Goose Island Bourbon County Stout

Brewed by Goose Island Beer Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Chicago, Illinois USA

Bottle. Sent by JCW via a trade. Pours used motor oil black with a bit of dark brown around the edge. Nose is wonderful! Bourbon, wood, light vanilla, molasses, roasted malts, dark chocolate, and light hints of brownies. Taste is rich and full. Lots of bourbon flavors and wood with vanilla, light molasses, coffee, dark chocolate, roasted malts, and alcohol. This is light a bourbon soaked chocolate cake. Delicious beer! Body is smooth and gives a mild alcohol warmth. Moderate carbonation feel as well. Finishes much like it began - bourbon notes, wood, vanilla, molasses, dark choco notes, and brownies. The alcohol shows up a bit more in the finish, but it compliments this beer nicely. Great stuff and I have to thank JCW again for the one. I waited a long time to try this, almost without hope, until John basically sprang it on me! Thanks again!

Re-rate 9/30/08. Draft at Clybourn. Poured an opaque black color with a brown head. Smelled of distinct bourbon, vanilla, raisin, date, prune, chocolate, and toffee. Full bodied, sweet, oily, and slick. Carbonation was on the low end of the spectrum. I tasted roasty malt, chocolate, vanilla, toffee, caramel, and bourbon. A bit over-bourbonated, but it works well for this beer. 12oz bottle from iowaherkeye. Thanks Joey. Bottled 7/3/06. Served at cellar temperature. Poured an opaque black color. Head was thick and brown with good retention. A bit of sad looking lace was left behind. Aroma was of bourbon, milk chocolate, soy sauce, and molasses. Sweet, full bodied, and boozy with a warming alcohol effect. Tasted of vanilla, whiskey, chocolate liqueur, and a few dashes of soy sauce. Boozy, boozy, boozy, but pretty good. 8/3/8/4-17

(2008 vintage). Near black colored with little brown head. Extremely rich vanilla and roasted, oaky aroma, salty licorice comes also up with port wine. Near full bodied, sticky palate. Warm mouth feel. Flavor is even richer with vanilla dominating in sweet oaky start, aftertaste lasts with vanilla and bourbon still, hoppy bitterness, grains and salt comes up too. Mild alcohol in aftertaste. Excellent treat.

12 oz bottle 2006 vintage via trade with Monger, thanks man. Pours black deep dark black with a small borwn head that quickly became a thin outer layer film with a little island of foam in the middle. The aroma is big and bold, coffee, chocolate, smoke, and lots of malty goodness. This is an impressive impy stout, the taste is rich thick, and the chocolate and coffee tones nicely balance the rich flavor. This feels great in the mouth, and while I don’t agree with punkrkr about the big burn, there is a slight alchol burn, but it isn’t huge.

Sept 08 rerate. Wow now that I know beer this one is amazing. I liked it years ago now it is heaven. The chocolate, molasses, bourbon, vanilla, toffee nose is nothing compared to the incredible bomb that goes off on your tongue. Sweet chocolate, bourbon, syrup, vanilla, wood, and more just burst in your mouth and leave a finish that is minutes long. Yes this is a world class beer.

33cl bottle dark brown , small light brown head. oak, sugar, sweet, dark fruits. flavor is sweet licorice, whisky, faint dark fruts.

In the bottle. If you can get beyond the immense alcohol inhalation experience, you will see a jet black brew with a dark brown head. The head, like all other matter, cannot survive the solubilizing excesses of the ethanol solvent. It smells exactly like dark malt extract BEFORE you dilute it to brew up a homebrew stout. It almost pours as thick as well. The sweetness is beyond sweet, but the alcohol burn needs it. I’m afraid this beer is fixing my innards. God, but it is a great way to die! Coffee, honey, chocolate, molasses all abound, but the killer aroma and flavor is BOURBON. If you took the Rogue Chocolate Stout, fed it steroids for a year , and then locked it away in a Bardstown distillery until it was old enough to drive, this is the monster you would have created. My palate has been righteously defeated. I am looking forward to updating this entry 5 years from now. By then, BCS will be old enough to legally drink other alcohols.

Thanks to Joebrew for sharing. I appreciate the quality of this beer but the bourbon is not for me. There is a powerful bourbon aroma that destroys other aromas that might be there if not for the bourbon. Not as much bourbon as Shipwreck or Dragon’s Milk, but a lot of bourbon anyway. A thick, black, and malty beer underneath the alcohol. There is some malt sweetness and a hint of English style port and wine flavors, but in the aroma the bourbon overwhelms all. I would like to taste this same beer with the bourbon removed.