American Craft Beer The Best Craft Beer, Breweries, Bars, Brewpubs, Beer Stores, And Restaurants Serving Serious Beer.
We blame the industry for this… It used to be that when we wrapped up our Weekend Picks on Friday, we could easily coast through the weekend. But clearly all that’s changed. So here’s some of what’s happened in the world of craft beer while you were off enjoying yourself.
Black Friday Bourbon County Time (Chicago, IL) – Many craft beer fan’s live for Black Friday, and their enthusiasm has nothing to do with the malls. Goose Island has made the day an alternative to mindless bargain hunting – it’s the day they release highly acclaimed Bourbon County Stout Brand beer variations. Over the years this annual celebration has become its own separate Black Friday tradition, with beer pilgrims sometimes lining up to purchase the series, sometimes as early as the night before.
Last year was a disaster for Goose Island. Four of the brewery’s six Bourbon County releases became infected somehow with bacteria that soured the beers, literally leaving a bad tastes in the mouths of even the most passionate fans. The brewery was completely “stand-up” about the unfortunate incident, offering refunds whenever and wherever they could. But still this kind of thing hurts a brand, especially a brand as acclaimed as the Bourbon County Stout family.
2016’s Bourbon County Release has taken a number of steps to ensure its integrity of and the flagship we sampled at a media event recently was pretty impressive. They’ve wisely downscaled the number of stout variations (six last year, now four) and introduced a flash pasteurizing process for obvious reasons.
In addition to their signature bourbon barrel-aged flagship, the 2016 variants also include a Coffee, a Barleywine, and the Chicago-only Proprietor’s, which incorporates dark chocolate and chipotle peppers this time around.
Words To Drink By (Chicago, IL) – “This year has been an incredible learning process and one that has made us a better brewery with a better barrel-aging program.”
Brewmaster Jared Jankoski on 2016 Bourbon County Stout
American Craft Beer’s Offices
New Belgium Again “One of the Best Places to Work” In 2016 (Ft Collins, CO / Asheville, NC) – For the eighth time New Belgium Brewing was selected as one of Outside’s “Best Places to Work 2016.” Each year, OUTSIDE recognizes the top 100 companies in the United States that strike the ideal balance between work and play. And given that the brewery offers its team, on-site massages, acupuncture, art-making and yoga, a volleyball court, climbing wall, indoor slides, foosball table and ping pong, this thing was pretty much a lock.
ACB Not Chosen As “One Of The Best Places To Work” In 2016! (Washington, DC) – To the surprise of hardly anyone, American Craft Beer LLC was once again not considered by Outside as even an “okay” place to work. “Hey I get it…we don’t offer on-site massages,” retorted a clearly pissed-off Tom Bobak, editor for the sketchy craft beer daily, “but we’ve always encouraged our staff to drink like maniacs on the job.”
