Goose Island Bourbon County Stout

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

I hope the 2006 is as good as the ’05. Bottled 07/03/06. Pours a thick black with no head to speak of--until agitated. then there’s a little more than a ring of tan head. The aroma is full of bourbon--vanilla, oak, and alcohol.There are also some roasted coffee, dark fruits, and some darker chocolates. I understand how people wouldn’t like this since the bourbon is so dominant, rather than a complement. I’d have to agree with this as one of the expections. It just smells so damn good. Lots of bourbon, ETOH, vanilla and oak in the taste, with the remaining aromas following. Dry roasted coffee finish. Syrupy body though quite creamy and silky smooth. Carbonation is minimal--not too high and not too soft. This is a delicous beer--what I need to do is a vert with this and the Kentucky Breakfast. Pours a Old rating follows12.oz, bottled 08/16/05. Smells of alcohol, bourbon, raisins, and dark chocolate-not necessarily in that order. Pours an incredibly dark brown (can’t see through glass) with a small dark tan head--quickly diminishing. lots of toasted maltiness, alcohol very apparent, more bourbon and some vanilla, bitter dry finish. 8-3-8-4-17--4.0

12 oz. 2007 vintage. Pitch black with a thick and creamy two-finger head that settles into a soapy halo. Aroma is a freshly crumbled Baby Ruth in a just-emptied bourbon glass. Flavor starts with espresso, chocolate, caramel, vanilla and oak, then adds some charry wood, tobacco, and alcohol for the slightly smoky and balanced finish. Heavy body is velvety smooth and coats your teeth and tongue nicely. Tingly, warming alcohol afterwards. What a dessert!

Unlabeled bottle. Huge woody, peaty, alcoholic nose with notes of vanilla and roasted chestnuts as it warms. Big, powerful alcoholic first sip is much like a whisky shot. Big malts in the middle are sweet and nutty. Some chocolates peek through, more alcohol, with a dry, but vanilla-like finish. Alcohol shivers afterwards. Aged for quite a while (almost a year?) Thanks to BBB63 way back when!

Truly great stout. Burnt brown sugar, vanilla, coffee, toffee, chocolate, cvaramel and roasted maltiness...But I really love the wood, smoke, and bourbon profile from the 5 months aging process. One of the very best!

Bottled. Ah, yes. The Goose was the first brewpub I ever knew of, and I enjoyed grabbing a couple of Gooses by the neck... and then this came along: the first beer that made me say, "Oh... my... freakin' God!" Now it's out in bottles though hard to find:
A deeper Imperial Stout-type nose. Big bourbon flavor, even powerful like a Hennessey. Beautiful black with red highlights. I saw the bourbon barrels they were aging this in at the brewery a few months back, and I'm pleased to say they've bottled it beautifully!

2006. 12 oz. Holy crap. What an aroma! The smells bowl me over as they race out of the glass. A nonstop cascade of fresh almond paste in a buttery croissant, a slab of hazlenut chocolate spread, blended with fig paste, reduced bourbon and brown sugar over aged mint leaves and a black tea. Dense, sweet and cold creamed. Amazing. This is how all Imp Stouts should smell. A love the deep dark fruits and nut characters, shys away from coffee, char and roast and ebbs towards the real caramelized malt notes. Beautiful. Pours pitch black, with a ruby sienna fringe and a light slick of tan head. Flavors are as bold and complex of the tongue. All the characters quickly invade every corner of my mouth. There’s reduced kumquat juice, mexican vanilla beans stripped and steeped in fresh cream, melding with english toffee, belgian truffles, and a mouthful of espresso beans. So bright and full of character. There’s a great percolation and prickly carbonation that keeps the beer alive on my tongue. In the middle the barrel and it’s alcohols shine in brilliant glory with a ruby fire of passion. Oaky nibs chime in with a faint quaf of parching air and then ebb out towards a charred sensation, with bristling charcoals, seared honey-crusted lamb bones, and toasted nuts. Finally, the deal is sealed with a torch of lemon candy, that reminds me that hops are in this potent brew. Mouthfeel is dense, with coarse grainy sugars and a whole lot of sweetness interplaying with the barrel alcohols. Heat is noticeable in a brandy sense, with coursing vinous behavior, but it’s not upsetting. A little light on the cold cream density texture that I desire, but the individual characters are accessible and well-defined making it well done. Refined. To me, a benchmark barrel-aged Imperial Stout.

The Goose! Look out! Pours a motor oil black, no head. Thick as hell. Smells like chocolate and some dessert I cant think of. Some sort of caramel and cinnamon treat. Wait, I got it! Actually SoLan got it! The Samoa girl scout cookie. The one with cookie, choclate, coconut, and caramel. You know the one. The taste is very much monster caramel. I get some of that coconut chocolate too. Really rich. Just delicious. Definitely get that bourbon in there too which probably gives it its richness. Tasty. Loved it.

Tiramusu, bourbon, coconut, chocolate, vanilla, caramel, peanut brittle, cake batter, fudge, and gramam crackers in the complex aroma. Black color. Really rich and full body, with a huge and brilliant mouth experience. Chocolate, fudge cake, with hints of caramel, along with an enormous barrel contribution, which gives hints of coconut, vanilla and oak. Wow. So rich and tasty.