Black Butte XXVI

Scored a case at Costco for $12.99/btl. Nice chocolate aroma. The cranberries are giving off a tart finish. Putting some bottles in the cellar for years to come.

 

I STILL hadn't seen XXVI. Anyone got eyes in Illinois yet?

 

Hasn't popped up in Minnesota yet

 

I have yet to be disappointed by any of the BB XX... offerings, but $20 seems steep. Most I've shelled out is $16. Still have 1-XXI, 1-XXIII, 1-XXIV, and 2-XXV in the fridge. If you like imperial porters, you shouldn't need to sample your XXV before pulling the trigger IMHO. YMMV

 

Agreed, Ive enjoyed the vintages I have tried so far

 

Looking forward to seeing what magic Deschutes brings us over the next few weeks as a new distro region.

Black Butte XXIV was one of the best beers I've ever had. Fresh it was exceptional, aged past the recommended date it was a game-changer for me. So I snagged a XXVI right away, will probably try it fresh and then grab another to age.

Yes, the descriptions on these labels are a bit pretentious, but it's a fairly "fancy" anniversary beer. The go whole hog on these.

 

$16.99 here in Wisconsin. I was surprised, thought it would be $18-20 for sure.

And dude, I'd trade one of my cats for you XXIV.

 

$22.75 here. * cough * no thanks.

 

Underwhelmed with Abyss? Really? Hm.. Loved it

 

Hah! I thought mine was slightly sour, but just saw that it was made with cranberries. Noted.

 

Don't you worry, it will be here within 2 weeks I'm sure

 

How can you know that?

 

Yeah. It wasn't BAD by any means, but I wasn't overly impressed. It's hard to justify $16+ a bomber when BCBS is roughly $11/24 oz. I had Abyss and a few other BA stouts over Christmas break, and found it to be middle of the pack.

I don't mean to bash it. It just didn't do it for me. Maybe with age it improves?

 

I've never in my time on BA heard anyone describe The Abyss as "middle of the pack", I've had it fresh and aged, it only gets better with time.

 

Worth getting? I know a place that has a few in stock. What's a reasonable price to expect?

 

Jesus H CHrist?! BCBS is only 11 a bomber? To be fair, I haven't had Abyss for a while and I do love BCBS. How hard is regular BCBS to find in Chicago after Back Friday. I would love to go and stock up on some BCBS, but won't be able to make it up that day. Is there still some readily available after Holiday?

 

You can wait bitter Bill, but I can't wait to enjoy this brew!! I agree on the cellerabilty of this beer!! I wonder how it would compare to cellared Abyss? I will have to crack one of each to find out!!

 

scroll up......

 

It usually sells for $20-25/4 pack. I bought a couple singles in TX (1 bottle limit at two different stores) and I believe they were just under $6 each. 12 oz bottles; no bombers of the original the past couple years (that I've seen, anyway). But 2 12 oz bottles at $5-6 each is a better deal than 22 oz at $15+.

I like BA stouts to be heavy on the bourbon taste, so BCBS is perfect and has become my barometer for quality and price. I'll try most anything once but rarely do I find one with a taste to justify the price. That isn't to say they're bad beers or I dislike them in any way, just that I can get a beer I like more for a cheaper price.

No idea about Chicago, but you can usually find the original for a few weeks downstate. I picked up a few four packs when I came home around Christmas time. Variants are harder to come by; to my knowledge our area either received none or were sold out by the time I got there. Weirdly, we got Rare and Vanilla (both of which sat on the shelf for a while, I got two bottles of Vanilla but still kick myself for not getting more and a bottle of Rare) in 2010, but seem to not get much other than BCBS these days.

As for finding it after Black Friday, you're probably better off looking for a good store in a small town rather than trying to hit up Chicago and then trading for any variants. Chicago guys could probably be more precise, though.