Goose Island Bourbon County Stout

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

Bottle (courtesy of Dalaamar): Poured a pitch-black color stout with a large dark brown color foamy head with minimal retention. Aroma of bourbon is quite powering as well as some chocolate and vanilla. Taste is a mix between some chocolate malt with hints of vanilla, coffee and oak. Bourbon presence is interesting but a bit too powerful for my liking since it brings too much alcohol, which is not something that I necessarily enjoy. Body is full and has a creamy texture, which I quite enjoy. Overall, this is a very interesting creation, which I’m glad, got a chance to try but I feel I would probably prefer the non-barrel aged version more. Also, this is more of a sipper then anything else and half a bottle would probably be enough for one session.

350 ml bottle from archer liquors. Black with no head. Good strong bourbon, vanilla, and oak aroma. The taste is not as complex as I usually like from a beer like this, but, that said, the taste is an amazing rich dark chocolate and bourbon flavor with a pleasant bitterness and a lingering oakiness. Very good.

2005 vintage consumed in February 2008. Whoa! This brew screams bourbon! As soon as I cracked the top, a massive nose of kentucky bourbon laden chocolate and nougat malts hit me like a ton of bricks. The thick, syrupy, opaque mahogany liquid exudes fumy notes of vanilla and burnt caramel over the silky dark chocolate malts and omnipresent bourbon. The aroma is nothing short of fantastic, and it transitions perfectly into the luxurious, intense flavor. Dark chocolate and caramel caress the tongue, while the intense bourbon melts perfectly into the fold. There is a perfectly complimentary smoky taste that sticks to the roof of the mouth and the edges of the tongue. This brew is masterfully crafted in its use of massive amounts of malt to balance out the huge bourbon notes. I can’t believe how well this has held up after nearly three years. My only knock is on appearance, which would certainly garner a perfect score save for the lack of a head or lacing, a condition that is most likely due to the brew’s age. A thick viscous body drinks incredibly smooth for such a huge beer, though it falls just short on carbonation levels. I will revisit this beauty as often as possible, as this is truly one of the classics. EXCELLENT!

2007: Pour is opaque black with a skin of a brown head...smell is an amazing mix of bourbon (vanilla, wood, smoke) and rich roasty dark chocolate...taste is richly sweet up front with vanilla, then chocolate, then some hints of roasty bitterness of coffee and wood...thick chewy mouthfeel...wow...this beats every version I have had of this for the last 4 years...

2005: Pour is black with a nice dense dark brown head...smell is loaded with chocolate and vanilla and other roasty smells...some oak and alcohol too...great mouthfeel...taste is sweet with lots of chocolate and vanilla...very sweet and hot with alcohol...I am going to let my other 8 bottles sit for a year or so...still great...

12oz, bottled 7/14/06. 5 1/2 months old now. pours pitch black, head is minimal but with some vigerous stirring i got a nice red velvet and tan head. looked amazing next to the pitch black stout. too bad it didn’t last long and half way through the beer there’s no head at all. nose is quite bourbony with wonderful notes of vanilla, oak, burned espresso, and chocolate. one of the best aromas i’ve smelled. this beer is pretty hot. i feel the alcohol in the back of my throat. this has to be more than 11% cuz it tastes like 13+. tastes is very bourbony, vanilla, oaky, with undertones of dark fruits, chocolate, and coffee. mouthfeel isn’t very full but is very smooth. very complex and delicious. loses palate points for how hot it is. can’t wait to see this with a few years on it.9/4/8/3/16=4.0.

okay so sometimes you sample a beer and it blows you away only to not have the same experience when you go back to it. well this is a rating from an almost 1 year cellar aged 06 bottle...wow. no more strong alc and bourbon in the nose, flavor and finish! nose is rich chocolate, oak, coconut, and bourbon. flavor is an extremely rich and complex array of the same, lots of toffee, coconut, oak, oh wow this is amazing, has aged so well it was once so hot but no more! this is aging better than other vintages. wow this is getting close to oak aged dark lord. 9/4/9/4/18=4.4.

so I went back and tried another bottle and it wasn’t like that one. more alcohol in this one and didn’t have the depth and complexity along with less coconut. 9/4/8/4/17=4.2

11/3/07, vertical with 1/05, 8/05, 7/06, and 10/07 vintages. I rank the vertical from best to worst: 1/05, 7/06, 10/07, and 8/05. The 1/05 batch has aged wonderfully, and it seemed the smoothest and richest. 7/06 batch is doing nicely but needs some more time as it is still a little harsh around the edges. 10/07 is just too fresh, clearly needs more time as it seems too raisiny and alcoholy. I’m not sure what happened to the 8/05 batch as the nose didn’t have much at all and the flavor lacked any chocolate presence, just alcohol, soy, and charred wood. this also had a fizzy mouth feel. interesting vertical, really dissapointed with the 8/05 bottle but BCS could have long aging potential.


12/1/07, sampled another 8/05 bottle. tasty stuff still but mostly bourbon notes coming through. not much aged noticed, appears pretty mellow. alcohol noticed in the nose when it warms. probably the weakest vintage of BCS and I’m not sure it’s going anywhere with more age. 3.8.

2/05/08, July 2006 batch, aged 17months. pours extremely thick and pitch black with no head. i don’t recall seeing this be so thick before. aroma is soft buttery bourbon oak and dark fruits. flavor has a dark chocolate mixing with big oaky bourbon notes while some alcohol and dark fruits finish it out. body is thick and finish is silky smooth. aging really well.8/4/8/5/17=4.2.

Rerate: 01Jan2008 POurs black with a 1cm tan head that quickly disappears. Creamy mouthfeel with notes of vanilla, chocolate and oak. Finishes smoothly. -------- with a thin brown head, lightly carbonated. complex boubon, vanilla & stout flavors, unfortunately too much alcohol in the nose & flavor counteract the nice creamyness in the flavor

2006 Vintage

2/19/2007: I’ve been sick, so it has been 9 days since I’ve had a beer. I’m finally feeling better now, so it’s time to end the beer drought! Since it has been so long, I decided that I couldn’t just settle for any beer. It had to be something big and bold. Good thing I already had a bottle of Goose Island Bourbon County Stout in the fridge... BCS pours out a viscous, near black color. It looks black as night in the glass with a deep mahogany color peaking out around the edges when held up to the light. This beer is obviously thick. After the pour, a small head eventually forms as the tiny carbonation bubbles slowly slither upward to the surface. In addition, the beer leaves a brown, oily sheen on the inside surfaces of the glass (first time I’ve seen this before!). Charred wood, smoked meat, vanilla, and lots of bourbon are present in the complex and inviting aroma. The flavor is rich, deep, and complex. It begins with roasted malt and bourbon with a smoked, meaty quality. The alcohol is warming and a very nice semi-sweet chocolate flavor with some coffee notes emerge in the finish. Subsequent drinks reveal more and more chocolate flavor up front and throughout (slightly sweeter too), accompanied by some bourbon, charred wood, and roasted malt flavors. The finish is slightly more dry with some caramel and cocoa flavors at the very end. The bourbon flavor is well incorporated, balanced, and complements everything else in this beer very well. The alcohol is apparent, but also well balanced, nicely integrated, and fits in nicely with the overall character of this beer. BCS is full bodied and thick as cream, yet smooth and silky at the same time. It has a wonderful oily characteristic that coats the entire mouth and tongue so that the wonderful flavors linger on and one for quite some time. Overall this is an amazing stout and an absolute pleasure to drink. I love bourbon and this beer showcases the bourbon decorously without overshadowing the other aromas and flavors of the beer too much. A true delicacy...

12 fl. oz. bottle ( 11% ABV) from Rob. Thank you! I needed this... Score: 9/4/9/5/19 = 4.6
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2006 Vintage

11/21/2009: Bourbon County Stout... Aroma: Popped the cap and bourbon immediately wafts from the bottle! The aroma makes my mouth water: TONS of caramelized malt; barrel char; licorice, toffee, maybe even a little high quality soy sauce... Appearance: Viscous and opaque black pour; no head, crown, or other foam on the surface; very little carbonation left. Flavor: Complex blend of bourbon, caramelized malts; toffee, dark chocolate, licorice, vanilla bean; nice alcohol burn through the nostrils; some alcohol-soaked woodiness in the finish; semi-sweet overall with bitterness like that of dark chocolate. Palate: Thick and full-bodied; smooth and mellow; creamy texture. Overall: This beer has aged beautifully; the usual initial hotness is gone and the complexities have melded into a homogeneous delicacy! However, this beer is probably at it’s peak 6 months to 1.5 years from its release date. Regardless, it’s still damn good right now!

12 fl. oz. bottle ( 11% ABV; Bottled on this date: 070306 ). Score: 9/4/8/4/18 = 4.3

2007 bottle with a lot of thanks to golubj. Poured an extremely black color with not much head despite a pretty vigorous pour. Aroma was delicious with chocolate, oak, bourbon, vanilla and caramel. Palate was nice and mellow, with not a lot of carbonation. Flavor was initially very roasted; almost charred. However, as it warms up more, the complexity begins to show. Not quite as good tasting as I had hoped, but still very good. Roasted malt, bourbon, with some vanilla and caramel. Some alcohol, although pretty well hidden. A little bit of chocolate and wood as well.