. Seemed a bit overwhelmed at first with the crowd but was very patient & understanding. They brought out small cups of coffee & hot chocolate to those in line. Unfortunately it seems an employee sold case(s?) of variant(s) at midnight when they should not have which left less there for the release and caused the allotment to drop as a result. A 1000 lashes to the person who walked into the store at midnight and, I'm willing to wager, cajoled and manipulated the employee to sell the case(s) to them. I hope this is not the scenario but given the state of craft beer I'd lay heavy odds on it. In addition to the manager & employees, one other good thing from my experience at Walgreens is that a line cutter was called out and was turned away. People, please call out line cutters! Employees will turn them away. Saying nothing only reinforces the behavior. See something, say something. This was the only instance of line cutting I witnessed today. Hopefully there were less instances across the releases.

    - This is purely anecdotal on my part but I sensed an uptick in out of staters. This is strictly an observation and not meant to be inhospitable. We all know FIBs have perfected, well being FIBs, invading out of state releases so it's only justified reciprocation. I welcome them as most of them are super friendly and they have every right to the beer as in staters do. However, given that a lot of out of staters are driving 4, 5, 6+ hours it's only reasonable that they come to the stores at early hours so that they do not go away empty handed. It was the case in the line I was in. Also out of staters understandably carpool. So this coupled with the booming of craft beer in state, unless GI can increase supply proportionally (variants particularly) I can't see this BF release style being sustainable. Maybe it can, I dunno. But with the adjustments based on line size perhaps it can.

    - Lastly, my prediction is that in 2016, possibly next year even, hoarders/chasers will start to utilize drones on BF. Having successfully convinced the Supreme Court that drones are people too, drones will hover in line (after cutting of course) with a drop line to whisk away their allotment. And those hoarders with seemingly infinite resources (all?) drone squadrons will be equipped to carry away pallets from Costco. I'm only half kidding. Sorry for this last point but I'm running on fumes now. Hope everyone had a good day. Cheers!
     
    #216 Jaycase, Nov 29, 2014
    Last edited: Nov 29, 2014
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  17. zookerman182

    zookerman182 Initiate (0) Oct 8, 2013 Alabama

    It all depends where you live.

    If you live in Chicago you just expect this stuff to fall in your lap.
    That's when people get mad for "only" getting four packs of bcbs, coffee and barleywine.
    If you live in places like Alabama and California you are lucky if the shop owners decides to break up their only case of regular bourbon county and charge $8 a bottle.

    We all want what the other person has and we all feel entitled to it.
     
    #217 zookerman182, Nov 29, 2014
  18. TravisMBinns

    TravisMBinns Initiate (0) Apr 30, 2011 Illinois

    This is exactly what happened according to an acquaintance with knowledge. An individual went in shortly after midnight and pressured the night manager because the sign said they'd be releasing 12-2pm...somehow the manager was swayed that the 12 part of that could have meant 12midnight. I'm sure the manager wasn't trying to be a dick to a customer and caved, and being the night manager, probably didn't know there was going to be a limit and allowed an individual to buy multiples. Shame on that person that did that. Total dick move! I'm sure in the future everyone on staff will know what the stores intentions are
     
    #218 TravisMBinns, Nov 29, 2014
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  19. Jaycase

    Jaycase Grand Pooh-Bah (3,858) Jan 13, 2007 Illinois
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Thanks for sharing these details. Not surprising considering the lengths some will go to obtain everything.
     
    #219 Jaycase, Nov 29, 2014
  20. Gonzoillini

    Gonzoillini Initiate (0) Oct 15, 2008 Illinois

    So everyone who knows me heard this story, but it did restore my belief in beer geek karma.

    My sister and mother went to Oakbrook Binnys this morning and my sister ended up with the last bottle of proprietors (with my mother getting the 2nd to last one). Guy behind her in line was talking with them for a while, explained how he was looking to grab it for a buddy, and my sister lets him buy the bottle. Said guy proceeds to buy them a 4pack of regular and his bottle of BCBW and just gives them to my sister while really being happy he got to buy the proprietors.

    Mystery person stand up (or message me via PM) if you are on this board.

    Cheers!
     
    #220 Gonzoillini, Nov 29, 2014
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