Goose Island's Bourbon County Stouts for 2017

Hey, living in Kentucky finally pays off.

 

I'm shocked how many people are excited for the banana one, that sounds completely terrible to me. When I first read about it I had to make sure I wasn't reading an old april fools post.

Get ready to see some nasty-ass pictures of people "infusing" their regular BCBS with banana peels after they can't get ahold of the variant.

 

I dunno, I like Banana's Foster, I like Chocolate covered bananas. If they can pull it off, it might not be so bad...

 

I'm reminded of Devils Backbone Skull Crushing Ape... which I recall thoroughly enjoying

 

I honestly wasn't sure if this was a joke article until the quotes from the brewmaster

 

Blueberry one sounds terrible, also don't need anything resembling tartness in a BC beer anytime soon...after the banana foster k-cup I "enjoyed" the other day, don't think that belongs in BC either.

 

Lizard of Koz has me scared off from sweet blueberry stouts until further notice. Not sure that I care about the Knob Creek Reserve more than I would other bourbon barrels; I'm a whisky advocate, but Knob Creek doesn't stand out for me. The Reserve Barleywine sounds like some MBA at AB/I had the bright idea to maximize the return on investment for all those 35-year-old barrels by cashing in on KH's hype train and overproduction of "Rare."

At least there's always money in the banana stand. Not tempted enough by Prop to give AB/I my money, though.

 

Oh yeah, everybody knows Sofies and Matildas make little BCBS babies that arrive by stork in late November. Sometimes mountains of 312 12pk cans do too (especially the year 312 Pale Ale came out).

What I was getting at is that I see infinite placements in VA and DC of these items, moving or not I don't know. My only guess is that more mature GI markets (ones that had GI before AB really got in every account) have less overall appetite for the less expensive sisters beers. I think both Matilda and Sofie are great beers, but I can't say I've bought either in the last 12-24 months. Threads actually making me likely to buy one of each soon.

 

I thought Lizard of Koz was awful, but if you're looking for a really nice blueberry stout, then try Lickinghole Creek Bourbon Barrel Blueberry Obsession. One of my buddies gave me one and I was blown away! The blueberry/chocolate/bourbon balance was nearly perfect without being overly sweet.

 

Amazing how many people hate on Bourbon County in these threads. Yes, they had the disaster in '15, and that resulted in a subdued '16 release, but this lineup is aggressive and innovative, which I think is exciting even if you're not thrilled with the particular adjuncts they're planning to use (I am). I hope they deliver in a big way here. Lots of potential.

 

Revolution Blue Gene is good too.

 

I agree, it's not that much unlike Founders' unapologetic approach to their BA beers; I mean, who would think to barrel-age a malt liquor? But, here they are. I respect it.

And, I would be completely and utterly shocked if the BC Blueberry stout is as bad as Lizard of Koz. There's no reason to think it won't be good; they nailed Backyard, Bramble and Regal, so why not this?

 

My thoughts exactly

 

I know in Vermont we wont get any variants and will barely get any BCBS, with a one bottle limit at all stores. Further, with the InBev BS lately, I'm done with this.

 

Since allocations are left up to the distributor and/or brewery rep in each territory I'm sure there's a little variation, but we typically look at total volume for the brand as a whole when allocating limited product.

 

Barleywine reserve will be my top ISO for 17

 

I am way juiced for the Banana variant.. hope I can get some in CA! Wink wink!!

 

I will be seriously peeved it the price for Reserve Barleywine is over $25. The sale price for King Henry was $14-16 if I recall AND those bottles were larger than what GI is currently packaging. Obviously there is price inflation but the increase in Rare prices between 2010 ad 2015 was only around 30% (I believe OG Rare retailed for $40-45ish?).

 

It's been a couple years since I've seen anything more the regular and barleywine in bottles. At this point I will buy them to keep verticals going but if it wasn't for that I probably wouldn't even bother.

 

Couldn't resist