Goose Island Bourbon County Stout

This is one of my all-time favorites. One of the original bourbon-barrels and still the best that I have tried. There’s a ton of bourbon flavor but it is backed up with a ton of beer behind it. They didn’t hold back on this one.

This is a big beer. I let it warm up just a bit before cracking it open and ensured I used a nice wide snifter. One bottle can be shared easily with 2 people.

It took me long enough to rate this damn beer. Bottle. Dated Oct. 08. Pours a viscous dark black brown color that lets a little light in around the edges and coats the glass when swirled. A tope colored ring makes up the almost non existent head of this brew. Its body appears still. The mouthfeel is incredibly smooth and reduces this 13% alcohol beast to a shockingly quaffable delight with just a hint of its ruggedness on the back end. Nose is vanilla bean, a little bit of raw shredded baking coconut, heavy toast oak, booze, dates, port, baked cinnamon apple crumble, and some heath toffee bar. The taste reminds me of a late harvest Zinfandel I once had with some dark chocolate truffles. The smokey yet sweet and vinous qualities of this beer merge with deep dark chocolate and thick syrupy molasses like characteristics to form a complex and thought provoking expression of brewing. Very well done.

2008 bottle. Deep, dark brown in color with very minimal tan head. Aroma was vanilla, molasses, dark malts, and dark fruits. Flavor was all that, plus some chocolate, and was fairly sweet. Not much carbonation, and the alcohol was in the forefront. Pretty good.

Draft (snifter glass) at the GI (Clybourn location). Pours dark as night black. Very small tan head. Good lacing. Strong molasses and vanilla aroma. Thick texture. Almost like cough syrup. Tastes of coffee & chocolate, but overpowered by sweetness. Strong warming sensation. Lingering Molasses mouthfeel. No question that this is a great beer, however maybe some aging would allow the flavors to be brought out from the overpowering sweetness.

2008. pitch black with no head, no lacing, and no carbo bubbles. big vanilla, oak, dark chocolate, molasses aroma. velvety smooth palate. flavors of vanilla, caramel, oaky wood, dark chocolate, soy sauce, raisins and other sweet dark fruits. sticky mouthfeel with almost no carbonation.

(Bottled, 2008 vintage) Almost black with practically no head. Strong aroma of oaky tannins, syrupy-sweet malt, and hints of alcohol presence. Thick-syrupy-malty flavor with salty licorice, tannins and oak barrel. Thick, syrupy and viscous palate, like drinking port, with no carbonation. A beer with great ageing potential, but when this young, you’ll be overwhelmed by syrupy sugar.

Bottle on the train to Huddersfield, with and (very) thanks to Craig. Pitch Black with almost no head. Roasted malt aroma with notes of bourbon, oak, chocolate. Very sweet and lasting taste, roasted malt, toffee, bourbon, oak. Very nice even though the alcohol is a bit more present than i would like.