Goose Island Bourbon County Stout

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

12 ounce bottle, January 5 2005 bottling date, courtesy of the inestimable JPDIPSO. Inky black with caramel-cream lasting coating...dark smoky caramel aroma, hints of caramel, toffee and vanilla, sweet but with an underlying roasty warmth, whiskey peat is very faint and adds color....exceptionally smooth body, milky-chocolaty sweet at first with fiery liquor characteristics showing up late, vanilla and smokiness near the finish, some expresso bitterness and no real hops. A dessert-like Imperial with little fruitiness or harshness overall.

Bottle from South Bay Drug. 2008. Labeled Bourbon County Brand Stout 13%. Very brown black color that shows ruby at the edges (halogen) with a tan head that never really existed. Aromas of alcohol, bourbon, dark fruit, toasted malt and maybe wood. Full bodied with very mild carbonation. Flavor is bourbon, wood, raisin prune and chocolate. Probably other stuff too. Dates? Quite complex. There is sugar, but it’s not sticky sweet. Isn’t dry either. It’s quite a beer.

Another ’05 vintage bottle drank in late 2009, this beer is holding up beautifully, all the complexity is still there and it is a little smoother to drink. Just stupendous. Thanks to Duane for the bottle. Bottled January 5, 2005. Poured a black that seem almost purple somehow. The head is a dark tan color that is almost orange. The aroma is massive. Rich with toffee and fresh chocolate chip cookies. The vanilla from the barrel aging is there with just enough of a hint of oak to make this interesting. The barrel aging does not dominate, but rather accentuates the already awesome aroma. If you breathe in deeply you do get a whiff of this high abv monster. Wow, the taste is incredible. Cocoa and some Bananas Foster at first. A little bit of very high quality espresso and some very rich caramel. The mouthfeel is slightly sticky. A hint of alcohol in the finish, but it is not detracting in any way. I imagine this beer will continue to age magnificently. Tried another bottle from August 16th, 2005 in December of 2005. I am aging a few more. What an amazing beer.

First bottling marked 3-7-4 (6-3-6-3-12=3.0): Bourbon, soy, and berries in the aroma but overall the bourbon is overpowering. Opaque brown-black body is topped by a low brown head that recedes rapidly to ring. Bourbon is strong also in the flavour along with vinous, fruity notes of chocolate and nutty marzipan and some vegetal tones. Fair roasty bitterness emerges in the finish. Bottle sampled with MartinT, Olivier_MTL and Rastacouere.
Version Bottled on 010505 (7-3-8-4-14=3.6): Strongly alcoholic aroma features bourbon soaked berries with a nutty, marzipan undertone, some light roastiness and some cake-like yeast. Pleasant enough as bourbon seems much better controlled than in the previous batch. Opaque dark brown body with low but lasting brown head that recedes slowly to ring. Very sweet, boozy flavour has a nutty and sweet marzipan character with roasty bitterness emeging in the finish. Liquorous, strong alcohol warming, full bodied thick and still with low carbonation and viscous, oily, sticky mouthfeel. Bottle sampled with MartinT, Olivier_MTL and Rastacouere.

2nd of my Stouts of November: The last bottle left at Clybourn, damn! Expedition snifter glassware: Nearly opaque with a oily film once the small tan head disappeared and good tears. Aroma is huge, heavy malt character of molasses, espresso, mocha, vanilla. Nose also detected the borbon smoky character, aromatic hops, some raisin and plum. The taste was big and sticky sweet initally but a nice dose of bitterness and touch of alcohol cleaned the palate. Smoky, coffee dry, and woody finish. Complex and full-bodied. A wonderful brewers expression of the style, which is an Imperial IMO. I wish I had more bottles.

Bottle at home with Tom and Royce... Big thanks to Dough77 for this .. 2006 Vintage roast malts lots of bourbon ... sweet vanilla ... toasted malt ..3.2.

TK 3 ... Train shefiled to huddersfield with Nightfall ... Deep black ... thin tan head ... smooth roast ... little simple bourbon... toffee and vanilla ... nose is little meaty 3.8

Bottle. Medium high but unfortunately quickly disappearing brown creamy head. Black, yes indeeed pitch black body. Smooth creamy choccolate coffee liquorice aroma. Wood bourbon coffee choccolate liquorice vanille hops flaovr. What more do you wnat ? Close to perfection. Higher creamier head, no sign of alcoho and maybe a bit of spicyness. That would be perfect. Alcohol is there alright - well I mean 13% - very well balanced. Low carbonation and a strong and long aftertaste.

Picked up single 12-oz bottle at Cellar’s Wine & Spirits in St Paul, MN. Pours a thick, opaque dark brown brew with a thin, creamy tan head that leaves behind a fine film and tan ring. Aroma is complex with a strong vanilla, chocolate, aged oak, bourbon, a touch of coconut, and molasses scents. Taste is full bodied, thick, slick, very little carbonation with flavors of bourbon, alcohol, chocolate malt and vanilla. Finish is high alcohol character, with a lingering bourbon and dark malt flavor. As Minnesota evening continue to get cold, this is one heck of a warming brew.