Prairie Village liquor store prepping for desirous throng of Boulevard Chocolate Ale fans

Of course it's popular. It's chocolate. And beer. Together.

Rimann Liquors’ Mary Rimann said the store’s phone has been ringing off the hook with inquiries about the availability of the specialty brew, a co-production of Boulevard and Christopher Elbow Chocolates that debuted last year.

Demand for the Smokestack Series offering was so high in 2011 that Boulevard whipped up twice as much of the stuff for 2012 — but Rimann doesn’t think the store’s allotment is likely to last any longer than it did last year. In fact, she thinks sales will go even more quickly.

“We sold out in five hours last year,” she said. “I don’t think we’ll make it that long this time.”

Because demand has been so high, the store decided not to take pre-orders for bottles, and is limiting sales to two bottles per customers.

One of Rimann’s distributors is making a special delivery of the Chocolate Ale cases early Tuesday morning. When the store opens at 9 a.m., Rimann anticipates there could be a line out the door.

“We’ve got a TV news crew coming by at 8:45, and we’ve had a lot of people calling saying they want to be one of the first ones in the door,” she said. “It’s crazy. People who don’t even like beer are clamoring for it.”