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If you haven’t experienced a Black Friday at Lakefront Brewery before, here is your sign to start the tradition.

Our Black Friday™ beers are the rarest, most sought-after liquid we produce, and they’re only available for one day, Black Friday.

Four varieties of Black Friday™ beer will be available with no limit. Spread the love and bring some home for the holidays. These beers are great for sharing over quality conversation. After all, that’s what good beer is all about.

2025 SOUVENIR PINT GLASS

Grab all four Black Friday™ varieties detailed below and receive this commemorative Black Friday™ wrapped pint glass to take home for free.

2025

BLACK FRIDAY™ IMPERIAL STOUT | 15.18%
Aged in Great Lakes Distillery’s Still & Oak Black Friday Straight Whiskey Barrels
($20) (Limited to 1350 Cans)

This year we had an opportunity to be reunited with some of our vintage 2022 Black Friday barrels from Great Lakes Distillery. We originally aged our Black Friday™ Imperial Stout in these single use Heaven Hill Bourbon barrels, then we handed them over to Great Lakes Distillery to age their Still & Oak Straight Bourbon Whiskey for two years, then trucked them back here to refill with 2025 Black Friday™ Imperial Stout. So, over the five year journey, these barrels have held Bourbon twice and Russian Imperial Stout twice. The OG Imperial Stout boasts a roasty Bourbon oak char nose, leading to a massive chocolatey body taking on vanillins lending crème brûlée and coconut flavors, and finishes with soft berry-like notes and a boozy encore.

BLACK FRIDAY™ TRIPLE BLACK IPA | 10.8%
Dry-Hopped with Cascade, Citra, Centennial, and Chinook Hops
($15) (Limited to 700 Cans)

The hoppiest beer we’ve ever brewed is back for another round! We can’t get enough, you can’t get enough. We brewed this triple strength Black IPA with Magnum hops for bittering and chocked the fementer fulla those “C” hops: Citra, Cascade, Chinook, and Centennial, so ready your beer tasting muscles for a piney bite and citrus fruity nose balanced nicely with a smooth toasty body from liberal additions of German Carafa malts. Fans of bold, old school West Coast IPAs take note!

BLACK FRIDAY™ BLACK WHEATWINE ALE
11%
Aged in Brandy Barrels
($20) (Limited to 750 Cans)

This here is the wild card, a whole new stylistic adventure for our brewers, and we were quite amazed with the results! The nose whispers chocolate candy like a prelude to a stout, but the 40% malted wheat in the grain bill shifts your perception to a thinner, more delicate body to showcase nuanced fruity maraschino cherry and strawberry characteristics from the mellower brandy barrels, then dark crystal and chocolate malts steer the finish into a distinctively crisper direction.

BLACK FRIDAY™ IMPERIAL COFFEE & CACAO NIB STOUT | 15.08%
Aged in Great Lakes Distillery’s Still & Oak Black Friday Straight Whiskey Barrels
($25) (Limited to 700 Cans)

We took the already-legendary 2025 Black Friday™ Imperial Stout base aged in the same generational Great Lakes Distillery Still & Oak barrels and rested the blend on organic Ecuadorian cacao and Stone Creek Cream City medium roast coffee grounds in the tank, resulting in a sinfully delicious chewy dessert ale with the nose of nuanced coffee and an everlasting silky fudge and warming Bourbon finish. Expect a mighty rich, harmoniously balanced brew that drinks deceptively below its stated ABV.

All four 2025 Black Friday™ varieties will be available to try at the bar, only on Black Friday, and only while supplies last!

FOR THE THIRD YEAR IN A ROW, THE WARM HEARTS COMMUNITY COAT DRIVE RETURNS!
(7AM TO 12PM)

In exchange for a donation of a laundered, gently used coat suitable for youth aged 3 to 14 years. Donors will receive one bottle or can of vintage Black Friday™ beer, with a maximum of 2 bottles or cans per donor over 21. While supplies last, beer options may vary and will be chosen by Lakefront staff.

We encourage donors to consider colorful, youth-appropriate items, especially those suitable for girls and young teen women. Coats will be accepted at Lakefront Brewery’s discretion to ensure students receive a coat that is immediately wearable. Additional donations of any cold-weather clothing or accessories are welcome!

Q: Black Friday is in November. How early in the year do you start planning? What does that process look like?

A: We start planning right after the prior year’s Black Friday. Typically, we like to see the barrel variants aged for 9-10 months, which is when a variety of compounds peak that bring out the vanilla and coconut characteristics of the barrels. Those flavors go really well with the types of beer we’re aging. Also, by that time, the heat of the residual alcohol left in the barrel tends to mellow and not dominate. The beers are brewed around the New Year and barreled soon after the beer finishes fermentation. After aging throughout the year in barrels, we rack the beer back into the tank in early November, and it’s packaged a couple of weeks before the big day.

Q: What barrels did you go with for the 3 barrel-aged varieties? Why?

A: This year, for the regular Black Friday™ and the coffee & chocolate variant, we used Great Lakes Distillery barrels. These barrels were originally bourbon barrels that we previously used to age Black Friday™ stout in; Great Lakes then filled them with a straight whiskey, using them for a finishing barrel that aged an extra two years. So these barrels held whiskey twice and now have held Black Friday™ twice.

The Black Wheatwine was aged in brandy barrels from a couple of different sources. The mellower brandy allows the more subtle character of the Wheatwine to shine.

Q: What excites you or what is special about this years Black Friday™ Beer lineup?

A: We always look forward to the OG Black Friday™ as it’s the staple. Over the years, it’s been tweaked here and there, and usually each year we have different whiskey barrels that we use, creating something unique and special. It’s a treat to have GLD barrels to use, and this year the timing was just right to get the special Black Friday™ barrels.

The coffee and chocolate version was built off a small-batch stout we did years ago called Doomsday, a beer the brewers really enjoyed and revered, so it’s great to have that in the lineup. The Stone Creek coffee is up front and center, with the chocolate laying down the counterpoint.

The Black Wheatwine is the new kid this year. We made a few wheatwines over the years as part of our Brewers’ Reserve series that were really enjoyable. This one adds some dark malts and caramel malts to the high percentage of wheat malt. The results are a nice toasty wheat backbone with dark fruit nuances blending well with the smooth brandy heat.

Triple Black IPA is another brewer’s favorite. We use the C-hops: Cascade, Citra, Centennial, and Chinook for late additions in the kettle and dry-hopping. These hops have a lot of citrus and pine character that matches the bolder roasted malts used.

Q: You’ve been doing Black Friday™ for a long time. What’s your favorite thing about Lakefront’s Black Friday™ beer and event?

A: Over the years, it’s been heartening that Black Friday™ is something special, bringing people together, friends, and families. Something people look forward to and have become a ritual for beer lovers. Each year brings something new.