BCBS Sightings - Chicago

I couldn't get out on Black Friday last year and ended up not finding anything in the weeks following. In 2013, I was able to find some four packs of regular and BW a week before Christmas. This year I've passed on a lot of regular and have at least one of every variant and that was after not gettimg much on Black Friday. There has only been one time that I have been able to buy more than one variant at a time and that was last Friday when I got three Coffees. So yeah, there is certainly a lot more this year. I wonder how the flippers are going to do seeing that it isn't all that scarce this time around?

 

I agree for the most part, but clearly if you wanted Prop or Rare, lining up was still the way to go, at least if you work 9-5 during the week. Showing up at LP Binny's right before opening on Black Friday was a sure bet, if I remember correctly, while I still have yet to see a non-BW variant in the wild.

 

This event was great - not too busy at all. I was able to have 3 or 4 pours of Prop, and got to try Rare and Regal as well. I'm loving the Prop this year; wasn't a big fan of Rare, and Regal just seemed a bit strange to me - I think that might need some time to work itself out, but who knows.

 

I don't remember a second release last year. At least not in the suburbs.

 

The flippers are still flippin'. One jerk I know scored four Rares last week and is moving them for 150 bucks each. #Dislike

 

In my opinion the flavors mellow out a bit and some of the sweetness fades away allowing the beer to be a bit more subtle. Although I also prefer coffee bcbs with a couple years on it so I may be an outlier.

 

RE: 2014 second wave - outside of a few places that either held back inventory or received small shipments here and there, I cannot find much evidence that there was a second 'wave' of BCS, unlike in the past where such shipments were in more abundance. Interesting.

 

Anyone know of any in the NW 'burbs? Would love to score some as a thank you

 

Seemed like many small Chicago liquor stores received a case here or there of the regular + all variants (including prop) throughout December, rather than this second push to big box stores we are seeing this year (with no prop?). As an outsider there wasn't much rhyme or reason to the shipments and employees/friends/family/truck chasers snagged all but regular and barleywine before your average beer enthusiast had a shot.

 

My 2 cents
Binny's-
Got to give it to the Binny's in the city. When called they acknowledged a 2nd wave and sold first come first serve. I really got to give it to the city stores in general. They care about there rep and all seem to be on the same page.

Jewel -
Although I was happy to be able to walk into one of the many Jewels that had no limits on Reg, Coffee and BW. I could see that not being the best move and kind of felt like a jerk hours later.( No I did not walk out with a case of coffee)

Whole Foods-
There was some shady stuff at one of the whole foods downtown. Not going to say which one, because I don't want to get a Manager in trouble because of one employee over stepping his bounds.

Long story short they announced a release time on Friday, had people line up and only sold reg and bw to the public while having at least coffee in back. While I get that an owner of a liquor store taking care of his customers is a different story. When an employee plays with the rep of a large chain that prides itself on Customer Service it's a really bad move.

While I don't go to Whole foods for beer. Being a Beer Geek I frequent places that know my name. I do go to Whole Foods for help on Meats, Cheese and General Grocery's. I'm no longer inclined to go out of my way for the experience of going to that Whole Foods knowing they lie to your face. Their GM/DM really needs to get all of them on the same page, having your Beer Guy determine who is worthy enough is just bad business when beer is such a small part of your revenue and said beer guy has no Idea what you spend there.

 

I go to Whole Foods when I want to overpay for groceries.

 

I'll chime in here. Went in to Whole Foods West Loop at lunch. Beer guy tells me he's got everything and is releasing at 2. Come back at 1:30 and there is a line. Then he wheeled out Reg and BW. Then he denied saying he had others. Not to cool.

 

I know you mentioned it's just your 2 cents, but this was not my experience at all in the city. The Binny's I called & went to were hardly helpful at all (and the one that was least helpful/knowledgeable is the one that I usually get great information from). Binny's was a bust for me. Whole Foods, on the other hand, have been pretty great, but it seems to take more effort to get the right info from their stores because you may get people who aren't that familiar with the products.

I think it just goes to show that you can have different people with widely varying opinions and experiences with the same store. The amount of varying information given out by employees seems to be a reason for a lot of this.

 

No props in the 2nd wave, bc it wasnt destined for chicago to begin with. As far as I know at least.

 

Moral of the story: the whole thing is a crap shoot. No year or store is the same as the next, no store is the same even within the same chain. For Black Friday and every potential drop thereafter. Wash, rinse, repeat for 2016.

 

But does he know somebody willing to pay $150 for 500ml of beer?

 

From my experience the Binny's in the city will be straight with you. I just always ask for the Beer Dept when calling.They even tell people straight out you don't spend enough to buy Pappy, Etc. I really respect and understand that.

It's just when one employee takes it upon himself to dictate company policy that irks me. Being in retail management in my younger days I know that the reputation of a store's honesty and customer service will bring in more revenue then all the big spenders combined. There is just too much competition in the city to risk alienating your customers for a few hundred bucks worth of beer. Really though, its Whole Foods. If it sold out before you got there, no hard feelings. I Just don't understand why they would even play the "regular card". In the end, because on one employees actions the company in general is going to lose money and reputation. That hurts employees as well as upper management, just bad business man.

 

Binny's Grand still has tons of regular (2 limit).

 

It's shockingly easy to do. Not necessarily to someone you already "know," but someone you meet through Facebook groups, Craig's List, etc.

 

Yeah, especially given the fact that it's 1) called "Rare" 2) is the "sequel" of sorts to the holy grail of BCBS (Rare 1.0) and 3) comes in a fancy-looking box.