Goose Island Bourbon County Stout

12oz 2008 bottle. Pours black with a thin mocha head that diminishes into a ring of foam. Aromas of bourbon, oak, vanilla, and of course chocolate, and a touch of coffee. Flavors are sweet malt, roasted malt, oak, chocolate, and a nice bourbon finish. Plate is thick, rich, and smooth. BCS Warms the soul!

Bottle. Pours deep black with a thin brown head. Looks great, pours mean and appealing. Smells of sweet burnt malts and chocolate. Taste is complex, robust. Subtle notes are picked up with each sip. A treat.

Bottle, 2008. Pours near black with a thin tan head. Lots of bourbon sweetness in the aroma. Secondary notes of chocolate and roast. The flavor starts with a heavy hit of bourbon and vanilla sweetness, which yields to roasted malt, coffee, and burnt wood. Slightly over the top, but definitely something I’d seek out again in the future.

A wonderful beer. Pours thick with little head. But the wonderful blend of chocolate, vanilla, and hint of bourbon make this tastiest stout I have ever tried.

OMG, I am in love. Poured from bottle into tulip glass. Little carbonation. Heavy oak and chocolate maltyness on the nose. Lots of oak, creamy, Bourbon/Vanilla, very nice chocolate finish. Hint of coffee. It is 13%, but isnt crazy ’hot’ like you would expect from such a high ABV. This is the best dang Stout I have ever had. Yes it is $5 for a 355ml bottle, and WELL worth the cost.

This beer is amazing. Pours really thick. I thought I messed up the pour, since I didn’t have a ton of head, but it sounds like it doesn’t really have a lot. The taste was amazing. For some people, I could see the significant bourbon taste puttting some people off, esp. because of the alcohol floavor that comes along with a bourbon taste. But I love bourbon and beer with a significant bourbon essence. That caramel, vanilla, and woody flavor that comes from bourbon is ever-present with this beer. It’s amazing. Love it. Can’t wait to buy more and just let it sit in my beer cooler for a few years.

Can a beer really be worth this much money? Yeah. I think so. Very complex flavor - lots of caramel and oak and vanilla. For me, it rates a bit lower on the palate scale, because it’s just downright thick. I’ve seen Penzoil pour thinner -- but don’t let that scare you. It’s worth the taste. When the label says, "a cigar can’t stand up to it" they’re right. 12 oz. can’t possibly hold all that flavor. It’s a good one to have your American pilsner fans try -- if you’re tired of them drinking all your beer.

Bottle@Home, vintage 2006. Bourbon, vanilla, chocolate and tutti frutti aroma. Opaque colour, no head, pours very thick like motor oil. Sweet, chocolate, bourbon, light bitter, vanilla, wood. Cloying mouth feel. Very complex beer, wonderful.