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Goose Island Bourbon County Stout

Goose Island Bourbon County Stout - Imperial Stout

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 Percentile 
100
overall
Brewed by Goose Island Beer Company
Style: Imperial Stout

Chicago, Illinois USA

bottled
common

on tap
common

Broad Distribution
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 Ratings  Average  Score  ABV  Style Pctl  Serve in 
11414.2/5.04.19/5.013%97Snifter
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Commercial Description:
"I really wanted to do something special for our 1000th batch at the original brewpub. Goose Island could have thrown a party. But we did something better. We brewed a beer. A really big batch of stout-so big the malt was coming out of the top of the mash tun. After fermentation we brought in some bourbon barrels to age the stout. One hundred and fifty days later, Bourbon County Stout was born-A liquid as dark and dense as a black hole with a thick foam the color of bourbon barrels. The nose is a mix of charred oak, vanilla,carmel and smoke. One sip has more flavor than your average case of beer. It overpowers anything in the room. People have even said that it’s a great cigar beer, but I haven’t yet tried a cigar that would stand up to it." Brewmaster Greg Hall; IBU’s 60-High Color - Midnight Was 11%, the 2007 and 2008 are listed at 13%.
 Most Recent Top Raters Highest Ratings Who's Rated This?  
HopHobo (6), Lansing, Michigan, USA
does not count click to see why this rating of Goose Island Bourbon County Stout does not count
2.7 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/56/103/57/20
Nov 9, 2009  
Received this beer as an extra from JoeyBeerBelly with many thanks. Served in a beer tulipat ~40 degrees. A-pours a jet black color with red undertones, no much of a head created during the pour and none was left after a few minutes S-strong bourban smell, with a little bit of oak in the background T-a powerful brew at 13% with the bourban dominating the flavor from start to finish. M-almost no carbonation with kind of a weak mouthfeel for a stout. D-I could see myself drinking this beer on the coldest night of the year. I have had better 13% stouts in my day, overall I didn’t feel like this beer lived up to the hype surrounding it. I tried to let it warm up because I believe a good stout tasted better warm...but alas I did not feel this way about this beer.


 DCJack (146), Alabama, USA
4.3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
10/105/58/104/516/20
Nov 7, 2009  
wonderful aroma. The 13% really hits you like a sledgehammer in a beautiful way. As others have pointed out, the flavor is a little thin, not as complex as some other stouts, but anything with a high gravity, stout flavor and bourbon tones wins my approval. Congrats to Goose Island.


dkingsella (85), Portland, Oregon, USA
4.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/104/59/104/518/20
Nov 6, 2009  
Pours a very dark black with thin mocha head that disspaears before you can take the first sip. Aroma is incredible with more than I can identify...begins with a nice bourbon aroma followed by notes of dark chocolate, caramel, coffee and faint vanilla. Mouthfeel is full and vicous. There’s pleny going on in the flavor...bitter chocolate, coffee and dark fruit. A little alcohol in the finish but no alcohol burn whatsover. A very complex beer...this one goes right to the top of my list.


22415brewery (57), redmond, Washington, USA
4.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/104/510/103/518/20
Nov 6, 2009  
This one will kick you in the teeth if you’re not careful. Ink-black pour, dark cocoa lacing, thick and incredibly viscous, unctuous (yes, unctuous) mouthfeel with complex aroma profile. Definite notes of toasted oak, and vanilla oak characteristics leads into a tiering of bittersweet dark chocolate, a bit of butter, touch of smoke, oaky vanilla, and an almost peat-like quality. As it opens up I get a bit of dark sultana-like fruit character too, it hints at the very same enriched dried stone-fruit characeristic as a Belgian Dark Strong.


 stobbe74 (655), Denmark
4.3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/59/104/518/20
Nov 4, 2009  
Bottle. Pours a black beer with a brown head. The aroma is roasted, alcohol, coconut and chocolate. The flavor follows the nose with notes of vanilla. The palate is slightly bitter. Overall a good, complex and balanced beer.


ricke (66), Malme, Sweden
4.2 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/105/517/20
Nov 4, 2009  
2008 vintage. This one is as black as they come and is really viscous. I’ve had this before and I know it’s hard to get head development going. So I tried a rather aggressive pour into my snifter, but all I got was a minimal layer of dark beige foam that dissipates immediately into a minimal ring of lacings. The smell is amazing. Massive bourbon aromas sit side by side with a wonderful smooth stout base. Vanilla, almonds, oak, licorice and a hint of soy sauce. Some hints of brown sugar and molasses. The roasted malts really need to struggle to keep up with the bourbon, but I think they manage quite well. The bourbon gets a little boozy and I pick up plenty of alcohol fumes. The taste follows suit and surly doesn’t disappoint, even though expectations get cranked up by the appearance and smell. The bourbon flavors are really powerful, rich and full, but nonetheless the beer manages to stay balanced. Lots of vanilla and oak with notes of almonds. Hints of sweet licorice. Perhaps a suggestion of soy sauce. The roasted malty character is noticeable but it gets a little hard to detect with all the bourbon notes going on. Nevertheless, the malts manage to create a good balancing point for the powerful bourbon flavors. All in all, the beer has a pleasant balance between sweetness and a salty note. The usual flavors of dark fruits and chocolate are really hard to pick up in this one, but I do think here is a delightful note of truffles. The finish is loaded with boozy and hot alcohol that fits nicely with the sweetness from the bourbon and malts, but it gets a little too much here and there. Wood, notes of salt licorice, a light herbal bitterness and long-lasting bourbon notes round everything up. Very very viscous and smooth - this one is thick like cream. Medium, well suited carbonation. Although both smell and taste is great in this one, the mouthfeel is really the highlight here, it’s just that great. It just delivers a sophisticated expression to an otherwise bold and cocky beer. This is a good imperial stout, to say the least. Very powerful with a massive bourbon character. It’s quite impressive that it still manages to come of as balanced. However, it’s not perfect. Although this is obviously a sipper, the alcohol gets to demanding and overpowering every now and then. And due to the onslaught of the bourbon flavors, the beer looses some complexity. NOTE: This bottle was about 11 months old. I’ve sampled a bottle from the same batch when it was reasonably fresh, and although I think it holds up really well with plenty of bourbon still hanging around, I think the bourbon notes have faded just a little bit. Serving type: bottle (Copy of old Beer Advocate review)


 MrPickles (108), Wisconsin, USA
4.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/105/58/104/516/20
Nov 3, 2009  
7oz Tap at Stub and Herb’s. Pours a deep black with a brownish head. Aromas of raisin, deep dark fruit, big bourbon, and brown sugar. The taste is dark fruits and brown sugar as in the smell, and a huge wave of bourbon and alcohol roll across the tongue. Too me it still worked, but I did hear comments that there was just way to much bourbon on this one. This was a great imperial stout on the night of just some insane taps. Just keep in mind there is huge bourbon there, but it didn’t distract from the full body of the beer for me. As Bill and Ted might say Most Excellent!


 michael-pollack (2603), King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, USA
4.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/105/58/104/516/20
Nov 2, 2009  
Draught at Wrigleyville BrewPub: Sweet, boozy aroma of Bourbon, alcohol, slight roasted malt, oak, and light vanilla. Poured pitch black in color with a very small brown head that lasted around the edges. Very slightly sparkling. Opaque. Complex flavor is medium to heavily sweet. Tastes of chocolate, oak, Bourbon, light vanilla, slight tar, and light booze. Full body. Viscous, slightly dry texture. Soft carbonation. Bourbon, tar, and oak finish is lightly dry and lingering. Very good. 13.5%ABV is barely noticeable in the flavor.



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