I am interested in arranging trades for single bottles of the regular BCBS from years past in order to complete a (mini?) vertical. I've got plenty of 13 and 14 but curious as to: - how many years' worth of bottles are there? - which if any years are the regular BCBS in bombers (I seem to recall reading that)? - are older bottles hard to come by? I haven't seen a lot of ISO's for anything other than the varietals...wondering about the trade values of 2012, 2011 and beyond (?) Thanks in advance for your input!
Wish I could help you out with older bottles but down to 13 and 14 myself. But I'll try to answer a few questions for ya: 1. I believe 2005 was the first year of bottles, I think those were employee only. But I do recall drinking bottles before that though I could be wrong. 2. The only year regular was in bombers was 2009. 3. Older 12oz bottles don't show up on the posts very often. A buddy shared a 2008 recently and it was like pure chocolate bliss with a hint of bourbon. I thought it was excellent and would love another! Everyone seems to only want variants. As much I I love the coffee give me a reg BCBS anytime!! Hope this helps in some way OP
The 2008 & before bottles (though I've never seen the oldest ones) are twist-offs. From experience & word-of-mouth, it seems that some of these have held up well, & some have oxidized badly. It may have to do with storage conditions, or the sanctity of the seal, but if you go back this far, it might be a crap shoot as to what you get. We did an 07-14 vertical over Christmas & it was startling how much alike all of them tasted.
Rare=LOVE, Mad Mad LOVE! Bramble, Cherry Rye, Backyard Rye, love em. Prop 13 & 14, love these too. Vanilla 10 or 14, & Coffee, really like a lot. Regular=Divine stuff & the 12 oz bottles are very much appreciated. Regular, in its low key way, is as good as my favorite variants, with the notable exception being Rare at its peak. I rarely trade for the regular because I've been able to get it locally. I didn't get nearly enough 13 but I rec'd it as an extra numerous times. (BCBS is an always welcome & much appreciated extra. Having some is good. Having more is better.) I suspect there are many people who don't 'want' regular only because they already have it.
To answer your last question, OP: Anything older than '09 is nearly impossible to find. '09 - Easier to get than '10 or '11 for whatever reason. '10 - fairly difficult '11 - nearly impossible due to it being a smaller batch '12 - They're plenty out there but you won't find anyone trading full 4packs of them I've traded NG Wild Peach 1:1 for an '09 bomber. I've traded a '14 Proprietor's for 2x '09 BCS, 1x '10 BCS, and 1x '11 BCS. I know guys that have spent months trying to lock down a single bottle of '11.
There are still people with many older bottles. I did a 06-14 vert earlier this year and I see older bottles online frequently. Good luck op
Not sure why somebody wouldn't want more bcbs, more is better! One of the few beers that have managed to make.it into.my regular rotation. I can speak to the bottles going back as far as 2009, drank and traded away my last couple.of.4.packs not too long ago. Still delicious, still bourbony. Also.had multiples of both 2010 BCBVS and 2010 BCBCS bombers, also drank and traded away the last of.these not tool long ago. Both held up.very nice, still quite a bit of both vanilla and coffee in each. the one thing I would say is to anyone is.dont.buy into the hype regarding 09 BCBS bombers. Also.had multiples, and I can tell you first hand over the years I found little to no difference at all between these and the 12 oz.
I've had 2007 as the oldest and it was oxidized, 2008'a year or so ago was stellar. 2009'maybe the best I've ever had. Depends on storage.
