58. Happy National IPA Day; This Isn't About IPAs
A Little Bourbon County Stout chat, as a treat; a new "Hire This Person!" feature; plus lots more news and tarot for charging full-speed ahead.
It’s That Time: The Goose Island Bourbon County Stout 2022 Lineup
I won’t be the first to report on this—the media embargo lifted this Monday and perhaps you’ve already got these memorized and even noted down with your predictions for what you’ll like best—but let’s talk about the Goose Island BCS 2022 offerings, shall we? I can’t help but get a bit excited about BCS every year. I’ve never done the 4am lineup thing, but I just appreciate the fact that beer lovers have this sort of ritual. It’s like a little holiday. I feel like there’s a lot of nostalgia there, since the Bourbon County Stout releases have been going on for 30(!) years. It helped create line life but it also predates line life, you know? It feels like it’s from a simpler time, before ticker culture as we know it. The news about the releases starts to percolate each year and you think about how instrumental BCS perhaps was in your formative craft-beer-person years, and/or how these annual releases were the biggest hullabaloo in beer for so long. And to back up all that nostalgia is a lineup that straddles tradition and creativity. I genuinely get pretty jazzed about the Proprietor’s Stout because it’s always a little bouquet of flavors I’ve never had in a stout before. So, let’s look at what we’re getting this year. Info and quotes are courtesy of Goose Island by way of their publicity team.
Goose Island Bourbon County Stout, 14.4%: This year, BCS is “aged and blended from freshly emptied bourbon barrels from Heaven Hill, Four Roses, Wild Turkey, and Buffalo Trace distilleries.” Expect vanilla, dark chocolate, toffee, molasses, almond, and dried fruit flavors.
Goose Island Bourbon County Two-Year Barleywine Reserve, 17%: Goose Island got three sets of barrels of varying ages from Old Fitzgerald’s Bottled-In-Bond Decanter Series. “This Reserve offers us a rare opportunity to highlight the distinct characteristics of our rich Barleywine aged in 14-year, 16-year and 17-year-old barrels of an amazing bourbon pedigree.” It’s the first time Goose’s English-style barleywine has come back since 2018. Expect toffee, vanilla, fig, cherry, and almond flavors.
Goose Island Bourbon County 30th Anniversary Reserve Stout, 14.4%: Celebrating the life so far of BCS, the 30th Anniversary Reserve Stout goes back to the beginning, aged from a blend of Jim Beam barrels from their Small Batch Bourbon Collection barrels including Basil Hayden, Booker’s, Baker’s and Knob Creek. Fun fact: Jim Beam launched their first-ever Small Batch Bourbon Collection 30 years ago, too. Expect dark chocolate, vanilla, cherry, and almond flavors.
Goose Island Bourbon County Biscotti Stout (ABV is TBD): “ Inspired by the Italian desserts of her childhood, Jill Cerone, People Manager at Goose Island, dreamed up this variant after grabbing a box of chocolate-dipped biscotti from her cabinet. Working with the brewing team, Jill brought the flavor to life with notes of anise, marzipan, cocoa, and buttered toffee. The biscotti enhances flavors already found in our Bourbon County Stout and adds strong notes of nostalgia from your Italian grandma’s kitchen. One sip and you’ll be reminded of pizzelle cookies, Easter Pane di Pasqua and, of course, almond biscotti.” This might be the one for me this year.
Goose Island Bourbon County Coffee Stout (ABV is TBD): BCS variants aren’t 30 years old; they hit in 2010, and a coffee stout was among them. But a coffee variant hasn’t shown up since 2017. For this return, Goose teamed up with Intelligentsia Coffee. The specific blend used for the stout is called Turihamwe, and is produced by women coffee farmers in Burundi. Expect rich chocolate, coffee, and caramel flavors.
Goose Island Bourbon County Sir Isaac’s Stout (ABV is TBD): Apparently, getting figs into BCS has been a goal and work in progress at Goose for a while, and this is the recipe that figured it out. The brewery’s e-com team members Melissa Alleguez and Ryan Hubona cracked the code thinking back to Melissa’s memories of her grandma’s fig cookies; the stout’s profile is fig cookie and graham cracker-inspired. It uses 10,000 pounds of Black Mission figs. Expect dried fruit, honey, molasses, and citrus flavors.
Goose Island Bourbon County Proprietor’s Stout (ABV is TBD): This one’s an ode to cocktails and the hospitality industry in Goose’s own Chicago, and it sounds intriguing. The recipe comes from brewers Jason Krasowski and Paul Cade, and it’s a brewer’s take on a jungle bird cocktail with banana, coconut, lime, and pineapple, the latter of which has never shown up in a BCS variant before.
Who’s ready for Black Friday, then—because really anymore, what even is time?
Hire This Cool Person!
Last week, I mentioned that our NYC Pink Boots chapter had a “careers in beer” panel on which women in roles beyond the brewhouse and taproom positions many people might think of spoke. This was a great idea on leadership’s part because I think there are still so many people out there who want to get into beer but, among many other stubborn barriers of entry, they can’t visualize how they’d fit. Visibility is key here not only for people who have been underrepresented to see themselves in this industry in general, but also for people to see that there’s opportunity here even if they don’t want to brew. Hannah Kiem addresses this really well on her “Brews with Broads” podcast, both from her own POV and also by interviewing people in all corners of the beer industry.
We heard from some people attending that panel that they indeed felt this was a hurdle when it comes to figuring out where you might belong. And as I’m sure we all know, the beer industry still has such an incredibly long way to go until it’s extending truly equitable pathways to BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ individuals. It’s such a stereotype but that’s because it’s so maddeningly true: so many people working in this industry are straight white dudes whose straight white dude friends welcomed them into the fold.
There are inspiring organizations doing big, exciting, important things to change this, like the Michael James Jackson Foundation for Brewing & Distilling and Beer Kulture. I’ve been thinking about how I can possibly contribute to this push for change and while it might be tiny, I’d like to at least use this newsletter as a sort of networking tool and signal boost. I know plenty of amazing—and uniquely—talented folks that any brewery, beer shop and/or bar, distributor, e-com site, brand, or organization would be extremely lucky to have. I know some of you reading and subscribing to this newsletter might find yourself in positions where you need to hire and/or collaborate. So, I’m hoping by regularly featuring people looking to work in beer—or are already in beer but looking to explore other opportunities; any situation, really—maybe we’ll all start to make some connections here.
If you’re looking for a job or gig or project, please email me! Send me some info about yourself and what you want to do, to huggingthebar@gmail.com, so I can brag about you!
We’re kicking this feature off with Jade Gonzalez, who I’m fortunate to know through Pink Boots. I’ve seen Jade do really brilliant creative work and make truly vibrant, effective content that I know would help out any business—especially in the age of “Instagram is making it harder to reach potential customers every damned day.” I can personally vouch for the fresh perspective Jade would bring to any client or collaborator.
“My name is Jade, a Manhattan-based digital creator looking for a creative position in the craft beverage industry. After completing a production internship at The Bronx Brewery, I began working freelance with breweries here in NYC. Some of my skill sets include social media management, freelance photography/content creation, graphic design, and web design. In my spare time, I’m an active member and volunteer of the Pink Boots Society. As a queer Latina, community and diversity are two important values I seek in any brewery/company I work with. A self-starter, I’m very passionate about what I do and it reflects in my creative work. I bring innovative concepts and ideas, expanding beyond the limits to bring growth to an industry that needs change. Tag along on my beer journey @craftbeersippin on Instagram!”
You can reach Jade at denissegonz007@gmail.com.
We’re (and by “We” I mean “I”) Still Out Here Trying to Monetize, Folks!
A lovely reader reached out a couple of weeks ago to say that he’d been enjoying reading this here lil’ newsletter, and that he believes in supporting those who create the content he reads, but that becoming a Patreon patron can sometimes be yet another Thing to subscribe to, and so he preferred a one-time donation option. Obviously, I really appreciate this. It still floors me, flatters me, honors me, etc., etc., that I have even a small group of very kind and supportive Patreon patrons. But this reader made me realize that a one-time donation option may indeed be an easier route for others and I’m grateful for it all! I’ve set up a PayPal link for these one-time donations that you can find in Hugging the Bar’s “About” page toward the bottom, and I’ll sprinkle easy “Donate” buttons throughout issues going forward. I’m still counting these one-time donations toward my Patreon goals of hitting certain targets to then donate to important causes like the Brave Voices Fund and the Michael James Jackson Foundation for Brewing & Distilling. And if you make a one-time donation, please feel free to email huggingthebar@gmail.com to claim any of the perks Patreon members get (swag, merch discount, customized tarot reading, and more)!
Speaking of Patreon and perks, I’ve started posting some exclusive content I’ve been meaning to get to. Lots more to come, but for now, you can get what I think might prove super handy, which is a running list of every reading and listening rec ever featured in Hugging the Bar—like a little instant library of booze-related reading at your fingertips. Plus, playlists! I can’t wait to possibly hear from folks that my music taste is indeed trash! It probably is! But I love making playlists so whether you have (misguided?) faith you’ll like these or you’re just morbidly curious, sign up on Patreon to mess around and find out.
One more $ thing! I’ve been thinking about launching some more merch that’s not just Hugging the Bar-branded, so I’d love to hear from you if you’d rock this stuff.
Save the Date & Come See “Girl Beer”!
“Girl Beer” is a documentary I’ve been following through its production journey and excitingly, it’s made its debut this year. By examining the beer scene in and around LA, “Girl Beer” highlights women in beer and also sets out to crush the outdated stereotype that there’s such a thing as “girl beer”—as well as all the baggage that comes with that kind of generalization. Filmmaker Marena Young will be hitting a few cities in the northeast with the film, and with major planning help from our NYC Pink Boots chapter leadership, we’ve scheduled the New York “Girl Beer” screening for the evening of Monday, August 15, at the Spare Room at The Gutter in Long Island City. In addition to the screening, I’ll be doing a Q&A with Marena—so come, hang, watch, learn, enjoy, bring your questions, and drink good beer! More info, as well as a feature on “Girl Beer,” in next week’s newsletter.
Beer Tarot!
This week, I pulled the Knight of Swords.
Swords is the suit of intellect and decisions. These persona cards speak to you to highlight qualities you have, qualities you need to call upon, qualities that will help you through the current moment. The Knight of Swords is ambitious, driven, and really just charging full-speed into life and its challenges.
Either you’re on a mission and are not about to feel blocked by anyone or anything, or you need to be. This card is telling you to embrace that energy, and conjure it up if you’re not already feeling it, because you’ll need it for some obstacle ahead or goal you’re working toward. The Knight of Swords is ready to fight to make their dreams a reality, and they’re forward-thinking, and they don’t just talk the talk, they walk the walk—nay, run the run. Channel all of that. But, remember one risk when being all Knight of Swords-y is that sometimes our dude can act too fast. Yes, we want to charge forward and make change and do big things, but we’ve got to plan. Otherwise, none of our efforts will be effective or long-term, and/or might not serve us so well in the long run.
Looking for a beer to pair with this tarot reading, I found a brewery called Ambitious Ales in Long Beach, CA that “that aims to build community by providing unique beer that brings people together and a tasting room that is a hub of community engagement.” That sounds like a good, forward-thinking goal to ride full-speed ahead toward! If you’re in SoCal, go check ‘em out.
This Week’s Boozy Media Rec
The Cut has one of those “How I Get It Done” series and, mercifully, it’s been a long time since it was like the ones you see in other publications where a CEO talks about how you really only need three hours of sleep anyway or a billionaire tries to sound relatable when they have a team of 30 accomplishing their daily tasks. It is often people in the fashion and beauty worlds, however, so I was excited to see the latest edition, by Sangeeta Singh-Kurtz, features Emma Walker, master blender at Johnnie Walker. It’s a quick but really nice read, and happened to have what I found to be important advice re: careers, especially relevant for this week’s issue! A snippet: “I still struggle with this, but there’s a moment when you look at a job and you go, I can’t do that. I can’t do everything that’s on that list. Instead, you should ask, How much of this can I do? What am I interested in and what have I got to learn?”
Ex-BEER-ience of the Week
Last weekend, we took a day trip to Beacon, and those visits are usually centered around long and leisurely hangs at one of my all-time favorite beer bars, Draught Industries. Imagine my true sadness to find Draught closed for a private event! The silver lining is we tried a place we otherwise wouldn’t have, Melzingah Tap House. I can’t recommend this spot, with a lovely staff and pretty backyard, enough. I got to drink an Obercreek IPA on draft, and that doesn’t happen to often with that stellar-but-small-output brewery. I think this might be the extent of Hugging the Bar’s National IPA Day coverage, as I have a legit mental block when it comes to celebrating these fake holidays.
Until next week, here’s Darby at a waterfall.
