EWA - KBS??

Discussion in 'Pacific' started by Chelsea1905, Mar 21, 2017.

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  1. BBThunderbolt

    BBThunderbolt Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,846) Sep 24, 2007 Kiribati
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Well, I think it's more that the hype has faded. But, YMMV. Shrug.



    :wink:
     
    #81 BBThunderbolt, May 17, 2018
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  2. maltmaster420

    maltmaster420 Initiate (0) Aug 17, 2005 Oregon

    I'm sure some of the hype faded, but it probably has more to do with the fact that they sent 5x as much out here this year as they did last year.
     
    #82 maltmaster420, May 17, 2018
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  3. shelby415

    shelby415 Pooh-Bah (2,098) Oct 10, 2011 Oregon
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Two days ago there were at least a half dozen 4 packs on a close-out table at Fred Meyer on Glisan in NE PDX. $14.99 ea
     
    #83 shelby415, May 23, 2018
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  4. John_M

    John_M Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,849) Oct 25, 2003 Washington
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Wow. That has to be very close to their cost.

    I'm surprised they're trying so hard to unload them. It can't have been all that long now since they got in whatever allocation they received.
     
    #84 John_M, May 23, 2018
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  5. shelby415

    shelby415 Pooh-Bah (2,098) Oct 10, 2011 Oregon
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I was thinking the very same thing but maybe it was leftover from last year? I wish I'd checked.
     
    #85 shelby415, May 23, 2018
  6. John_M

    John_M Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,849) Oct 25, 2003 Washington
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    I would be very surprised if they were left over from last year. As Chris mentioned above, we got a lot less KBS last year, and most places seemed to sell out of it pretty quickly. In fact, I don't recall even hearing about any FM's that got in any KBS last year, and I know my local (the Burlingame store) didn't get any. That was part of the reason I was so surprised to see 4 packs over there this year.
     
    #86 John_M, May 23, 2018
  7. derftron

    derftron Pooh-Bah (1,663) Feb 8, 2012 Oregon
    Pooh-Bah

    its everywhere this year.

    been on tap at Garden Home Growlers for 2+ weeks now. gotta say, compared to the slew of BA stouts available nowadays, its really not that impressive. Still a fine beer that I would gladly drink any day of the week, but definitely pretty far down the list for things that are easily available in most of the PNW
     
    #87 derftron, May 23, 2018
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  8. John_M

    John_M Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,849) Oct 25, 2003 Washington
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    I almost wonder if a lack of exclusivity is hurting its appeal. I thought this year's KBS was pretty good, and the bottle price is reasonable as well (essentially $10 or $11 for the equivalent of a bomber when you buy it in 4 pack format).

    When I lived back East, I would have to make a special effort to find KBS, and was generally more than happy to make that effort. I was paying around $7 or $8 for a 12 ounce bottle on average, and was happy to pay the freight. I think it and CBS were the first beers I ever saw that were priced at a dollar an ounce (or more) on draft. That price tag didn't seem to hurt the beer's popularity at all.

    I know it doesn't help that it's become increasingly easy to find well made BA stouts out here, but even so, it continues to amaze me what a complete shelf turd this beer has become (at least here in PDX).
     
    #88 John_M, May 23, 2018
  9. derftron

    derftron Pooh-Bah (1,663) Feb 8, 2012 Oregon
    Pooh-Bah


    at least for me, it has always generally fell kinda flat compared to the hype. i think it was a trend-setter when it came out (much like CBS) , but over time the rest of the industry has caught up.

    i first had it in Charlotte about 3-4 years ago before distro to Oregon/WA started, and this bar had a mini vertical available in 12oz bottles. i tried a few different vintages. again, I really like this beer and they were very good, but compared to other BA stouts that knocked my socks off (PNC, Double Barrel Jesus, etc.) it just didnt get there.

    I have no problem giving props to non-rare/exclusive beers. Parabloa is widely available when it drops and that beer is hard to top for my taste buds. The BBA Abyss from a few years ago was excellent and you could probably still find it lingering.
     
    #89 derftron, May 23, 2018
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  10. shnsajax

    shnsajax Initiate (0) Jul 2, 2013 Idaho

    I think I would be more excited to see a BA Imperial Stout than KBS now a days from Founders. While this years version is the best of the past couple of years, I just don't care for the adjunct flavors that they are using right now, or maybe its just the coffee they use. I'm not really sure. I still like the beer, but in this case I think less could be more. Backwoods Bastard is still my favorite Founders beer.
     
    #90 shnsajax, May 23, 2018
  11. derftron

    derftron Pooh-Bah (1,663) Feb 8, 2012 Oregon
    Pooh-Bah

    Yeah I would say Backwoods Bastard is a far superior beer IMO. And a better price.
     
    #91 derftron, May 23, 2018
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  12. John_M

    John_M Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,849) Oct 25, 2003 Washington
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    ???? But KBS is a BA imperial stout. Do you mean you would prefer them to make one with out all the coffee and chocolate they add?
     
    #92 John_M, May 23, 2018
  13. shnsajax

    shnsajax Initiate (0) Jul 2, 2013 Idaho

    Yes, that's what I meant to say :-).
     
    #93 shnsajax, May 23, 2018
  14. BBThunderbolt

    BBThunderbolt Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,846) Sep 24, 2007 Kiribati
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Out of general curiosity, what time frame was this, and, in your opinion, how have the prices of equivalent beers moved in the same time frame?
     
    #94 BBThunderbolt, May 24, 2018
  15. maltmaster420

    maltmaster420 Initiate (0) Aug 17, 2005 Oregon

    The issue with Freddies (and SAfeway) is that KBS isn't part of the actual shelf schematic, it was authorized as an "in and out" item and each store was allowed to order whatever they felt they needed to make an adequate "floor stack" display. The problem with items like this is that once you start running low on product (>2 cases) you can't really build a floor stack any more, and since there's no designated spot on the shelf for it they don't really have many options other than to put it on a close out table and get rid of it.

    Also, that's definitely a couple bucks below cost, and if I didn't already have a bunch I'd probably grab a few 4pks at that price.
     
    #95 maltmaster420, May 24, 2018
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  16. weaverr

    weaverr Zealot (729) Jun 10, 2008 California

    FWIW Founders does make a regular Imperial Stout.

    I lived in the midwest when KBS was still Kentucky Breakfast Stout. Naturally the recipe is going to change when they scale it up exponentially, and while I do think it was a much better beer when they were on a way smaller scale, I also think that it gained a lot of hype for being one of the earlier barrel aged beers. It's really hard to look back and figure out if certain beers were great primarily because they were a novelty. As many others have said, KBS is still a good beer, but now everyone makes a barrel aged imperial stout and with that much competition plenty of other breweries are going to be making a better one.
     
    #96 weaverr, May 24, 2018
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  17. shnsajax

    shnsajax Initiate (0) Jul 2, 2013 Idaho

    Actually they got rid of the Imperial Stout. But yeah I was saying just make a BA Imperial Stout, no chocolate, no coffee. The old Imperial Stout they made was great, and I think better than Breakfast Stout.
     
    #97 shnsajax, May 24, 2018
  18. derftron

    derftron Pooh-Bah (1,663) Feb 8, 2012 Oregon
    Pooh-Bah

    no way! they got rid of the imperial stout??? Only had it a few times, but I remember thinking it was one of the finest non-BA / non-adjunct imperial stouts i had ever had. that and Ten-Fidy were the gold standards IMO.
     
    #98 derftron, May 24, 2018
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  19. John_M

    John_M Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,849) Oct 25, 2003 Washington
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    I want to say this was back in 09 and 10. At the time, it was considered a very expensive beer, and most places (at least where I was living) were only selling single bottles (I can't remember the first time I actually saw a 4 pack for sale). I think that's part of the reason bottles were so expensive (that and the fact I was buying bottles in the Philly and DC market - Founders only became available in Baltimore a few years ago).

    What's interesting to me, is that Founders really hasn't jacked the price up all that much on this beer, despite the (at least at one time) demand/considerable popularity.

    Equivalent beers is a tough one for me to answer, as I'm not entirely sure what would qualify. The only beer that readily comes to mind is the Abyss, which if memory serves, was $5 a bomber when first released (the 06). The price for Abyss has tripled I think since then, but has probably no more than doubled since 09 and 10 (if I recall correctly). I think KBS has maybe gone up by around $6 or $7 a 4 pack since 09 and 10.
     
    #99 John_M, May 24, 2018
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  20. weaverr

    weaverr Zealot (729) Jun 10, 2008 California

    I want to dislike this so hard.
     
    #100 weaverr, May 25, 2018
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