Goose Island Bourbon County Stout

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

Pours a pitch black color with a small beige colored head. WOW !! This one clears out the sinuses !! Immense aroma of alcohol, Jack Daniels whiskey,bourbon, vanilla, malts and rich dark chocolate. Taste is very strong. A powerful presence of oak aged alcohol that at times can be overwhelming. This is a very slow sipper, which gets better after it sits for a few minutes. Smoke,vanilla,rich dark chocolate,whiskey and bourbon are all present. Excellent !!

(original tasting) 2008 - Bottle. So black light won’t go through, and a nice lingering dark brown head. The aroma is endless with sweet malt, oak, vanilla, tannins, a touch of bourbon, and a dash of alcohol. The flavor delivers big sweet malts and a dash of alcohol upfront followed by hints of candied fruit and finishing with a lingering definite coffee flavor layered with chocolates. I have since tried this a few times and am aging two more bottles. This stuff is simply amazing and everyone should try it. One of my favorite beers.

Bottle from trade with Captain Cougar. Good nose, Bourbon and ...bourbon. Maybe say soy when cold and vanilla extract as it warmed. With bourbon. Dark brownish black color. litle to no head. Bitter flavors, like aroma with baking chocolate. Thick body, viscous creamy/oily mouthfeel, sharp bitter finish. Bourbon all the way, maybe too one sided IMO. I didn’t get any of the tradition stout flavors. Bourbon. I do like the taste of Bourbon though so it I still enjoyed it. Thanks Capt

Bottle, 2007. So after 700+ ratings, I can’t really add to anything others have said. It’s a bourbony beer whose bourbon is less overpowering than many others and whose base stout is better and shows through slightly more than in others. I enjoyed it greatly but I really fail to understand how a beer so dominated by BOURBON could be rated one of the top 50 BEERS out of tens of thousands. Maybe some day I’ll learn. 6-4-8-4-15/3.7

Rerate from multiple 2008 bottles. So I guess you could say I’ve learned now, and this has become one of my favorite beers. For a slow sipper and powerfully bourbony beer, this has to be one of the smoothest out there. No tannic woody notes, instead rich, lovely bourbon, vanilla, chocolate, caramel, molasses, pleasant, warming, sweet alcohol, not at all out of place, very much in place in fact. All in all, leaves nothing to be desired. While still a mood beer for me, one that I find myself increasingly in the mood for.

Source: 2007, 12 oz bottle from Kelleher’s Irish Pub in Peoria.
Appearance: Poured pitch black with absolutely no head.
Aroma: Dominated by bourbon and dark chocolate. Alcohol present in the nose as well.
Flavor: Bourbon and alcohol, with notes of chocolate.
Palate: Full body with no carbonation and a slick, chewy mouthfeel.
Overall: I was iffy on this one. While this was an excellent, over the top brew, I really didn’t enjoy it enough to drink one again any time soon. 12 oz is too much for me.

Black. Insignificant tan head. Nose of isopropyl, dark chocolate, wood, coffee, licorice, and dark fruits. Flavor adds vanilla, marshmallows, prunes. Full, smooth palate. Excellent.

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.

Updated Rating 4/9/09: 12 oz. bottle - 2007 vintage; 3rd time trying this, thanks to WeeHeavySD for this bottle and chance to revisit; pours thin, jet black with trace dark brown head; 90% bourbon aroma mixed with brunt malt, chocolate; super thin body, boozy, sweet; i’d say it’s official that i don’t really get the appeal here; just another impy that has been way too heavily bourbon-barreled

Original Rating 7/10/08 (3.3 overall) 12 oz. bottle - 2007 vintage; thanks to pepsican for the trade; pours thin and oily black; almost no head; slight chocolate haze around the edges leaving residue on the glass; boozy across the board; drinks sweet and slightly hot; woody vanilla in the flavors; bourbon is overpowering and for me, doesn’t come close to something like KBS; pretty disappointing