Goose Island Bourbon County Stout

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

12oz - 2006 - Aroma of roasted dark malts, alcohol, bourbon, oak, black licorice and vanilla. Pours black with a small head and good lacing. Flavor is an improvement over aroma. Very roasty chocolate, smooth bourbon, vanilla and alcohol. Palate is smooth abd creamy. This is how a burbon stout should taste. Well balanced and smooth, not like a stout with a shot of bourbon in it.

If you aren’t a fan of barrel aging, this isn’t a beer you want to seek out. But if you are, I got one for you! Pours pitch black, very little head. Aroma is more about the barrel aging than the stout. Its very bourbony, vanilla, and fig like. Flavor is fruity, with very little smoke or roast qualities to it, uh but the boubon, its there and its excellent. Finish is very sweet and wet.

Tons of vanilla in the aroma. Coconut as well. Bourbon, alcohol. A really well done bourbon aged stout.

12 oz bottle - 8-16-2005

After picking this up during the summer and trading one away, I thought I would give it a try. The next batch is out and I wanted to know if it was worth picking up again. After having it, I have to say not. I may sit on the remaining two bottles for a while to see if they calm down but this was one hot beer. Still, even an average imperial stout is better than most other beers.

Aroma / Appearance - The nose was a nice texture of oak, vanilla, plums, cocoa and smoke. Further investigation revealed chestnuts, mocha and caramel. It was a little thin for a Top 50 imperial stout but still quite complex and enojyable. The pour was deep black with the thinnest of mocha colored heads. The lacing left remnants all the way to the end of the glass, leaving traces of the level as it dropped.

Flavor / Palate - Plums, raisins, anise, smoke and a huge bourbon note infused my mouth. There was a trace of coffee after everything but the bourbon faded. It was a hot ride for a while probably due to the aging in bourbon barrels. Towards the middle of glass, as it warmed, I detected caramel, hazelnut and a vinous mouthfeel. At the end it took on chocolately tones. Overall it was extremely tasteful but the bourbon was just too overwhelming. Unlike some bourbon barrel aged stouts where it highlights existing flavors, this one supresses and dominates.

12oz 2007 bottle courtesy of Rogueone sampled at the Hopsnobbery Collective stout tasting on 1.16.09. Had this one once before and it tasted like it could sit a little while longer to calm down. Pours black with no head. Boozy aroma with dark fruit and some chocolate. Bourbony sweet flavor with coffee and chocolate. Powerful beer, but not quite as harsh as the first time I had it. Excellent brew.

’06 Bottle. Beer looks like used motor oil with a thin, light brown, frothy, mostly diminishing head.<P> Description is right—a cigar would go limp in the presence of this plush beast. The aroma is uniquely hot, huge and assertive-sweet. Malty with heavy sweet notes of roasted grain, coffee, toffee, a moderate-to-heavy note of chocolate and a light note of blackstrap molasses; Hoppy with moderate note of resin/pine; Yeasty with a moderate note of basement; Moderate notes of bourbon, wood, cozy alcohol, trace of smoke.<P> The flavor is heavily sweet, moderately bitter with a long, tummy-warming hot, heavily sweet, lightly biter finish.<P> The body is lush—full and velvety with soft carbonation.

Bottle shared thanks to lmgraz1. Dark brown, almost black in color with a decent sized tan head. Really nice aroma of roasted barley, mild bourbon, vanilla and wood. Flavor was pretty much the same as the aroma, and I am very thankful for that. I’m not a huge fan of barrell aged beers(BA Old Numbskull being one exception and now this delicious brew). I really enjoyed the bourbon flavor probably because it wasn’t overpowering like others I’ve had.

Rating #800! Bottle thanks to ucusty (thanks, Dave!). Beautiful black pour with thick tan head. Big nose of chocolate, nuts, roast, vanilla, and of course huge oaky bourbon. First few sips didn’t show the booze, but it came through after. This seems like more a beer to share than to drink by oneself. Probably would have rated higher if sampled in a tasting. Still, pretty damn good.