2016 BCBS Chicago Release (Black Friday & Beyond)

Ah, it all makes sense now.

 

Fortune Cookie Says: Those that sleep outside to get beer are preparing for homelessness.

 

I mean, give it a shot, by all means. Just be prepared for disappointment.

Yeah, my experience matches @Drucifer. And I've done the verticals pretty much every year. Normally start fresh and go old, just for a reference. In general, here's my experience:

• Fresh: good reference, all flavor present as intended.
• 1 year: flavors faded, still good
• 2 year: mix of flavors faded and oxidation
• 3 year: oxidation makes things vibrant and interesting, with new cherry/dark fruit notes to complement BCS flavors
• 4 year: start of the "everything muted" stage
• 5+ year: starts to lose body

It's worse for pre-2009 vintages with the original style labels. This year will certainly be weird, as 2015 will be unpredictable.

 

I would love to see someone move someones chair in Chicago. This is the city of dibs son. There would be nothing better than watching two fat neckbeards fight over 1 place in line.

 

Re: the degradation of vintages older than 3 years, I've always wondered why so many people are after 2010 Vanilla and why it trades so high. It has to be a shell of its old self.

 

I cant comment on 2010 nilla but i think the regular is amazing past 3 years.

Its kind of similar to wine though. If you dont like the way old wine tastes there is no point in cellering wine for a decade. If you dont like the changes to stouts with oxidation then 3 years + is not for you. However I dont think it is right to say it is no longer good or a shell of its former self when talking about regular. You may just not like what time does to the beer is all.

 

Except it won't be two people, it will be 1 versus everyone else in line. If I were a Binny's employee I would volunteer to stay outside all night and then tell anyone who got out of line that they had to go to the end of the line or they weren't getting anything. WTF is the point of a line if it is a suggestion. I hope Black Friday mob mentality breaks out and everyone just bum rushes the entrance ignoring the line and turning it into whatever that crowd around the special keg at Prop Day was.

 

Agreed. Had 2010 Vanilla at Rare Day last year - it was meh at best. 2014 VR on the other hand was delightful which I drank all night there.

 

It is. Tickers gotta tick, though. Same can be said for KH.

Most wine does not age gracefully. Lots of people making very expensive vinegar right now =/

Wines that do age with some grace go through phases of tasting terrible. Like, years 0-2 are delicious, 2-5 are meh, 6-10 are disgusting, 11+ is delightful again, etc.

I love what time does to beer. Some develop wonderfully. BCS does that for about 3-4 years, imo. After that, it starts to break down, lose body, and become more muted. Maybe it's in that weird not good phase that wine goes through. There's only about a decade of bottled BCS to go by. I'd be curious to try again.

But, I will caution people to not pay/trade an arm and a leg to get something that likely won't meet expectations.

 

It's funny, I have a bottle of BCS '12 and of BCS '13, but I don't think I've ever had regular BCS that's more than a year old. Maybe I should pop these two and enjoy the subtle oxidation this week!

 

Sarcasam and Jokes

@HouseofWortship 's Head

 

Guys, can we please keep this a safe place from discussing wine?

 

I had a carefully cellared 2010 Vanilla about five months ago and it was fantastic.

 

So what is the consensus here around obtaining one of the vintage bombers (Prop, VR) at Binnys LP? Seems to me you need to be in the first, oh, 50 or so people before they are gone? Please chime in with your thoughts based on your previous Black Friday LP experience.

 

Anyone know what's up with Jewel on Southport and Addison? They released around 12 Noon Friday last year, but wasn't sure. I couldn't find anything on the net.

 

I'm not gonna be much help since the last time I went (2 years ago) there was a raffle, but:
I can't imagine that they'll have enough Prop and Vanilla Rye to make it out of the first 100-150 people. I could certainly be proven wrong, but I figure the people towards the 2nd half of the line are probably going to be buying old bottles of Reg (I assume Coffee will also sell relatively quickly, even if the coffee flavor has potentially fallen off).

 

I'd be surprised if there were more than 1 or 2 cases each for '14 Prop and VR.

 

Fair enough.

To me, muted/not expressive means that something is off. Or, at least, certainly not to my preference. I'd rather have those flavors full on.

That's not to say dial everything up to the max, of course... because balance is still a thing. E.g., I really dislike the race to the lowest Ph that American wild ales had going for a while. But, I'd rather have fresh, bright flavors than dull, muted ones.

Or, at the least, I'd like to see profile development. DFH 120 actually does this, to an extent, as the hops fade and reveal this huge malty backbone.