Bourbon County Stout hits WV this week

With the cap now raised to 15% ABV on beer sold in West Virginia, our reward is getting Goose Island Beer Company’s Bourbon County Brand Stout (BCBS) for the first time. BCBS will see a Black Friday release across the state. The beer will be available in both draft and bottles, and it checks in at 14.7% ABV.

For the first time this year, Spriggs Distributing, Carenbauer Distributing, Mountain Eagle, Northern Eagle, Jefferson Distributing, and other WV beer distributors who handle Goose Island products had the chance to order BCBS. The beer is on allocation nationwide, so a distributor could only get the beer based on certain market factors, such as how much Goose Island brand beer their region sells annually. Because WV was a new state for BCBS distribution, we probably did not get all that much compared to some other states. Some distributors likely got so little that it could be very hard to find.

As many beer fans know, Goose Island also produces several highly sought-after, small-batch variants of Bourbon County Stout. West Virginia was not allocated any of those variants this year, but if sales go well for BCBS here this weekend, that may be an option for next year. We’ll have to wait and see.

Spriggs Distributing went to bat for our Charleston-Huntington-Parkersburg region by investing heavily to get its maximum allocation. No longer will Charleston-Huntington-Parkersburg area beer fans have to travel to Ashland, Ironton, Gallipolis, or Marietta to get their fix. Michael “Smitty” Smith, the On-Premise Division Manager who handled the BCBS program for Spriggs this year, did a bang-up good job for the Charleston-Huntington-Parkersburg markets.

While we will have beer, it is a pricey brew. We estimate that at retail, bottles will bring somewhere around $12 to $18 each, depending on where it is purchased. Draft prices will vary depending on the size of the pour. Some bars may choose to price aggressively as a promotion, while others may seek to maximize profits since they will only be getting one or two sixtels at most. Brilliant Stream thinks a fair price to pay would be around $10 to $12 for a 10-oz. pour and $5.00 for a 4 oz. taster.

Bottle supply very limited

Those wanting bottles should get to retail accounts early on Friday, November 29. Watch their social media for announcements or check ahead directly with the account. Most retailers are getting no more than one or two 12-bottle cases, making this possibly the hardest beer to get that the state has ever seen.

Bottle size is 16.9 oz. (500 ml). Bottles are sold individually — not in 4-packs or 6-packs. The bottles have their Bourbon County label cast into the actual glass, with a paper neck label holding the details. Brilliant Stream believes the following Charleston-Huntington-Parkersburg area licensees should have the beer for sale on Friday. 
(List below is subject to change.)

Charleston-Huntington-Parkersburg
Accounts getting BCBS Bottles

Huntington

• Saads Wine & Spirits
• Stadium Spirits
• Corner Liquor & Wine
• Bottled Up
• Drug Emporium-Barboursville
• King Spirits, Barboursville

Parkersburg

• ParMar #3 (Pike St.)
• ParMar #1105 (Cork n Bottle, Williamstown)
• Smoker Friendly Liquor Plus #1 (Lakeview Center)
• North End Market
• Wine Basket/The Wine Guys, Vienna
• Smoker Friendly #38 in Pt. Peasant

Charleston & Teays Valley

• Rite Aid South Hills
• Drug Emporium Patrick Street
• Drug Emporium Kanawha City
• Liquor Company – Patrick St. Plaza
• Fruth Oakwood Rd.
• King Cut Rate Liquor, Marmet
• T&M Meats, Cross Lanes
• Fruth/Mountain Mama, Nitro
• Fruth, Teays Valley
• Smoker Friendly, Teays Valley
• The Pallet Bar, Teays Valley

Draft, get it while you can

A number of area growler filling stations and bars will be getting allocations of BCBS draft. Brilliant Stream believes the following Charleston-Huntington-Parkersburg area licensees should have the beer for sale on Friday.
(List is subject to change.)

Charleston-Huntington-Parkersburg
Accounts getting BCBS Draft

Growler Stations

• Drug Emporium Barboursville
• Drug Emporium Patrick Street
• Drug Emporium Kanawha City
• Fruth Oakwood Rd.
• Fruth Teays Valley
• Fruth Mountain Mama, Nitro

On Premise

Charleston & Teays VAlley

• Sam’s Uptown Cafe
• East End Pub
• Red Carpet Lounge
• Pies & Pints
• Bar 101
• Bricks & Barrels
• Axes & Ales
• Bridge Road Bistro
• Bluegrass Kitchen
• The Bucket
• T&M Meats, Cross Lanes
• The Pallet Bar, Teays

Huntington

• Black Sheep Huntington
• Bahnhof
• Backyard Pizza
• Taps at Heritage

Parkersburg

• J P Henry’s

15 years of Bourbon County Brand Stout

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Goose Island Beer Company website