Goose Island Black Cat Bourbon County Stout

Formerly brewed at Goose Island Beer Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Chicago, Illinois USA

Yowsa! My friends and I snagged up the last 6 or so servings of this in wrigleyville. $10 a piece...we did not see that coming. Anyways, this has an over the top chocolate aroma that you can sense a foot away. The flavor is rich coffee, almost expresso like, and thick and rich chocolate. The sweetest most intense beer, let alone Imp stout, i’ve probably ever had. Unfortunately, I could hardly detect any bourbon barrel, but I don’t think I’ve ever been able to notice it on any imperial stout. I can’t wait to have the regular bourbon county when i get home.

interesting...on tap at the wrigleyville location. Just had the regular bourbon the day prior...and i enjoyed it much more. 10 oz black pour with no head. Aroma is big chocolate and subdued coffee. Taste is similar...except it is lacking some intensity...quite balanced...except it doesn’t have that imperial feel. If you think this has any bourbon or wood in it...you don’t drink bourbon much. Mouthfeel is huge and thick...perhaps the heaviest I’ve encountered.

#919

On Tap at the Goose Island Wriglyville Festival of Wood and Barrel Aged Beers November 4th, 2006.

First off, what is the deal with these other ratings. I absolutely loved this beer and the Impression that I got, possibly totally all slammed impressions, was that others enjoyed this as well. Black with a thin brown head that is shortly lasting rim. The nose is full of chocolate but that bitter sharp coffee smell throughout. More like an Iced moca. The taste is chewy with lots of coffee, sugar sweetness then grains with a huge end with lots of oak, vanilla and cream with more and more coffee. Surprisingly with all that coffee there is still a nice undertone of oak and bourbon. Good stuff.

Note, after I entered this rating I was messaged by another beer lover, cquiroga, who told me that it was under the old rating. So I moved it here. Better represents the beer here.

An opaque and impenetrable inky pool of midnight brown lies underneath a dark tan wrung that dances at the edges of the glass. Unsweetened chocolate slabs and a profoundly rich French roast aroma beat the shit out of the nose, and there’s not much time to recover before it’s followed up by dark chocolate truffles infused with caramel, Godiva coffee grinds and flame licked oak planks. Full-bodied, flavorful testament reaps darkly and fluidly throughout the palatary playing field. Dove dark chocolates melt unto caramel-integrated French roast coffee (and by “roast” we mean “roasted to smithereens.”) Burnt brownies aid the eurhythmic sequence and then get pressed on countertops to extrapolate previously spilt espresso grinds. Licking those grinds off the bottom of the brownie generates a dark, bitter coalescence to the tongue. Quite a jolting wake up cup, ensnaring the palate at its most vulnerable state. Sweet cream and lactic chocolate are pulled to a halt with the dense, gooey fudge layer. Tonsil cribbage at its most aggressive state. Boozy caramel wraps around Scores bars, and milk duds with bourbon-infused centers. Vibrant French silk pie with a coffee grind crust see us out while a gentle, gooey, caramel sweetness close up shop in the end.

sampled at barrel-aged brewfest. enormous RAW cofee/java smell. tiny bit of sourness in aroma that reminds me of jolly pumpkin’s impy. very close to java stout in flavor. substantial roasted coffee malts. very full-bodied. sweet but unforgivingly bitter. probably the highlight of the festival. rerate: sampled at GI wrigleyville for $10 a pour. super-awesomeness confirmed, exactly as i remember it.

On tap at FoBAB 4. This was a masterpiece... pure and simple... if you like huge stouts and fine coffee. Poured black as night with a light righ of caramel head. Nose was of very fresh, and very rich espresso roast, coffee liquor, and baker’s chocolate with light bourbon and vanilla accents deep down. The espresso jumps to the forefront in the flavor department, too... and manages to release some heat from the regular BCS... again the coffee liquor and dark chocolates come across, and the bourbon, vanilla, and oak accents are wonderfully complimentary. Very heavy on the palate, but never became sticky or slick.. coated the mouth well and left a long, roasty coffee bitterness. Excellent!

On tap: Huge roasted coffee and expresso aroma with some light dark chocolate and just the slightest hint of bourbon. Dark brown, virtually black, with a small tan head that quickly fades to a ring. The beer just coats the glass. Flavor starts with lots of chocolate with hints of vanilla. Roasted coffee starts in the middle and builds into the finish. Light bourbon in the finish balances very well. I really liked the addition of the coffee. It really adds to the flavor and cuts into the bourbon flavors making them much more subtle. A very well barrel-aged beer and my favorite of the FoBAB 2006.

Lots of folk at the festival raved about this brew, but to me the heavy aroma and flavor of espresso overpowered the wonderful Imperial Stout at the base. Espresso, roasted barley, dark chocolate, and anise blended together in both, but the coffee wins out. Dry nutty finish. I’d stick with the regular BCS.

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