Goose Island brews its own Black Friday bash

While other Black Friday shoppers battle for the best bargains on big-screen TVs and video game systems, beer lovers will seek to score their own treasures: a few bottles of the scarce Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout.

First offered in bottles and sold nationally in 2006, barrel-aged Bourbon County Brand Stout beers are usually aged for up to a year in bourbon barrels. Beer lovers covet the smooth, boozy stout and the other varietals -- this year including a barleywine, coffee stout and proprietor's stout aged with chipotle peppers, cocoa nibs in bourbon barrels that previously stored maple syrup.

Craft beer buffs will be watching attentively as this year's release comes after Goose Island offered refunds to those who bought some bottles of the 2015 releases with off flavors. "This was caused by bacteria in the beer – while not harmful to health, the bacteria tends to have a souring effect. We offered refunds to our loyal customers and are excited to see their excitement this year for the 2016 variants," Goose Island Brewmaster Jared Jankoski said in an email interview.

He doesn't expect any slackening this year in consumer demand for BCBS beers, usually sold in limited quantities by the bottle ($10-up) and on tap. "We’ve received really enthusiastic feedback for the variants to date and have loyal fans excited to receive this year’s batch," Jankoski said.

To prevent future problems, Goose Island -- acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev in 2011 -- has tightened quality control on the whiskey barrels it uses and begun using flash pasteurization of the beer, he says. "Following last year’s recall, we’re focusing on efficiency, quality and innovation through our variants," Jankoski said.

A taste of the Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout revealed a silky brew with whiffs of chocolate amid the rich coffee aroma -- the brewers used locally-sourced Costa Rican coffee from Intelligentsia, founded in Chicago. A rich cherry cordial flavor emerged in the tasting.

At craft beer news site Brewbound, Editor Chris Furnari expects brisk sales on Black Friday for Goose Island's beers. "We're still talking about a very well-made beer that is in limited supply, so there will always be a contingent of folks who seek it out," he said in an email interview.

However, the growth in craft beer availability itself could possibly temper demand, Furnari says. Over the years that Goose Island has released its beers on Black Friday, the number of craft breweries in the U.S. has more than doubled to nearly 5,000.

Many breweries may conduct their own Black Friday events to draw local and regional customers. "So, I think the idea of chasing a distributor truck around town to get your hands on Bourbon County Stout might have waned a bit, simply because there are so many other options now," Furnari said.

Regardless, Goose Island aficionados will likely begin lining by the time you read this, wrote the Chicago Tribune's Joel Noel, calling the release an event that "has become more like a holiday."

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