With apologies to my friends that own other local breweries, I don’t know if there is a beer in St. Louis that has as much buzz as Perennial Artisan Ale‘s barrel-aged Abraxas. It’s easily one of the most sought after beers in the area and for good reason, last year’s version of BA Abraxas was one of the best beers I enjoyed last year (and this year as well, it still tastes amazing.)

Well, it’s been almost 18 months since that original release and frankly, beer nerds are getting antsy. People are clamoring for news about the release of this epically enjoyable beer. Well, I have it for you.

Option 1: Early Reservation

For you locals, hope you didn’t have plans to go out of town this weekend (and if you’re not local, hope your plans involved visiting our fair city during this long holiday) because this Friday, May 23rd, Perennial will begin an early reservation list for two bottles (per reservation) beginning at 6PM. Perennial promises 400 reservations will be made available during this early sign up.

If you plan on coming out to stand in line on Friday to secure your reservation, Perennial understand that bottle shares typically break out during these line-waiting ceremonies. A bottle share will be permitted on the patio, but out of respect to Perennial’s neighbors and Perennial’s staff, they ask that the bottle share end at 4PM.

Option 2: Lottery

But what about those of you who can’t make it in this Friday? You’re not out of luck, Perennial will be doing an online lottery beginning Thursday, May 29th at 12AM and will be ending the lottery Monday, June 2nd at 12AM. There will be a link on Perennial’s website (http://www.perennialbeer.com) where you will be asked to provide your name and email address so Perennial can contact you if you’re lucky enough to win. (Make sure to double-check that information before hitting send! Also, multiple entries will be discarded, so… don’t be that guy.)

If you’re on the list for the early reservation, you’re still eligible to enter the lottery. Lottery winners will be notified if they’ve won on Monday, June 2nd. This lottery will be for a single bottle of BA Abraxas.

Bottle Pickup

You’ve won! Good for you! Now, how do you get your bottles? Here’s the breakdown.

For those of you who got in via early reservation, you can pick up on the following days:

Friday, June 6th 4:00-10:00PM

Saturday, June 7th Noon-11:00PM

Wednesday, June 11 4:00-10:00PM

Thursday, June 12th 4:00-10:00PM

Friday, June 13th 4:00-11:00PM

Saturday, June 14th Noon-11:00PM

For those of you who have won the lottery, you can pick up on the following days:

Saturday, June 7th Noon-11:00PM

Wednesday, June 11 4:00-10:00PM

Thursday, June 12th 4:00-10:00PM

Friday, June 13th 4:00-11:00PM

Saturday, June 14th Noon-11:00PM

Now you know when you can pick them up, what will you need? Well, each bottle is $30 a piece (tax is included) and an original, photocopied, or mobile photo of a valid state ID will be required upon pickup (for those of you looking to proxy for some friends.)

Any unclaimed bottles will go to me! No wait, they’ll go on sale in the Perennial tasting room on Wednesday, June 18th at 4PM. There will also be limited draft available of BA Abraxas on Friday, June 6th and Saturday, June 7th.

Good luck and may the odds be ever in your favor.