Black Lung Coal Dust comes out tonight, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, at Black Lung Brewing, 2 South Lake Street in Grayslake. It’s a 12.5% imperial stout that spent 18 months in bourbon barrels from Oppidan Spirits. Then it was finished with cocoa nibs and Madagascar vanilla, according to JollyPint, which compiled the details from the brewery’s own announcement.
What’s in Black Lung Coal Dust
The brewery’s own words, as JollyPint reports them: “Eighteen months ago we put our imperial stout into Oppidan bourbon barrels and left it alone. Saturday, October 24, it comes out.” Black Lung describes the finished beer as “finished with cocoa nibs and vanilla. Dark chocolate, Madagascar beans, bourbon warmth,” and calls it “the beer we have been waiting a year and a half to pour you.”
According to JollyPint, Oppidan is a distillery in Wheeling, Illinois, just north of Chicago, founded in 2015 by Jeff Walsh. Its flagship is a four-grain bourbon. So this is a Chicago-area stout resting in Chicago-area wood, which the Bureau finds pleasingly local for a brewery whose motto is “Live Loud, Drink Local.”
The release show: three metal bands
Releasing a pitch-black stout called Black Lung Coal Dust at a metal show is the kind of commitment to a theme this office respects. Here’s the plan as reported:
- Doors: 6 p.m.
- Music: 7 p.m., with The Suffering, Indign and Revel in Rot
- Tickets: $15, 18 and up
- Mug Legion members: free with an RSVP
Beer and metal are two things the aliens behind this site hold sacred, so consider this a strongly worded recommendation.
Glasshole Helles, for Shaun Glass
The same night, Black Lung also releases Glasshole Helles. It was brewed to honor Shaun Glass, the Chicago metal musician and friend of the brewery, and a portion of the profits goes to help his son. JollyPint’s brewery listing adds that the brewery made it with Adam Gilley of Repentance, and that Glass was mug club member #66, who died in July. No ABV has been published for the helles.
Left Fork returns Oct. 30
Black Lung also has Left Fork coming back on Friday, Oct. 30. This one checks out: the official 2026 Great American Beer Festival winners list shows Left Fork, from Black Lung Brewing Co. of Grayslake, taking silver in the Historical Beer category.
Before you go for Black Lung Coal Dust
Everything here comes from one source, JollyPint’s write-up of the brewery’s announcement, apart from the Left Fork medal, which we checked against the GABF list. Release-night details can shift, so check Black Lung’s site or social media before you drive out. We haven’t seen any information on how much Black Lung Coal Dust there is, whether it comes in bottles or cans, or whether it will be sold to go.
The Bureau’s plan: arrive at 6, order a Black Lung Coal Dust, sip it slowly through the first set, and let the bourbon handle the warmth while Revel in Rot handles the volume.
Transmission ends. Ears ringing, glass empty, mission accomplished.
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