What To Expect At A Black Friday Rare Beer Release

25 Nov What To Expect At A Black Friday Rare Beer Release

Posted at 18:55h in Musings, Uncategorized by Justin Knepp 0 Comments

It was just a few years ago I was out hunting rare and/or seasonal beer. I would know every date for every beer being released in Indiana. I would take long lunches, be at stores early in the morning before they opened, stand in long lines on the weekend, etc. waiting for the next great beer! Beer releases were like having multiple Christmas mornings every year. I was recently asked if I had ever been to a Black Friday beer release and if I would write about what it was like. I decided to write about the last Goose Island Bourbon County Stout release I participated in at one of my favorite liquor stores.

It was a cold grey morning with snow and ice covering the ground and I was in a line so long I couldn’t see the end. When I arrived at 6:30am I was the 10th person in line and by 7:15am the line ran around a corner and I lost sight of the end. I could hear murmurs and boots stomping on the ground from people talking and trying to warm their feet, but I couldn’t see most of the people making noise. I had general conversations with the people around me about the weather and how large the store’s allotment was. Being within the first 20 people in line we didn’t have anything to worry about, but it was conversation to take our minds off of the cold. It only succeeded in reminding me how cold it really was.

About 7:00am I decided it was time for a beer. We have all heard it before; you can’t drink all day if you don’t start in the morning! I pulled an aged bottle of BCS and a cup out of my pocket to celebrate while standing in line for at least 90 mins in the cold waiting on a fresh allotment of the same beer. The guys in front of me were surprised but asked if I had any more cups and if I was willing to share. After returning from my trunk we all stood around sipping beer and the morning seemed a little warmer. I can’t advise that anyone else follow this path because I am pretty sure that drinking beer in a liquor store parking lot is frowned upon, but I used a cup instead of a brown paper bag. A few minutes after we finished our beer one of the guys behind me asked if I wanted a pour from a bottle I had never seen before. I said yes and there we all were sharing beer and telling stories from silly things family members did the day before. We were having a pretty good time and bottles were magically appearing from all directions. It was starting to brighten up but it was still ridiculously cold out and we hadn’t forgotten. It was nice having people to talk to and enjoy beer with. This was the best and worst part of participating in a Black Friday release event.

Once the store opened everything returned to business at hand and it was a pretty smooth process to receive the allotment of BCS, Bourbon County Barleywine, and a couple of other options. We made our way to the counter in single file, given our option to purchase the guaranteed allotment, and were allowed to immediately make our purchases. From there we were directed to take our purchase to our vehicle and then invited to come back and make other purchases. The store began filling up with people trying to make decisions off the recently stocked shelves. I made the executive decision to bypass the shelves and return home to sleep.

I had a good time but I can’t express enough how cold it was. I am pretty sure this was the Black Friday beer release that ended the run for me. For those that have never participated in one of these events I have a little advice for you. Overdress for the weather and take a backpack. If it gets too warm you can always remove a jacket, gloves, etc and pack them into your backpack. If the temperature drops or you get stuck in the shade you can put them back on. I can not recommend you take beer to share and extra cups because it may not be legal, but a red cup has to be the beer geek’s answer to a brown paper bag. Use caution if you do participate in this kind of activity. You do not want to be too drunk to be let into the store, and sleeping in your car full of beer on a cold morning near a liquor store could draw attention. Keep drinking good beer and talking about it. I know I will!