Bell's Bourbon Barrel Aged Expedition Stout 2018

Agree, not nearly enough sarcasm in that post.

 

I know it’s not par for my course. 3 years ago I would have been livid that this was pre announced and what not, but I’ve learned that good beer is everywhere, most good beer is made more than once, and cellaring beer is super overrated. My beer life is much simpler now and it feels great.

 

Welcome aboard

 

Never fails with a limited release from any brewery— “it’s not fair” or “they should’ve put a limit/released it this way...SO I COULD GET SOME”

Ban yourselves

 

^^^Pro Tip^^^

 

I was kind of bummed at first with the General Store's allocation running out so fast. I'm chillin' in Vegas right now and would have made it to Kalamazoo on Wednesday. Now I'm glad they ran out. I still have bottles of '16 and '17. What the hell do I need more of this in my cellar for?

Still, I'm going to miss going to Ray Ray's for an italian beef.

 

Sure, I get it. Sell less allocation per person and the total amount lasts longer and (theoretically) gets into more individual hands.

At the same time, if reports from this thread are correct, there was still plenty of stock left by the time there was no line at all. Is that unfair to someone who works a 9-5 and couldn’t take off enough time to drive to Bell’s and back? To a degree, yes. Was it more unfair than previous releases? I don’t know. I lived in Ann Arbor during the last two BAE releases and was lucky enough to have the opportunity to drive over to Kalamazoo for the batch 2 release. But for batch 1, I only got my hands on a couple bottles due to the kindness of @BEERschlitz. Had he been able to make it this time (or if I still lived in the area), one of us would have been able to get a case from which to share rather than the 8 bottles from the first two releases.

But I digress—my point is that fairness is relative to an individual’s situation and that, in general, having 480 full allocations available out of the general store with enough of an announcement for people to make plans is just a difficult thing to really move the outrage needle. Especially when, if the speculation about total volume is correct, most people will STILL probably have the chance to get their hands on this at retail shops.

Sure, they could have set allocations at two 4-pks and seen it potentially last three days instead of one. But as some have already noted in this thread, doing it this way cuts down on the hassle for Bell’s and their employees. And also reduces the question of whether or not to enforce a per day limit or any number of other logistical questions.

To me, setting an allocation that allows everyone who lined up to walk away happy AND gives people the option to buy enough to take back to friends and family is a pretty reasonable approach, even though I recognize it’s disappointing for those who couldn’t take advantage, obviously.

 

I enjoyed this release, it was nice to have a minute to talk to Larry and they didn't feel the need to put a huge black x on my hand, oh yeah, I got great beer too. Thanks Bells!

 

I do get the bemoaning the inability of a 9-5er to get it. I’m one of them myself. But the above is well said - you can’t be too upset about it.

If they really have as much coming into distro as people have said, hopefully it’s realistic to get a 4 pack that way. And as said, they did the best thing for the on site sales portion of their business.

 

I feel the same way. Of course we'll know for sure soon when the store opens. But due to the space limits at the store, haven't previous releases been replenished daily, making it available for a week or more? Maybe it was just 480 cases to sell yesterday, and not complete allocation for the store.

 

I quite enjoyed my draft pour -- nice to have it next to regular Expo. I found the barrel notes kind of overwhelmed the dark fruit, making for two very different beers. That wonderful roast shines in both, though.

 

Any idea when we should expect it to hit the Chicago area? I'm assuming they shipped stuff out already?

 

Could be next week, could be 3 weeks from now. Best bet is to stay in touch with retailers and look out here, I'd say.

 

My experience was similar to @DragonflyJones. We must have been pretty close to each other in line.

It was a nice surprise to see Larry. He stopped and talked with us for a few minutes. He said he got talked into hyping this one up by the employees. I will admit that having confirmed knowledge about the release ahead of time was a nice change of pace from their usual silent drops.

The draft pours we had were excellent. Boozy and rich. It's what a no-adjunct bourbon barrel aged imperial stout should be. Can't wait to try it from the bottle!

 

Anyone know when this is popping up in SE Michigan? Really hoping to land a four pack at the grocery store.

 

Any word on availability in distribution? Particularly in the Detroit area?

 

I overheard Larry tell someone in line that the distributor in GR would be getting their BAE today.
At least I think it was GR that he was talking about
FWIW

 

Just want to say good luck to my WI/MKE peeps. After chatting with the Bell’s rep on Monday, it seems we’re not getting much. Besides the usual suspects, the rest of us will be getting 2-3 four packs, maybe.

 

Oh man, drank my first 18 BAE last night. Friggin FANTASTIC! I purchased a full case allotment with the intention of giving away most of it to a few beer buddies who go out of their way to hook me up with good beer... But I may just have to hoard most of it for myself!...