2015 Bourbon County in WA?

Yeah, quite the fail on that boycott.

 

@thebeerjunction was great this morning. Got there at 9:30, was about 7th in line, got everything I wanted, and was out by 11:10, after they opened at 11. Morgan handled the line perfectly. Great job!

 

I saw most of the InBev poo pooers from the first page of this thread waiting in line this morning.

 

I wasn't about to stand in line for hours to score this; I just have never tried it. I decided to take my chances at The Beer Junction -- which I believe opened at 11 -- in part because there was a good chance that even if I didn't walk out with a bottle, I'd still be able to try at least one variant on draft.

Got there and wandered into line at about 11:20a. Was told that the line had started at 9:30a and that the variants were already gone. Was allowed to buy 2 bottles of regular. I think I was either the last one or close to the last one to get bottles; I overheard a guy or two behind me being told they were all out!

They did indeed still have all *three* non-Rare variants on tap, so I got 2 4oz pours of Coffee and Regal Rye. The Coffee took a while to open up...until it had warmed up a bit, I was only tasting hints of coffee on the finish. (The coffee aromas also were not very present until later.) The Regal Rye was pretty darn tasty from the get-go. Both of them were just a tad too sweet for my liking, though, and the alcohol heat was very noticeable on both.

I did drop by QFC U-Village later, and despite earlier reports that there was not a rush for BCBS there, they were already sold out...I overheard one of the stockers saying they had run out before Noon.

For my money, KDS is a far superior offering in all respects, probably in part because I suspect that the base beer (Dark Star) is just way better to begin with. KDS hides the alcohol *so* much more effectively, and the roasty stout flavors are still quite detectable despite the bourbon presence. I am not sorry I tried BCBS, but I will not be hunting this down again next year.

Errr...I mean, what am I saying: KDS sucks, all Seattle beer sucks. Don't even bother.

-- Nathan

 

I was the only one in my Smokes and Suds when I wandered in. Only regular, but three cases of it and no lines or limits. I controlled myself and only grabbed three bottles. I figure I can go back if the need arises.

 

This is a sure sign of the apocalypse: PNW BAs standing in line to purchase InBev products.

 

Apropos of nothing, I went to Fremont a little after 11, encountered no line (or hand trucks), and picked up a few bottles of B-Bomb. My only regret? I think I was too early for the Yeti, who must have still been in bed after a rough night...

 

Lewiston?

-- Nathan

 

Si.

 

SO, it's hit the Spokane TW's. They have cases of it laying around, and it's $9.99 a bottle

 

Why is everyone complaining? If you look hard enough, you can get as much as you want!

 

I did the same. Kid had some soda and pretzels. It was nice. As always.

No Yeti until 5pm.

 

Should be packed tonight. Very curious about all the flavor variants they will be putting on tap. I'm hoping tonight isn't a mixed bag like last year where there were some nice ones but also horrible ones too.

 

Good seeing you in the BCBS line at Whole Foods this morning.

 

Yay! You won Black Friday!

 

I suppose, according to quantum theory, I could have been in whatever line there was while also being in bed; but I assure you it was just the latter. I'm willing to rise early for many things, but beer is not one of them.

 

Sounds tough up in WA. Down in Portland it was a mixed bag. Johns market got 27 cases and opened at 7, they were cleared out by 7:30.I showed up at most places 15 minutes before release and scored what they had available per customer. Regal rye was definitely the toughest to secure. Found a bottle of Rare with no line at the end of my beer mission.

All in all. It was pretty easy to get what you wanted if you were willing to drive to a few different spots. 3 places I went had regular and barleywine just sitting out with no line at all.

 

Also, the only irritating thing I saw today was an older gentleman that lugged his wife and older kids who had no interest in beer so he could grab 4 allotments. I know it's within the "rules" and it didn't affect me. But I know there were some people in the back of the line that got screwed so this guy could hog out.

I know people have varied opinions on "mules" but I Rarely see this tactic in the PNW done to this extreme. Having a wife or GF tag along is one thing. Dragging your family out while they sit off to the side for 45 minutes and look miserable and then have them join the line is kind of tacky to me

 

Let me try to help restore a little balance: Me and the wife had dinner at a place in Hillsboro (suburb west of Portland) where BCBS and the Coffee version were on tap, and bottles were available.

We didn't drink any. Nor did we buy any bottles. AB InBev is still AB InBev, no matter what kind of barrel it's been aged in.

 

Whole Foods Westlake
Whole Foods Roosevelt
Total Wine Bellevue
Total Wine Northgate
Total Wine Alderwood
Beer Junction
Bob's
Bottleworks
Full Throttle
99 Bottles
BevMo! Ballard
Chuck's Central
Chuck's 85th
Burien Liquor
and Super Deli Mart
all got ALL varieties

There are probably another dozen stores that got at least a portion of the varieties (Downtown Spirits, BevMo! Bellevue, Vine Street Market, BevMo! Northgate, etc)

We had it good here! If you missed out check QFC or some of the more out of the way liquor/beer stores as regular bourbon county was ALL OVER and I'm sure some is still floating around.

Happy Black Friday everyone!