Goose Island Bourbon County Stout

FCBF 09 Wow, alot going on here. I wish I did not rush my tasting, but being at a brewfest, it was on to the next beer. Very thick drick with thick foam staying on the glass. Some sweetness with smoke and Bourbon. This was great.

Goose Island Bourbon County Stout is an opaque black ale ith an orange ring for a head. It doesn’t leave any lacing on the glass. It smells sweet, like bourbon and maybe apples. There are notes of soy sauce and bread. It’s medium-full bodied with a mineral texture. The finish is sharp. It tastes a bit sweet with lots of bourbon flavor. The balance is alright. There is a fruity note, like apple or peach. The aftertaste is of bourbon. Yeah, it’s mostly bourbon here. [Sampled at the 2009 Flower City Brewers’ Fest at Frontier Field, Rochester, NY]

FCBS 2009. Decided to head to this brewery 1st, cause we figured they were the best and they didn’t let us down. Very dark, very thick looking. Mouthfeel is oily. Predominant flavor of bourbon, very rich, loved it.

12 oz. bottle from John’s Marketplace. I know a lot of you have rated this highly, but I think that this beer was a bit too much in some ways. My favorite style is imperial stout. This one poured viscous black. It was quite difficult to produce some head, but when I did there was a nice chocolate head on this beer. Perfect dark black looking beer. 2008 bottle, so it has had time to mellow. Very pungent malt sweet aroma. Almost a bit too much on the sweet malt aroma. I was hoping for a more pungent bourbon aroma. There was bourbon in the aroma, but it wasn’t what I expected it to be i.e. it was more muted due to the extremely sweet smelling malts. Not too nuanced in terms of aroma because of the sweet malty aroma. Again, bourbon flavor, with a heavy sweet malt flavor as well. As I have said, the malts for me are too sweet. Subtle chocolate aroma, with some bourbon. A decent bourbon flavor, but I was hoping for more. Very thick beer, almost too much. I could just be being picky because I am tired. Slight alcohol burn. Not a horrible beer, but the overly malty sweet flavor just kills it.

Bottle. Pours black and thick, like molasses mixed with motor oil. No real head to speak of, just a thin ring of very dark tan foam. Nose is out of this world; coconut, molasses, bourbon, oak, burnt coffee, bitter and milk chocolate, rum, raisin, banana, just keeps getting better as it warms. Palate is intense, this is a 90 minute beer, you can’t take more than a tiny sip without completely overwhelming your palate. Big and bourbony, more tar and perfume, coffee chocolate banana and coconut return, complemented and offset by plenty of toasty oaky cognac/bourbon flavor. I could write pages more, this is a very worthy beer in any company.

Black thick pour into the snifter with a thing brown head that dissipates quickly. Aroma is charred, smokey with the strong ABV coming through. Thick, chewy, syrupy mouthfeel. Definitely can taste the charred oak, bourbon element to this and some molasses. Great sipping beer.

(original tasting) 2008 - Bottle. So black light won’t go through, and a nice lingering dark brown head. The aroma is endless with sweet malt, oak, vanilla, tannins, a touch of bourbon, and a dash of alcohol. The flavor delivers big sweet malts and a dash of alcohol upfront followed by hints of candied fruit and finishing with a lingering definite coffee flavor layered with chocolates. I have since tried this a few times and am aging two more bottles. This stuff is simply amazing and everyone should try it. One of my favorite beers.

(12oz bottled 10/21/08 drank 7/2009) Pours a viscous black with no head. Nose is vanilla, bourbon, chocolate cake, and alcohol. Quite complex. Taste is dark chocolate, alcohol, bourbon, vanilla, coffee, bitter hops and a velvty carbonation. Body is viscous and the linger is smoky and roasted malts. This is one of the most complex beers I’ve ever had. Would love to have one with 5 years of age on it.