Goose Island Bourbon County Stout

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

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.

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

Extremely bready and thick texture. Eat it with a spoon. Brutal and warming. Caramelly finish.

12 oz bottle (vintage 2007) at Stockholm Beer Festival 2008. Pitch black with small head. Strong sweet and perfumed bourbon aroma with vanilla, salty licorice and dark chocolate. Rich sweet chocolate and bourbon flavor with vanilla, salty licorice and some grainy notes. Some coffee and charcoal towards finish. Very warming. Good strong bourbon character but not overpowering.

Bottle. Dark black color with a thick pour and minimal to no head. The bourbon aroma is strong with vanilla, raisins, smoke, and rich sweet malts. A thick syrupy-like body with a dark fruit, rich malt, and warming alcohol finish. Thanks to lowerdsixth for the trade.

Looks: solid black, thick, unyielding, with a solid slab of cocoa-tan foam resting well above. Smell: whiskey, charcoal, leather and molasses, rich and twisted with further flickers of carob and anise,...heady and delirious. Entices one to taste... On the tongue: thick and full, all the way, slick, tasty, but...damn, this is a doozy! Wow, one taste, and it sticks and lingers...oooh, la, la, la...and, every taste lasts a long time, it stands so thick on the palate and in the memory, that one needn’t return so soon. but, who can resist? I taste again, and it’s thicker and richer than before...amazing! A bona-fide runner up to Dark Lord, for thickest and chewiest IS....and so slick with the whiskey effect, which I’m especially susceptible to...I need a case of this, not one 12 ounce bottle. There’s too much flavor here tosit in so small a vessell.

Thanks to Secret Santa for this one! Pours motor oil black. After a moment, a deep brown head makes a futile attempt to break the surface, but promptly drowns in the blackness. Aroma is thick with deep chocolate, espresso, and bourbon. When it was cool, the bourbon was almost too much, as I felt it overwhelmed the other flavors. But as it warmed, everything fell into balance - dark chocolate, vanilla, bourbon, alcohol, espresso all working together in unison. There is a faintly cereal note on the finish that keeps this from being perfect, but still awfully good stuff.

12 ounce bottle shared by Willblake at Belgium Comes to Cooperstown 2006. Thanks! 2-3 ounce sample. Lots of pungent bourbon in the nose with some sweet chocolate aromas present as well. Unfortuantely the bourbon just pulverizes the nose. Very inky opaque, oily dark brown color with a small yellowish head. Strong, hot, whiskey/bourbon start with lots of booziness in the middle. Finishes roasty with some sweet chocolate notes. Too hot and way too much bourbon. Not sure how so many people can like this unbalanced beer.