A Stout to End Your Depression: Black Tuesday at The Bruery

On October 29th, 1929, stocks fell 13% in one day. This was generally considered the start of the Great Depression. This day was called "Black Tuesday." On October 29th, 2009, The Bruery, a relatively new brewery in Orange County released a beer of the same name. A 19.5% Imperial stout that had been aging in bourbon barrels for over a year. PRIOR to its release to the general public, the fabled beer had made it to Beer Advocates "100 Best Beers in the World."

Through sheer dumb luck, I happened to have been at The Bruery around the time of the beer's release and had some. They had a keg kicking around and they were nice enough to give me a sample. Strong caramel notes with a lingering vanilla finish (no doubt from the barrel aging) and remarkably smooth given its terrifyingly high alcohol content.

When greatness and rarity dovetail, a kind of melee of acquisition ensues. Everyone wants it and there isn't any to be had. I don't know exact statistics of how many bottles were made or how much they sell for on the secondary market, but I do have a couple of beer loving friends who have blatantly told me, "Dude. I would give you any bottle of beer for a bottle of your Black Tuesday." (No dice, by the way.)

When tickets for this year's Black Tuesday release went on sale at 9 a.m., they were sold out by 9:08. Disappointment rings through the throngs (myself included). But The Bruery has given us one more chance to acquire tickets to this year's Black Tuesday release party on Tuesday, October 26th. There is an eBay auction. 100% of the auction total goes to charity. The winner attends the event at the brewery AND returns home with three bottles of black gold to share with their (ridiculously lucky) friends.

Here is a link: Black Tuesday eBay auction.

Jason Bernstein is the co-owner of Golden State.