Every year around this time, Grand Rapids, Michigan’s Founders Brewing releases Kentucky Breakfast Stout (KBS for short), one of the highest-rated beers on Beer Advocate (#8 in the world, with over 1500 reviews). KBS is an Imperial Stout brewed with coffee and chocolate, then cave-aged in Bourbon barrels. At 11.2% ABV and a roasty tongue, it’s not for the faint of heart. But among those up for the challenge, its popularity is soaring, so it’s becoming harder and harder to get. But this year, we’ve been keeping tabs on a few places that will be selling it when it rolls out on Saturday.

In fact, this is the first year that New York will see a real, honest-to-goodness release of KBS, as Founders expanded its distribution to the city just last Spring. Occasionally, bars have been able to get their hands on a keg of it, but for the first time, 12-ounce bottles of KBS will be available at retail. And because we’ve gotten dozens of e-mails from eager beer drinkers this week asking about it, we’ll share with you the places that we known will be rolling it out on Saturday - and some already have.

As a disclaimer: We’re providing these locations as merely a reference. According to our sources, in New York City, no retail location is getting more than one case to sell, and most are placing one-bottle-per-customer limits on the stuff. So, it’s going to run out fast, and you can’t blame us when you get somewhere and there’s no KBS left. Although we may shed a tear for you, because it is indeed a heartbreaking experience.

Confirmed to be releasing bottles of KBS tomorrow:

Bierkraft (191 Fifth Ave., at President St., Park Slope) will be selling it tomorrow, but it won’t be in the coolers - you’ll have to ask a staff member. There is a one bottle per customer limit. They open tomorrow at noon.

Good Beer NYC (422 E. 9th St., btw. 1st Ave. and Ave. A) will have it tomorrow, and they too will limit you to one bottle per customer. They open at 11am.

DeCicco’s Marketplace (21 Center St., at Village Green, Ardsley) will have it for the beer drinkers in Westchester tomorrow starting at 2pm. They’ll have a limit of 2 bottles per customer, and they’ll have growler fills of a bunch of other Founders beers to complement the KBS.

Other spots where you may find bottles:

Most Whole Foods in Manhattan are already selling it. If you don’t see it, ask around the beer department, because they might have it tucked away to not incite panic. We got word earlier today that their Upper West Side location already sold out of their last bottle.

Most stores that already sell other Founders beers - even down to smaller bodegas - may have taken delivery on a case of KBS this week. Of course, this is more of a scavenger hunt, but it could net some very fruitful (or, rather, rich chocolatey and bourbon-y) results.

If you find it in an obscure place, leave a tip in the comments. Unless you’re a hoarder (nobody likes a hoarder of KBS… unless you intend on sharing it with all of us).

The following piece was an April Fools Day prank that we published on April 1, 2011. This is NOT a real news story, and the suckers who believed it was are now kicking themselves for being so gullible.

BROOKLYN, NY, APRIL 1 – In a move that stunned many on New York’s craft beer scene, a successful craft brewery has been purchased by a global beer conglomerate for the second time this week. On the heels of Anheuser-Busch’s acquisition of Chicago’s Goose Island, MillerCoors, a joint venture of SABMiller and Molson Coors, has announced that it has purchased the majority stake in Brooklyn Brewery. The details of the sale were not disclosed, but initial estimates suggest a $25 million deal.

The deal will place Brooklyn under the umbrella of Tenth and Blake Beer Company, MillerCoors’ new craft beer arm that is responsible for domestic crafts like Blue Moon and Leinenkugel as well as imports like Peroni and Grolsch.

“We’re excited to bring Brooklyn Brewery - with a long history of brewing great craft beer - under our wing,” said Tom Cardella, Tenth and Blake’s CEO, in a joint news conference with Brooklyn Brewery co-founder Steve Hindy. “This is an exciting period for this segment of the beer industry and we’re glad to have the opportunity to use this acquisition to continue to help grow this segment.”

Under the agreement, Brooklyn’s distribution will expand to 46 states, but all brewing of Brooklyn products will be relocated to MillerCoors’ facilities in Shenandoah, Virginia and Golden, Colorado. Brewing will cease at their Utica, New York facility once the transition is complete. In addition, the recently-expanded Brooklyn facility will be placed on the market. Cardella notes that the Brooklyn space is “valuable real estate that can be leveraged toward greater profitability in the future.” He hopes to sell the facility by April 1, 2012.

Departing Brooklyn brewmaster Garrett Oliver is moving on to greener pastures, citing, “I’ve been brewing for over 20 years now, and it’s time to ride off into the sunset.” He will stay on in a consulting capacity until complete shutdown of the Brooklyn facility, developing a new selection of Brooklyn beers that will utilize corn and rice as part of the grain bill. The first - Brooklyn Genuine Draft - will be a crisp, fizzy American Adjunct Lager that clocks in at 3.7% ABV and under 95 calories.

It’s safe to say that for the craft beer industry, this has been an exhausting week that happens to end on April 1st. We’ll keep you apprised of more details on the deal as they become available.

Happy April Fools’ Day, beer drinkers!

Here are the beer-related goings-on after work tonight:

• The Gate (321 5th Ave., at 3rd St., Park Slope) is hosting a Stone event tonight starting at 7pm, with the Highway 78 collaboration with Green Flash and Pizza Port, the San Diego Session Ale collaboration with Kelsey McNair and Ballast Point, a 2007 vintage of the Russian Imperial Stout, and many more goodies from San Diego.
• It only makes sense that on baseball season’s opening day, the craft beer and sports mecca Standings (43 E. 7th St., at 2nd Ave., East Village) would celebrate, with Brooklyn Pennant Ale on tap, as well as selections from Speakeasy, and a bevy of free hot dogs. What could be more American?
• There’s a Speakeasy tasting tonight at Dive 75 (101 W. 75th St., at Columbus Ave., Upper West Side) starting at 7pm. And while you’re at it, how about a complimentary cheese plate to help wash down that beer?
• We’re headed across the pond at Bierkraft (191 Fifth Ave., at President St., Park Slope) tonight as Thornbridge pays a visit at 7pm with a guided tasting session with CEO Jim Harrison, who’ll serve up their Petersburg Stout, Kipling IPA, and a cask of their Jaipur IPA.
• Finally, Rattle-N-Hum (14 E. 33rd St., at 5th Ave., Midtown) holds “Homebrewers for Japan” tonight to raise money for Japan disaster relief by featuring samples of homebrew from New York’s bevy of generous homebrewers.

Already sold in Eataly’s ground-floor grocery store, beers from Dogfish Head, Birra Baladin, and Birra Del Borgo are just a few weeks away from heading to the rooftop.

At an event yesterday, brewers Sam Calagione (Dogfish Head), Teo Musso (Birra Baladin), and Leonardo Di Vincenzo (Birra Del Borgo), and Eataly house brewmaster Brooks Carretta discussed the details of the long-anticipated rooftop brewpub 15 stories above Eataly called La Birreria.

First off, it looks like our prediction last week was dead-on: it’s looking like a mid-May opening, as the brewing system should be up and running with its first brew in the next two weeks. Based on the beers shown off from the respective brewers yesterday, we can say with some confidence that the beer will be good, unique, and creative. And since this is Eataly - not Drinkaly - there will be food pairings to match the foodie-focused venue downstairs. Among some “composed plates” they’ll be serving will be pork shoulder, blood sausage, lightly-fried shittake mushrooms, and a mustard potato salad. Overall, it’s going to be a “rustic, alpine menu” with meats and cheeses.

As for the beers, they’ll have three rotating cask beers available that are brewed on the rooftop, along with a wide selection of draft and bottled beers from Dogfish Head, the partnering Italian brewers’ collections, and other sources. One of the first beers brewed on the roof will be a spring seasonal wheat beer brewed with coriander and peppercorns selected by Eataly partners Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich.

The setting won’t be too formal. After all, this is beer we’re talking about! There will be tables for dining, but also a bar space and a more open beer garden area, as well. The views will be more upward than outward, with views of the taller Flatiron building and Empire State through the retractable roof. It’s small, though - the entire rooftop has a 160-person capacity, so there will be a wait.

Let’s repeat that now: there will be a wait. This is not to scare you away… it’s simply stating a fact. Not only will the place likely be mobbed with beer geeks and foodies from day one, but there’s a natural attraction to any rooftop bar during the warmer months, even by those not into beer. So with a place this small, you probably can’t expect to walk right in. On the bright side, it is open year-round, so those crowds might thin out a bit come next fall, and parties of six or more will be able to make reservations.

Finally, a new development reported by Eater National this afternoon: word from Anthony Bourdain that the Discovery Channel program Brewmasters, featuring Sam Calagione, has been cancelled, and the airing of the final episode will coincide with La Birreria’s opening.

Oh, and one fun little fact, by the way: being on the roof of the Eataly building will make La Birreria the “highest brewery in the nation.” Next stop: 15th floor! Going up!

Here are the beer-related goings-on after work tonight:

• Hopheads divided! It’s a battle of East Coast and West Coast as IPA Week kicks off at Rattle-N-Hum (14 E. 33rd St., at 5th Ave., Midtown). This is their third annual event pitting the two coasts against each other starting at 4pm. Representing the East Coast will be Sixpoint Bengali Tiger, Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA, Southern Tier Unearthly and more. From the West Coast, they’ll have Ballast Point Sculpin, Stone Ruination, Lagunitas Hop Stoopid, and a ton more. It’s so hard to decide!
• Bar Great Harry (280 Smith St., at Sackett St., Carroll Gardens) hosts Barrier Brewing tonight from 6-10pm. Straight out of Oceanside, Long Island, you’ll get Lights Out Stout, Greenroom Pale Ale, Buffalo American Red, and a few brews you won’t see elsewhere anytime soon.
• It may not feel like Spring outside, but it’ll be spring at Jimmy’s No. 43 (43 E. 7th St., at 2nd Ave., East Village) for tonight’s $10 Tasting. The theme is Spring Seasonals, and will include samples of Victory Braumeister Pils, Sixpoint Harbinger saison, Blue Point Spring Fling, and more. The tasting starts at 7:30pm.
• Lagunitas is front and center at The Brazen Head (228 Atlantic Ave., at Court St., Cobble Hill) tonight from 6-8pm, with $5 pints of Censored Ale on cask, Hairy Eyeball, Little Sumpin Sumpin, and more.
• It’s another edition of “Pretty Things Come in Twos” - as in Two Brothers, a celebration of both breweries tonight at 7pm at Sunswick 35/35 (35-02 35th St., at 35th Ave., Astoria). Among the offerings: the Fluffy White Rabbits triple from Pretty Things and Northwind Imperial Stout from Two Brothers.

[This is undoubtedly one of the wonkiest posts I’ve ever had on here, but if you’re into state politics and beer, you’ll probably enjoy this text-heavy article.]

What happens in this building could change the way you drink beer

So you don’t have to, we’re keeping tabs on some of the bills circulating in the New York State Assembly and Senate this session that could change the way you drink beer. Some have no chance of passing, but it’s good to know who’s after your beer and who’s looking out for you.

THEY’RE COMING FOR YOUR BEER

After the jump, we’ll tell you about some of the more absurd bills roaming around the halls of Albany that could ruin beer drinking for everyone.

Keep reading