Bourbon County 2018

Is there any good source to find all the BF and BF weekend events for BCBS in Chicago? We came into town last year from Cleveland and will be back again this year. Last year we ended up finding some good releases at a Beerhead and then had a lot of fun at Fulton on Fri night and Sat during the day, but we just kinda fell into those. Hoping this year to get a better idea up front of where all the tappings are and what variants will be tapped.

We don't fly in till 7am, so we don't make it to LP, but hit up other Binny's and Jewel in the morning, then spend the rest of the day trying to taste all the variants we miss out on bottles of lol.

 

This is well thought out and contains no sarcasm. Who hacked your account!

Just go to the taproom.

 

That's where we ended up Sat last year and had a great time. Ended up making friends sitting on either side of us at the bar and opened a bunch of vintage bottles to split with each other. Hoping to do the same this year, but will definitely need help, since the wife is pregnant this time.

My liver gon hurt that weekend.

 

People care but everyone forgets for this beer. Always have always will.

 

I care, but AB and other big beer has such a small amount of my personal market share (5% or less) that I’m ok with it. Hell, I even drink a couple Budweisers every month or two without feeling guilty.

 

I think attitudes change as you get older. I used to stand in line for quite a few brewery releases or get to stores to get a limited release. Now I go to a few brewery releases a year and if I get that limited release fine, if not there are other beers.

If you like a beer does it really matter who made it? I can remember 7 years ago when it was just BCBS and no variants. I would see 4 packs throughout the year at stores.

 

I would say the same, but I have to be fair and acknowledge that part of why I don't need to lineup for as many events any more is that there's so so much good beer around here.

 

The Clybourn location is tapping a cherry BCBS tomorrow. It's not Cherry Rye (I asked), but the bartender told me the sample he had was delicious.

I'm 99% sure it's tomorrow, but he could've said "next Friday" instead of "Friday" - I was a few glasses of BCBS in at that time...

 

Yeah, they advertised it on social media, it's tomorrow.

 

It's tomorrow. It's Bourbon Couny base beer with tart cherries aged in a Chicago Distilling Company barrel.

It's also funny how they can't seem to move the tickets for the volcano fundraiser/Coffee Barleywine tasting so they had to add a raffle to the event with bottles of BCBS variants from other years.

 

Implying they wouldn't have added an additional charity element to a charity event by raffling off vintage stuff.

 

Most local breweries show deference to Bourbon County's release (an even bigger aspect is the desire to spend the holiday with their families) by not having a Black Friday morning release. If More, Mikerphone, etc. released BA stouts on the morning of Black Friday, many people would choose for the craft option instead. Yes, the BCBS variants would still sell out and lines would be long at all of the Binny's, but I think the market share of the hyper-enthusiast (BA message board people for one) could definitely erode some within Chicago market.

 

That would be excellent!

(because I don't leave the city for beer, and it would make getting BCBS variants actually doable)

But yeah, you're totally right.

 

I would like this, and I think breweries are silly to not jump on board. Black Friday has become more than retail, it’s become an unofficial day of Beer appreciation. It made people take notice, culturally and economically. If we really want to get more people drinking good beer, this “beer holiday” is a perfect vehicle for that.

 

This sort of thinking is why I was excited to hear Rev start doing beer releases. It totally expands their mindshare (and let's be honest, at least some of the events are fun).

 

That would be awesome. It might actually prompt a 2nd prohibition when the wives of America wonder why all their husbands are gone all Black Friday and coming home smashed.

 

My guess is most of them are already smashed on Thanksgiving, so if anything, this might just help with the hangover.

 

Aren't most the wives out shopping on Black Friday, also?

 

Not anymore. Now they are going to be camping in line at a different liquor store to increase your odds....

 

No, it's all online now! So they want to know why you can't buy the beer on line! What do you mean you have to go stand in line? Why do you have to go stand in line? Why don't they do it online? A good brewery would sell it online! Blah blah blah. Etc etc.