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Author Topic: The Beer Thread  (Read 644715 times)

Chili

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Re: The Beer Thread
« Reply #1375 on: September 16, 2014, 10:32:32 PM »
Founder's decided to make a mainstream, easy drinking, lighter summer beer, realizing they had nothing for the casual beer drinker.    I agree with your assessment. 

It's also about 1/2 their volume and cans cost 1/2 of what bottles do. So why not try and grab market share / shelf space by offering some savings to consumers while still making more money than you would have if it was bottles. Very smart strategy.

Also, all "session IPA's" are really just dry hopped pale ales but I am a fan of them. You can drink the crap out of them. Another really good one is Popup by Boulevard.
But I like to throw handfuls...

Chili

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Re: The Beer Thread
« Reply #1376 on: October 17, 2014, 05:38:26 PM »
Going to pimp my own beers but here are the first reviews of this years BCBS beers.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/food/ct-food-2014-bourbon-county-stout-20141017-story.html#page=1
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Golden Avalanche

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Re: The Beer Thread
« Reply #1377 on: October 20, 2014, 08:56:49 AM »
Going to pimp my own beers but here are the first reviews of this years BCBS beers.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/food/ct-food-2014-bourbon-county-stout-20141017-story.html#page=1

I couldn't access it since I'm not a Tribune digital plus member.

Chili

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Re: The Beer Thread
« Reply #1378 on: October 20, 2014, 12:42:36 PM »
I couldn't access it since I'm not a Tribune digital plus member.

Bourbon County Stout beers: Exclusive preview tasting
A popular yearly tradition
Bourbon County Brand Stout has grown into a family of beers with a devoted following. Here, beer fans line up for a release of BCS Coffee in 2012. (E. Jason Wambsgans, Chicago Tribune)
By Josh Noel,
Chicago Tribune

Sitting down for the first taste of this year's Goose Island BCS beers

What you can expect from BCS beers this fall.

When it came time to brew its 1,000th batch of beer 22 years ago, the Goose Island brewpub on Clybourn Avenue wanted to do something special. So then-brewmaster Greg Hall made the darkest, booziest stout he could and let it sit in a bourbon barrel — a relatively rare practice at the time. He named the beer Bourbon County Stout and nervously trotted it out for his customers.

BCS, as drinkers came to call it, has traveled an unlikely path since those early days, both literally (the beer is now available in all 50 states) and figuratively (as of this writing, seven of the world's top 20 beers hail from the BCS family, according to the industry-watching BeerGraphs website).

Since 1992, BCS has grown from a single beer to a family of brews, each weighty, boozy and aged in whiskey barrels. Goose is releasing five BCS beers this year, all, as usual, on the day after Thanksgiving. It is one of the biggest single beer release days in Chicago for a few reasons: the scarcity of BCS, the fact that it is an appealing trade chip among beer collectors, and the fact that the beer is worth aging because it changes in the bottle.

This week, I sat down with Brett Porter, Goose Island brewmaster, and Mike Siegel, manager of innovation, to taste and discuss this year's crop: classic BCS; a barleywine; BCS with vanilla, aged in rye whiskey barrels; Proprietor's BCS (essentially a chocolate-cinnamon version); and BCS with coffee.

Bourbon County Barleywine

Introduced last year, Bourbon County Brand Barleywine Ale returns and will continue to be an annual Black Friday release.

"People like it," Porter said. "We like it. It's fun beer to make. We want to add a layer of complexity to an English-style barleywine."

That's where the barrel — a former bourbon barrel that later housed BCS — comes in, adding notes of char, bourbon and just a whisper of stout to the barleywine.

This year's barleywine is immensely smooth and round, taking the drinker on a lightly syrupy journey through some decadent flavors: toffee, caramel and vanilla. While true of all BCS beers, the barleywine is an ideal winter sipper. Preferably beside a fire. After a day of skiing. On a bearskin rug. (Actually, make that a mock bearskin rug.)

Porter, Siegel and I shared a bottle alongside last year's version. The 2014 barleywine was a bit darker and, I thought, preferable for both its prolonged, varied sweetness and how well it hid its 12.1 percent alcohol. It's a smooth and beautiful ride.

Siegel agreed: "The first sip of last year's is a lot of burnt sugar that rises to a peak, then quickly comes back down. The sweetness on this year's is drawn out. I like that."

Porter declined to pick a favorite.

 Barleywine

Goose Island is releasing Bourbon County Barleywine for the second year. It will continue to be an annual release.
CAPTION
Vanilla Rye
Goose Island Brewery
Bourbon County Vanilla Rye is Goose Island's first vanilla BCS since 2010.
CAPTION
The original
Goose Island Brewery
Bourbon County Stout was first brewed at Goose Island's Clybourn brewpub in 1992.
CAPTION
Coffee
Goose Island Brewery
Bourbon County Coffee is a long-time annual release and one of Goose Island's most popular.
CAPTION
Proprietor's
Goose Island Brewery
Bourbon County Proprietor's is a Chicago-only release with ingredients that change every year.
"One isn't better than the other, but people are going to have a lot of fun comparing them," he said. "I'd happily drink either one."

Available nationally in four-packs of 12-ounce bottles.

Bourbon County Stout

As much as we tend to think of the original Bourbon County Stout as a fixed recipe that is released every year, that's not quite the case.

"There's variation from year to year, and there isn't any way around it," Porter said. "I don't think it's a bad thing."

Though Goose aims to reproduce the same base beer every year, a number of factors vary what winds up in bottles.

"There's the weather in Chicago (while the beer is aging in bourbon barrels), the mix of distiller barrels we use and the barrel manufacturers themselves," Porter said. "We don't have a lot of control over the final product in some ways."

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But in other ways they do, and that's where Siegel comes in. His job is to blend the thousands of barrels into a final product. But even the final product varies; BCS was bottled this year on six different dates, leading to even greater variation.

Siegel said tasting straight out of the barrels reveals two general characteristics of Bourbon County Stout: one is boozy and warming, and takes on berry notes; the other features a smoother, more caramel-like roast.

"For me the ideal BCS has all the different layers of flavor," Porter said. "Cherry, vanilla, roast, coffee, chocolate — all the layers of flavor in the blend. That is my goal as the brewmaster: infinite complexity."

As for the bottle of 2014 BCS we cracked open, I don't know that it was infinitely complex, but, oh, lord, was it tasty. I find BCS hit and miss — the misses have come when it's too hot with alcohol, and lacking the balance that Porter described — but always interesting.

The version we tried, bottled on Sept. 14 (the date is printed on the back label), was missing some of the boozy-cherry notes, but I didn't miss them. It was instead among the most ready-to-drink BCS beers I've tasted: silky, free of alcohol burn and loaded with vanilla. Siegel called it "a locomotive of vanilla."

Some people might miss the boozy burn, but not me. Porter didn't either.

"What I don't like about BCS is the witch hazel and hot alcohol burn," he said. "I like what it does to me, and the feeling, but I don't like the flavor. I don't get that flavor out of this bottle."

I brought along a bottle of 2012 BCS to compare and it was a wholly different experience, popping with the very cherry-heavy, boozy edge missing in the 2014 bottle. But it had obviously mellowed during the past two years. This is why people age BCS.

"It's a beautiful flavor," Porter said. "It's an '1812 Overture' of flavor in your mouth."

Delicious indeed, and it underscored how great the variation can be in Bourbon County Stout from year to year and bottle to bottle.

Available nationally in four-packs of 12-ounce bottles.

Proprietor's BCS

Goose released its first Proprietor's BCS last year; the featured ingredient was coconut. Fresh from the bottle, it was a magnificent swirl of coconut, chocolate and booze. Absolute decadence, and, in relative scarcity, one of the brewery's most sought-after beers.

This year's version is equally memorable — and will be equally hard to come by — with an ingredient lineup so wide that Siegel joked it should be called "BCS Massive Carbon Footprint" — cassia bark from Vietnam, cocoa nibs from Congo, coconut water from Thailand and Mexican panela sugar.

The base beer is a tweaked version of Bourbon County Stout, brewed with the addition of rye. The initial idea was a cassia bark (cinnamon, essentially) and cocoa nib BCS aged in rye whiskey barrels. But the result was slightly astringent, leading Goose to make a syrup of coconut water and Mexican sugar that was added as a final step.

The syrup is "not a huge component" of the finished product, Siegel said: "It's meant to add a little sweetness and flavor along the way."

I barely recognized the coconut or Mexican sugar, but the syrup is quite apparent, which makes the beer relatively sweet — possibly too cloying for some. But not me. Proprietor's bursts with cinnamon to balance the sweet, then releases into a wonderfully long spicy chocolate finish. It's an admirable balance of sweet (syrup), spicy (cocoa nibs) and savory (cinnamon).

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8
"Someone at the brewery said it reminded them of Mexican hot chocolate," Siegel said.

Yes. Exactly.

"We didn't want a spiced BCS," Porter said. "We wanted a beer that accentuated the flavors already in BCS."

Like last year, Proprietor's will be available only in Chicago, a tradition that Porter said will continue as a thank you to the city.

"We are in the spot we are because of the people in Chicago who have bought our beer," he said.

(And, let's be honest — it's a smart way for Goose to burnish its Chicago credibility since being sold to Anheuser-Busch InBev in 2011.)

Because availability will be limited, if you get your hands on one bottle, my suggestion is to drink it fresh; it's difficult to imagine the beer getting much better. If you get two, try one fresh and store one (at room temperature, in the dark) for four to six months. And if you get three, give one to me.

Available in Chicago in 22-ounce bottles.

BCS Coffee

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Another annual release, but with a different coffee every year that's procured by Intelligentsia. This year's is a Rwandan bean called Zirikana.

I'm going to be honest. We were at the end of the tasting, and my note-taking got a little lazy. Rather than fake my way through, I'll just convey exactly what I wrote:

"No acidity — nice."

"Chocolate, coffee."

"Boozy, delicious iced coffee."

"Coffee. Yum."

"Brett says there's maple in there. Yes."

So there you have it. This year's BCS Coffee features a low-acidity bean, lots of aromatic coffee punch and very light maple notes (though there is no maple added to the beer). Come to think of it, there was also a light touch of berry flavor at the beer's edges. Porter says it's his favorite version of the beer yet.

Available nationally in four-packs of 12-ounce bottles.

Vanilla Rye

Wait — "Where's Vanilla Rye?" you might ask. I certainly did when I realized it wasn't on the table.

"Not ready yet," Siegel said.

Goose Island released a Vanilla BCS in 2010, and it became one of the most storied and sought-after beers in the brewery's history. Goose is rolling out a new version this year aged in rye, not bourbon, barrels.

I'll return to the brewery in a couple of weeks to try it and will let you know how it goes. I have a feeling it will go quite well.

jbnoel@tribune.com

Twitter @joshbnoel

Copyright © 2014, Chicago Tribune
But I like to throw handfuls...

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Re: The Beer Thread
« Reply #1379 on: October 20, 2014, 12:46:15 PM »
So when's the MUScoop official tasting, Chili?

Golden Avalanche

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Re: The Beer Thread
« Reply #1380 on: October 20, 2014, 05:39:17 PM »
Bourbon County Stout beers: Exclusive preview tasting.................

Thank you for the copy/paste.

Good to hear the Barleywine is back. And my experience was the same last year with initial sweetness dulling so this year's will be good to try.

And, Mexican hot chocolate.  ;D

mugrad2006

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Re: The Beer Thread
« Reply #1381 on: October 20, 2014, 06:19:11 PM »
For those of us who will be outside of Chicago (I'll be in Milwaukee) is there a suggested strategy to picking these up on Black Friday?

Spotcheck Billy

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Re: The Beer Thread
« Reply #1382 on: October 21, 2014, 09:10:15 AM »
For those of us who will be outside of Chicago (I'll be in Milwaukee) is there a suggested strategy to picking these up on Black Friday?

If I told you that I'd have to kill you - skip the BC and go to Lakefront Brewery for their Black Friday Imperial Black PA

My brother gets on a list at Woodmans of all places
« Last Edit: October 21, 2014, 09:48:15 AM by Michael Kenyon »

Golden Avalanche

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Re: The Beer Thread
« Reply #1383 on: October 21, 2014, 09:33:37 AM »
For those of us who will be outside of Chicago (I'll be in Milwaukee) is there a suggested strategy to picking these up on Black Friday?

Go to two or three "craft" stores now and zero in on one manager and ask what their strategy will be. Some have a list you can put your name on. Some hold it back for "regular" customers. Some put out one four pack at a time. Some will hold a bottle for you. All depends on how big their head is that they'll get Bourbon County.

At least, that's how it is in Jersey. Chili could probably have a better idea roughly the types of numbers that the Milwaukee market will see and perhaps it's slightly easier to find then I know it will be in a place like mine.

mugrad2006

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Re: The Beer Thread
« Reply #1384 on: October 21, 2014, 09:46:17 AM »
Go to two or three "craft" stores now and zero in on one manager and ask what their strategy will be. Some have a list you can put your name on. Some hold it back for "regular" customers. Some put out one four pack at a time. Some will hold a bottle for you. All depends on how big their head is that they'll get Bourbon County.

At least, that's how it is in Jersey. Chili could probably have a better idea roughly the types of numbers that the Milwaukee market will see and perhaps it's slightly easier to find then I know it will be in a place like mine.

That's my plan for now. I'm gonna start calling a few places to see if I can even "pre pay" for it

Spotcheck Billy

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Re: The Beer Thread
« Reply #1385 on: November 03, 2014, 01:52:07 PM »
Anyone else heading up to the O'so 7th birthday party this Saturday?

Quote
It's that time of the year again, when O'so takes over all 40 taps with our own rare offerings, and we party for the kids! This years goal is to raise $10000 for Toys for Tots. Your $15 at the door goes to Toys for Tots! We will also be releasing a number of treats in 750ml bottles, with straight Bourbon Barrel Night Train and a blackberry BBNT among them. Don't miss this event!

Had a blast last year and recruited my brother and his wife to join us this time around. We'll hit Central Waters (only 15 miles from O'so) on Friday for a tour and growler fills.

« Last Edit: November 06, 2014, 02:10:27 PM by Michael Kenyon »

Spotcheck Billy

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Re: The Beer Thread
« Reply #1386 on: November 06, 2014, 02:10:37 PM »
Update - O'so announced the beer list  for Saturday. The BA means barrel aged. The BA Spikes was one of my favorites last year. Spikes is made with NO water, using maple sap in place of water.

Brewery only bottle releases:

O'so Bourbon Barrel aged Imperial Night Train- 2000 bottles @ $12.50 ea
O'so Bourbon Barrel aged Blackberry Imperial Night Train- 2000 bottles @ 12.50
O'so Bourbon Barrel aged Imperial Night Train aged with Poblano Peppers- 2000 bottles @ 12.50
Funk Factory and O'so Brewing Kriek Lambic style beer- 1000 bottles, corked and caged, 2 bottle limit @ $20.00

Bourbon barrel beers are first come first served, while supplies last!

These are all amazing beers all in 750mL, cash preffered, 3% upcharge for any credit card purchases. We are working on getting an ATM for the event but no commitment yet.

$15 @ the door or a toy valued at $15 gets you in the door.....it does not get you beers. This is a charity event for Toys 4 tots, please stress this. My thought's, if you have $150 to drop on a case of beer, you can afford a charitable donation.

There will be 40 O'so beers on tap, including the bottle released beers and a cask of Saskatoon Berry aged Lambic style beer.

Here is a list of the beers on tap:

Winds of Change
Grand Cru
Faster than Dawn
Brett n Red
Funky Lady
Fantome Brett
Brett Pils
Restless Soul
Coffee sour Blonde
O'so Raydiant Sour Red

BA IMP Night Train
BA IMP Night Train w/coconut and nibs
BA Convenient Distraction
BA IMP Night Train w/blackberry
BA IMP Night Train w/Poblano
BA Night Train 12
BA Dominator (aged in Burheim barrels)
BA Spikes (aged in Elijah Craig barrels)

3rd Wheel 14
Spikes 14
Picnic Ants 14
Nitroberfest
Doe in Heat 14
Lupulin Max 14

El Smashem IPA
Holy Wa Belgian Golden Strong
Sweet Lady Stout
ESB
Traditional English Mild
Belgian brown rye-PA
Wheat Wine
Nitro Black Scotch
Convenient Distraction
Kartoffel Bock (As seen on Beer Geeks)

Hopdinger
Nitro Train
Big O
Rusty Red
Memory Lane
Hop Whoopin

Freeport Warrior

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Re: The Beer Thread
« Reply #1387 on: November 06, 2014, 04:57:49 PM »
Going to pimp my own beers
Late to the game on this thread, but I have to tell you Chili, Goose Island Sophie is truly nectar of the gods. Perfection IMO. A waiter in NYC introduced me to Duvel about a decade ago, which was also life-changing. But then I had my first Sophie about four years ago. I drink it all summer long. Just bought another case in the large format bottles for the winter.

real chili 83

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Re: The Beer Thread
« Reply #1388 on: November 06, 2014, 10:15:40 PM »
Anyone a fan of Liftbridge in Stillwater?  That have their Barley Wine coming out next Saturday.

madtownwarrior

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Re: The Beer Thread
« Reply #1389 on: November 09, 2014, 08:02:39 AM »
Amazing event - the Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Night Train with Blackberry was awesome.


Anyone else heading up to the O'so 7th birthday party this Saturday?

Had a blast last year and recruited my brother and his wife to join us this time around. We'll hit Central Waters (only 15 miles from O'so) on Friday for a tour and growler fills.



Coleman

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Re: The Beer Thread
« Reply #1390 on: November 10, 2014, 11:40:23 AM »
Late to the game on this thread, but I have to tell you Chili, Goose Island Sophie is truly nectar of the gods. Perfection IMO. A waiter in NYC introduced me to Duvel about a decade ago, which was also life-changing. But then I had my first Sophie about four years ago. I drink it all summer long. Just bought another case in the large format bottles for the winter.

Sounds like you need to make a trip to Belgium (or at least the Belgian section in your local beer store). Lots of good stuff there.

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Re: The Beer Thread
« Reply #1391 on: November 28, 2014, 09:03:24 AM »
Anyone lining up for BCS today?

Thinking about it...store nearby is selling at 3P.

Spotcheck Billy

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Re: The Beer Thread
« Reply #1392 on: November 28, 2014, 10:01:34 AM »
Anyone lining up for BCS today?

Thinking about it...store nearby is selling at 3P.

got a case but no one had the variants here, also grabbed Central Waters Bourbon stout

Chili

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Re: The Beer Thread
« Reply #1393 on: November 28, 2014, 09:23:13 PM »
got a case but no one had the variants here, also grabbed Central Waters Bourbon stout

New wholesaler in Chicago decided to cut supply of variants to most shops....even i got shutout at my normal honey holes.
But I like to throw handfuls...

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Re: The Beer Thread
« Reply #1394 on: November 28, 2014, 09:30:03 PM »
I got nothing...at all...heard there was plenty of Coffee to go around, but Vanilla Rye and Proprietors was extremely scarce.

rocky_warrior

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Re: The Beer Thread
« Reply #1395 on: November 28, 2014, 10:37:41 PM »
Mentioned in the game thread.  Got 3 bottles of BCS, only the only variant I saw was the barleywine. But...that store had a one bottle limit, so I just picked up "regular" since I'm not a huge barleywine fan (and I love normal BCS).

However...I also got a tip that a local store has a couple 5gal kegs of it, so I may pick one up tomorrow....(I have a kegerator)

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Re: The Beer Thread
« Reply #1396 on: November 28, 2014, 10:41:54 PM »
Mentioned in the game thread.  Got 3 bottles of BCS, only the only variant I saw was the barleywine. But...that store had a one bottle limit, so I just picked up "regular" since I'm not a huge barleywine fan (and I love normal BCS).

However...I also got a tip that a local store has a couple 5gal kegs of it, so I may pick one up tomorrow....(I have a kegerator)

GTFO....A KEG?

rocky_warrior

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Re: The Beer Thread
« Reply #1397 on: November 28, 2014, 10:42:47 PM »
GTFO....A KEG?

I know...dangerous, right!?!?!

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Re: The Beer Thread
« Reply #1398 on: November 28, 2014, 10:49:37 PM »
I know...dangerous, right!?!?!

So jelly right now....

rocky_warrior

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Re: The Beer Thread
« Reply #1399 on: November 28, 2014, 10:57:42 PM »
So jelly right now....

We'll see if I get it (I mean, if they still have it tomorrow morning), If I do I'll post a pic.  It'd be my most expensive keg ever.  The current record holder was the 20 liter of Chimay white that I got a few years ago.