Goose Island Bourbon County Stout

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

08/2005 Very dark brown pour. Thin, fizzy brown head, dissipates fast into a small thin ring. Rich aroma of chocolate, vanilla, bourbon, alcohol, roasted malt, some faint dark fruit. Rich vanilla laden chocolate followed quickly by a slightly off-balanced amount of bourbony alcohol. Further inspection yields bourbon flavored fruit, some faint roasted coffee. I want to say it is unbalanced... but then again, it is good. Nicked the ’palate’ a bit for that. But regardless, its really easy to get over the bourbon. This thing is really chewy, has a good overall sweetness + some roasted malts to balance it out a bit. I like it. Jan 2005 or late 2004, sampled around August 2006. Thicker mouthfeel. Less overall bourbon presence, but its still there. Sweeter with dark raisiny rum, and a slight alcohol edge.

perfectly opaque, black as night. head is light to medium brown, thin, mostly dissipating. only a slight hint of alcohol in the nose. the bourbon is immediately noticeable, grainy, mild roast. flavor has a fair amount of vanilla, moderate roast, mild to moderate alcohol. thick as motor oil.

2006 vintage. Pours jet black with a small brown head. Aroma is sharp from the strong suggestion of bourbon, with hints of chocolate, soy, and oak. Taste is heavy on the bourbon, with dark chocolate, vanilla, caramel, marshmallow, and maple syrup notes. Lots of alcohol make it a slow drinker, but at 11% that is to be expected. Mouthfeel is thick and syrupy. Finish is long. This is the most impressive of the Goose Island reserve series and is ultimately very worthy of its high rating. Great beer.

Bottle courtesy of BeerandBlues2 at a blind Imperial Stout tasting at his house on 9/22/09. Color is black with fair carbonation and a small brown head. Aroma is deep dry fruit and caramel scent. It has a mellow full body that goes down smooth and easy. Finish is evenly balanced with sweet fruit then roasted malts with mild burnt flavors and bitterness. In the after taste some of the alcohol shows. This is an excellent brew with well rounded flavors.

It took me long enough to rate this damn beer. Bottle. Dated Oct. 08. Pours a viscous dark black brown color that lets a little light in around the edges and coats the glass when swirled. A tope colored ring makes up the almost non existent head of this brew. Its body appears still. The mouthfeel is incredibly smooth and reduces this 13% alcohol beast to a shockingly quaffable delight with just a hint of its ruggedness on the back end. Nose is vanilla bean, a little bit of raw shredded baking coconut, heavy toast oak, booze, dates, port, baked cinnamon apple crumble, and some heath toffee bar. The taste reminds me of a late harvest Zinfandel I once had with some dark chocolate truffles. The smokey yet sweet and vinous qualities of this beer merge with deep dark chocolate and thick syrupy molasses like characteristics to form a complex and thought provoking expression of brewing. Very well done.

Botttle. I really really enjoyed this from the onset with its strong bourbon, vanilla, malty aroma. The taste was very port-like. Def. a sipper and very warming down the throat. Flavor was very much in line with its aroma. Sweet and savory. I will be coming back to this one again and again. Not a session beer by any means. This one is meant to be sipped and enjoyed.

Very dark chocolate head. Awesome banana caramel roasted vanilla nose. Strong alcohol all the way through. Hits you in the first sip. A strong roasted dark malty mess of a drink. Bitter, coffee. Like if you mixed a pot full of maple syrup and put in a week old cup of coffee throw in some booze. Somehow that sounds terrible, but it is actually quite good. Try it.

Duane, you rock. Some surprise here. Poured real dark and thick, brown head, good lacing. Wow, aroma is complex, bourbon, smoke, sweet malts, coffee, caramel. Mouth feel was thick like honey on a cold day. Taste was great. There was the bourbon, layered with chocolate, coffee and caramel, bourbon again, then some smokiness, and finished dry and bitter sweet. Damn, I only had one bottle and shared it with a great ratebeerian, but, I wish I had more. Thanks to Duane. This was awesome, I have been somewhat disappointed with the wood aged big beers, this has raised the bar!