Lakefront Brewery’s barrel-aged Black Friday has the masses banging down the doors

For the fifth year in a row, Lakefront Brewery Inc. celebrates the return of the infamous holiday shopping season with its Black Friday event, featuring a limited-edition beer. The exclusive brew, Black Friday Imperial Stout Aged in Bourbon Barrels, will be available only at the brewery and only for one day.

Chris Johnson, Lakefront’s director of business development, thinks there’s more to the event than a rare beer release.

“This is our fifth year doing Black Friday, and it’s gratifying to see so many familiar faces coming back year after year among the hundreds of new attendees,” Johnson stated. “For friends and relatives in town for the holiday, it’s turned into an opportunity to get together somewhere more offbeat than the Thanksgiving table or shopping center.”

So what is this beer, exactly?

“We brewed Black Friday back in February, and then aged it in bourbon barrels for 10 months, where it picks up the vanilla and oak notes that really complement the beer’s big, chocolatey, roasted malt flavors,” Johnson said.

In addition to the special beer, the Lakefront Brewery Beer Hall will serve breakfast fare just for the occasion, including fresh-made doughnuts, breakfast burritos, baked French toast and breakfast skillets. Full details about the event can be found on the brewery’s Black Friday website.

Lakefront will open at its doors at 8 a.m. on Nov. 27, welcoming thousands of eager craft beer fans looking to take home the coveted beer. Last year, the brewery sold out its stock of 5,000 bottles in three-and-a-half hours. It will be available in 22-oz. bottles only. Customers may purchase up to three bottles, while supplies last.

Lakefront Brewery distributes its products to 37 states, Japan and Canada.