GOOSE ISLAND BLACK FRIDAY!!

For the second year in a row we will host the Goose Island Black Friday Bourbon Country release. This was a huge success last year and we don’t see why it won’t be again. We will be opening our doors at 9am on Friday, November 25th. Once the doors open, we will be funneling people into our tasting room where we will have the Barleywine, Coffee, and Brand Stout. It will be first come, first serve, so I would recommend getting here early. To put it in perspective, the first people showed up last year around 5:30am. We will have a limit on the Brand Stout, but it will be over a case. We have not decided the limits on the Barleywine yet, but due to the lack of stock on Coffee, we will be limiting it to one bottle per person. We will also have previous years’ Barleywine and Brand Stout for sale as well.

While waiting in line and walking around the store, we will be pouring samples of the 2016 Brand Stout, 2014 Brand Stout and 2014 Barleywine as well as be handing out free pastries. Hopefully everyone will not eat so much the day before that they cannot wolf down a few sweet treats.

Beer of 2010?

2010 was quite a good beer year. With it came some exceptional stuff like the brews from Element Brewing Company in Central MA and White Birch in Southern NH. Of course there were numerous special releases like the Life and Limb and Bitches’ Brew. I am going to really put myself out there right now and remark on an exceptional beer. I may go so far as to say that this is the beer of 2010. Building up to it like this, I am sure that some names are coming to mind right now and that those names likely include some of the more limited releases. Like I said, I am going to put myself out there and I am going to say that Sierra Nevada Celebration ale is indeed the beer of 2010. There are many reasons why I am willing to go so far as to make such a statement. I’ll even concede to some personal bias but, obviously, the main reason has to do with the quality of the brew. Celebration Ale is always good, but it seemed like this year’s batch was unusually good. Perhaps the hops enjoyed a better growing season? I found this year’s batch quite hoppy (as usual) but unusually fresh tasting. I also just happen to have a particular affinity for the style. I know that there are a lot of hop heads out there and this beer is good enough to satisfy those who love hops without being so over bearing that someone other than a hop enthusiast couldn’t enjoy it. The addition of more malt to bring it to an amber color and give it more body than a typical IPA also lends itself to the creation of a bold beer that remains somewhat approachable. In short, it just doesn’t let you down. Continue reading Beer of 2010?