Goose Island Bourbon County Stout

355 ml bottle. Black. Small off-white head. Bold bourbon aroma with lots of vanilla and oak. Fairly low carbonation level. Rounded and really complex. Smooth oily roasted malt flavours. Hints of licorice and ammonia. Dry hop bitterness balanced by sweet oily malty caramel. Could have used a little more carbonation. Alcohol is warming, but not at all in the way. An excellent and complex beer.

This is the beer is live to drink. 12oz bottle. Pours black as can be. with a thick 3 to 2 finger brown like leaves in late fall. Aroma is burnt wood, caramel has a sweet smell to it as well like a dark fruit. Very earthy nose. The taste was strong alcohol at first but it then turns strong coffee, chocolate and coconut with a small hint of vanilla. High malt beer. Thick, sticky and full of flavor. Best drank at room temp. I love this Bier.

Tap at Clybourn brewpub, Chicago. Black pour with beige head. Aroma of dark fruit, caramel, booze. Incredibly intense tasting stout, sweet, malty, chocolate, vanilla, whiskey. Very nice stout indeed but rather heavy going.

Bottle courtesy of BeerandBlues2 at a blind Imperial Stout tasting at his house on 9/22/09. Color is black with fair carbonation and a small brown head. Aroma is deep dry fruit and caramel scent. It has a mellow full body that goes down smooth and easy. Finish is evenly balanced with sweet fruit then roasted malts with mild burnt flavors and bitterness. In the after taste some of the alcohol shows. This is an excellent brew with well rounded flavors.

2008 bottle. Amazingly thick, syrup as it pours. DARK black. Aroma of molasses, caramel and smoke. INTENSE initial flavor. Strong malt and anise to start, middle has the smoky bourbon that continues through the finish with lingering taste of chocolate. Pretty strong for just drinking. About halfway through, it is almost too much. It almost needs to be used in conjunction with a cigar or a steak, something to compliment it.

Bottle at Ølbaren shared at Andreasen11 birthday together with RangledeFreak. I had quite high expectations to this one, and they where definitely fulfilled! It pours pitch black with a minimal light brown head. The aroma is lovely, loaded with roasted malt, even more chocolate, vanilla, bourbon and unfortunately a little to much alcohol. Taking a sip of this masterpiece is fantastic. Its full-bodied, perfectly balanced and indeed a powerful and intense mouthful! The complexity is outstanding with strong notes of roasted malt, wood, caramel, dark chocolate, vanilla, dark fruits, liquorice and a very smooth bourbon.
But this is not it... it finishes absolutely astonishing with a fantastic smooth after taste including notes of wood, dark fruits, dark chocolate and bourbon. (Btw. don’t drink a Black Hole after this one, drink it before..)

Pours out an extremely thick and viscous jet black with a fine dark brown head. Strong, almost musty aroma full of booze, dark roasted grains, wood, and alcohol. There’s a lot offered up here but comes across a little mangled up. The flavor is intensely dark roasted with grain astringency, strong alcohol, and a ton of boozey Bourbon--certainly a sipper, perhaps best enjoyed alongside some chocolate cake, toffee, or other foil to play off of these intense flavors. The body is out of balance with high alcohol which magnifies the bitterness making the overall experience a bit harsh. Overall, a very good beer for very particular circumstances. Strongly consider pairing with food.

Bottle. Opaque black pour with no head although some head rises when stirred. Aroma is bourbon, oak barrel, butter, roasted malt, and a hint of alcohol vapors. Taste is ... a loss for words. Vanilla, oak and cocoa but joined with a mouthfeel that is so extraordinary, in it’s creaminess and fullness. It only loses a few points to its not quite entirely hidden alcohol that makes it kind of prickly. Best beer I’ve had so far.