(Chicago, IL) – Goose Island Christmas Ale will not be made this year.
A source confirms that the beer will be skipped over due to “capacity issues.” The news first surfaced yesterday with a posted on Beer Advocate:
“It sounds as if this is the case. I talked to an inside source today and he said that Goose Island won’t be brewing their Christmas Ale this year, which has been in 22oz. bombers. The reason? He said that Goose Island is expanding their sales market so much right now that they’re having trouble keeping up with the demand of their staples such as 312 and just don’t have the space.”
There’s no word on the beer actually being retired as the thread title suggests though. It will likely return once the brewery has a better handle on its growth.
In other news, as of last Friday, Goose Island has packaged one million case equivalents and is expected to have shipped that case sometime this week. Narragansett ran quite the promo on its one millionth case when it hit the mark this past spring but it’s not as big of a deal for some other brewers apparently.
No great loss, especially in the over priced bomber.
I’m really disappointed with Goose Island. Cancelling some of their most interesting beers in place of filling 312 orders? Come on. First Oatmeal stout, now the Christmas beer? I actually thought, when they made it in 6 Packs, it was one of their best beers, hands down. At least there’s Half Acre.
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