BCBS turns Black Friday into Christmas for Goose Island beer lovers

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Black Friday is the day Goose Island fans have been waiting for all year. Bourbon County Brand Stout is finally released the morning after Thanksgiving, and people are probably already in line.

OK, no one is actually in line yet, but they will be next Friday morning. Black Friday has long been the day you can find the best deals, but Goose Island takes a different approach. Instead of offering deep discounts on over-priced products (I see your game Best Buy), Goose Island offers no discount on their best products. Bourbon County Brand Stout is one of the most sought after beers in the world, and that’s the one day you can be sure it’s available.


While supplies are still very limited, the amount of BCBS produced continues to increase, which means you should be able to get your hands on it this year. I’d like to once again point out that the expanded availability is possible because they suckered AB InBev into producing Honkers, 312, and IPA for them.

To prove they’re still loyal to the Chicago beer community that built the brewery though, they’re offering Proprietors BSBC, which is only available in Chicago. John Stewart might claim NYC has better pizza, but we definitely have better beer.

The other big news this year is the addition of Backyard Rye to the BCBS lineup. It’s aged in Templeton Whiskey barrels, which any whiskey lover can tell you is a big deal. In the barrel are fresh mulberries, marionberries, and boysenberries, which should play amazingly with the spice from the residual rye whiskey.

There are release parties in Chicago, New York, San Fran, and Austin, but it should hit shelves of the best beer stores across the country on the same day. If you see any of these, buy them. I don’t care if you hate Intelligentsia coffee, you need to buy BCB Coffee Stout. You can always trade it for 5 cases of Budweiser if that’s more your speed. Plus, they all age for up to five years so there’s no such thing as having too much BCBS.

Here are the specifics about each beer, but I think I’ve made it clear that you should out buying a tent right now.

  • Bourbon County Brand Stout is dark and dense in a powerful yet silky body made to be sipped. Its nose is an intense mix of charred oak, chocolate, vanilla, caramel, and smoke; finishing with a signature bourbon heat only this bold stout could harness. The beer is 14.5 percent alcohol-by-volume, develops in the bottle for up to five years and is sold in four packs of 12-ounce bottles.
  • Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout is brewed using coffee roasted from Intelligentsia Coffee, our next-door neighbor at the Fulton Street brewery. This world-class roaster puts the same passion and skill into their coffee as Goose Island does with its beer. Each year, our brewers collaborate with the coffee experts at Intelligentsia to select a new bean. In 2013, we feature ‘Los Inmortales’ coffee beans from El Salvador. The beans were roasted and cold brewed just days before being blended into the stout. With the change in coffee comes a change in the flavor profile, making each release truly unique from the previous years. The beer is 14.3 percent alcohol-by-volume, develops in the bottle for up to five years and is sold in four packs of 12-ounce bottles.
  • Bourbon County Brand Barleywine is new in 2013 and is aged in the third-use barrels that were once home to Kentucky bourbon and then Bourbon County Brand Stout. This traditional English-style barleywine possesses the subtlety of flavor that only comes from a barrel that’s gone through many seasons of ritual care. The intricacies of the previous barrel denizens – oak, charcoal, hints of tobacco and vanilla, and that signature bourbon heat – are all present in this beer. Hearty and complex, Bourbon County Brand Barleywine is a titan and a timeline; a bold, flavorful journey through the craft of barrel aging. The beer is 14.2 percent alcohol-by-volume, develops in the bottle for up to five years and is sold in four packs of 12 ounce bottles.
  • Backyard Rye Bourbon County Brand Stout is new for 2013 and was inspired by the berries our brewers first remember eating from the trees in their backyards. Aged in Templeton Rye whiskey barrels with fresh mulberries, marionberries, and boysenberries. Full of dark, spicy and pleasantly sweet flavors, this trio of berries nicely complements the flavors imparted from the barrel resulting in a smooth, jammy stout perfect for sipping on your back porch. The beer develops in the bottle for up to five years and is sold in 22-ounce bombers.
  • Proprietor’s Bourbon County Brand Stout is a small batch brewed exclusively for Chicago. This special variant is meant to show our immense gratitude to the loyal and adventurous fans in Chicago whose support helped bring Bourbon County Brand Stout to towering new heights. In 2013 it was aged in Templeton Rye whiskey barrels with coconut toasted by hand by the Goose Island brewers. The beer develops in the bottle for up to five years and is sold in 22-ounce bombers.