2022 Chicago Area Black Wednesday and Black Friday Beer Events Guide

A multitude of bottle shops and breweries are celebrating the entire Thanksgiving weekend with beer releases, special cellar finds and offering a host of indulgences. While the bulk of the activities will occur on Black Wednesday and Black Friday, one can find good beer from Wednesday through Sunday. And, although dark beer (notably strong, barrel-aged) reigns supreme this weekend, there are a few alternative beer choices, too. If we missed an event, by all means let us know — the idea is to make sure everyone knows where to go this weekend to satisfy their beer cravings. Without further ado, here’s the comprehensive 2022 Chicago Area Black Wednesday and Black Friday beer events guide.

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PorchDrinking’s Weekly Denver Beer Beat | November 21, 2018

The Denver Beer Beat sheds light on news of brewery openings, special tappings, firkins and one-off batches, bottle releases, dinners, pairings, etc.
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2018 Bourbon County Labels Hint Possible Neapolitan, Horchata, Reserve Variants

While there are still 137 days until the 2018 batch of Goose Island’s Bourbon County Stout will be released, the hype has started with the approval of a variety of labels by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau last week.

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Black Friday Barrel-Aged (and Other) Beer Releases in Chicago

For beer fans, notably in the Chicago region, Black Friday means dark beer releases. The day, dominated by Goose Island Bourbon County Stout, offers numerous opportunities for beer fans to indulge in some of breweries’ finest creations. For those that love Bourbon County — big beer or not — it’s the day to stand in line or find a bar party, of which there are many. For those who have no interest, it’s a time to Uber-it-over to breweries and bars for an immense, diverse selection of barrel-aged, or sometimes big-hopped, beer. Forget shopping. It’s beer time! Happy Holidays!

Have an event we missed? Email us — we’ll update this through Thanksgiving. Check back for updates!

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Station 26’s Black Friday Invitational to Showcase Colorado’s Best BA Stouts

What began as a local’s response to one of big beer’s crown jewels, has quickly grown to become a yearly Denver Black Friday tradition. Station 26 Brewing first introduced their Dark Star Bourbon Barrel-Aged Stout in November 2014 with a taproom-only release that included a handful of variant spinoffs ranging from Mexican Chocolate to Blueberry, Maple, Cherry Vanilla, Espresso, Salted Caramel and Manhattan just to name a few. This year’s release of Dark Star will take on a much greater endeavor featuring not just Station 26’s beer, but several of Colorado’s most proficient stout producers gathering for Black Friday Invitational.

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Ranking & Reviewing the 2017 Bourbon County Brand Stout Lineup

Surrounded by bottles of past years’ Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout and the Sisters in their Barrel Warehouse, about 30 people or so prepared to taste the entire lineup of 2017 BCBS. After a conservative release of just four variants in 2016, in front of us were six snifters of the black liquid that so many covet every Black Friday.

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Where to Buy Bourbon County Stout in Colorado This Black Friday

Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout will once again hit Colorado bars and liquor stores later this week during their yearly Black Friday release. While BCBS hunting on Black Friday has become a bit of a national tradition as of late, last year’s BCBS came under fire after a incidents of infection occurring amongst select batches of the beer. That said, our staff was treated to a sneak peek of this year’s lineup and all indications are that BCBS is back in a big way.

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PorchDrinking’s Weekly Denver Beer Beat | November 23, 2016

The Denver Beer Beat sheds light on news of brewery openings, special tappings, firkins and one-off batches, bottle releases, dinners, pairings, etc.

It’s almost that time of the year when you get to gather around friends and family willingly or unwillingly to stuff your face with a weeks worth of food. If you are need of a beer or three to help ease the pain or to enjoy with friends and family be sure to check out our list of beers to pair with your Thanksgiving meal.

(More: 6 Beers to Pair with Your Thanksgiving Meal)

It’s also that time of the year when hordes of people will make the pilgrimage out to shop on Black Friday. Instead of fighting through thousands of people to get that 4k TV or Bourbon County beer that you gotta have, shop online, opt for an adventure outside, or even better check out one of the many Black Friday beer events going on around the Denver metro area. My good friend Cory has put together a sick list of all the happenings around Denver as well as be sure to check out the calendar of other events going on this week including the grand opening of Green Mountain Beer Company.

(More: Where to Buy Craft Beer on Black Friday)

Go to the Calendar now

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Denver Beer Beat | Where to Buy Craft Beer on Black Friday

Denverites… what do you know about some Black Friday releases? Don’t chase that BCBS around town, (or do, we don’t want to tell you what to do) instead, look for these equally impressive/rare craft beer releases and Black Friday hang sessions. We’ve got your complete guide on Where to Buy Craft Beer on Black Friday in the city of Denver so that you can shop local while still sipping on the absolute best. You can also find a full calendar of listings over in our event calendar page. Happy Hunting!

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Your Guide to Finding Goose Island BCBS in Colorado

*UPDATED 11/25 at 12:20 pm MST*

This is NOT a drill, folks. Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout will hit Colorado shelves and bars in less than a week! … Read More

The Ultimate 6er | Black Friday Edition

The most controversial shopping day of the year is nearly upon us. Black Friday (now starting on Thursday evening) is the one chance a year to score outrageous deals on things you didn’t even know you needed. Some people live for this day, planning months in advance and scouring every store’s mailers for the deals of the century. Others avoid it like the plague, refusing to leave their house and risk getting caught up in the cutthroat madness. A select few have even been known to consider it a spectator sport and wake up at ungodly hours to watch the chaos ensue…guilty as charged. Regardless of which group you identify with, at the end of the day, you are going to need to do some serious recovering and reassessing. This will surely call for the Ultimate 6er Black Friday Edition. Read More