Goose Island Bourbon County Stout

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

Black with burgundy edges. Nose was of chocolate cake and brownies. Silky texture. Rich, toasty, strong and intense flavors. Fudge played out in my mind. Lesser notes of whiskey and vanilla-laden oak, with rich chocolate. Some sourness and wood in the background. Mellow bourbon as well. Overall, I found it rich, sweet, chewy and warming. Luckily, the alcohol staved off the intense sweetness a little. Rerate (2007 bottle): Great looking beer; motor oil-like and very dark with a thick and creamy head. Smelled glorious. Felt like a silk milkshake. Complexity was amazing. Dark, roasted, toasted, oaky, woodsy, earthy and charred. Incredibly rich and succulent. Other aromas of coffee, dark chocolate, smoke, dark fruit and tobacco. Soothing warmth. Great beer. This new rating was much better than my last (and my last was pretty good).

Oily black, no head at all - murky and still like a glass of motor oil. BIG bourbon aroma, smoky and oaky with rich molasses and cocoa, rounded out by caramel. Bourbon and wood notes meld nicely with rich caramel malts, alcohol lightly nips at the back of your tongue but is not overbearing at all. The swallow - there is the alcohol, warming down to your belly. Another sniff - now picking up vanilla and a green-grape fruitiness. Next sip - more in the way of cocoa powder and smoke this time, carbonation level low, allowing flavors to melt onto your tongue. Rich, complex, and damn near perfect.

12 oz bottle pours a thick jet black with a small brown head that doesn’t last long with not much lacing either. Aromas of coconut, cake, chocolate and bourbon. Coconut, cookie, vanilla, chocolate, bourbon and coffee flavors. Full bodied with a oily thick mouthfeel, finishes sweet. This is a really amazing stout.

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.

1/30/06 from the bottle: Poured with the consistency of motor oil. The dark tan head appeared like a resurrection from the black liquid and stayed for quite a while. The aroma is massive ... an heavily coated in alcohol. Be ready for this one ... it’s got a massive presence, not unlike a whiskey with a smoky charcoal essence. After 4 months away in Kuwait with no alcohol, me thinks I’m too much a girlie man for this. Wow.

Bottle. Poured a serious jet black with just a hint of brown. No head on this one other than a small, lingering coffee-and-cream colored layer on top. Aromas of everything - baker’s chocolate, some subdued whiskey, caramel, very dark roasted malt, espresso, vanilla beans, as well as some light but noticeable charcoal notes. Very thick mouthfeel, which at first comes across like a heavy port wine. There’s a certain "zing" that I noticed firstly, which was mostly the bourbon notes coming out on top. Very smooth, almost oily, with a good amount of charcoal. Losts of vanilla, caramel, dark roasted malt, espresso and baker’s chocolate at the end. An outstanding beer and extremely intense. I can see this one improving over the next few years, easily.

This is just an incredible, incredible beer. I was able to share this with my brother and he too was blown away at how tasty this was. It pours out this glooping, thick, motor oil like appearance with a brown one finger head. Aroma is chocolate, vanilla, black licorice, black walnuts, wood, and alcohol. Mouthfeel is sticky, coating and velvety smooth. Flavors were much of the same as the aroma, with a sweet malt really coming out along with the wood and bourbon notes. Just an awesome beer.

Very thick pour with a nice dark tan head...opaque to say the least. Vanilla and bourbon are coming to the nose, while bourbon, vanilla, and caramel are in the flavor of this intense stout. Malty to bitter on the tongue, but malty certainly takes the majority. Smooth, silky, rich...awesome dessert/night cap beer. Careful though, the alcohol is hidden very well, and if not taken in moderation...this beer will knock you on your ass. What I find impressive as well is the absence of chocolate and/or coffee in the flavor, which usually is present in most imperial stouts I’ve comsumed.
Update:12/12/2006 from last years batch
The bourbon elements still remain dominant in both the aroma and the flavor. Chocolate and some light coffee are present as well as some vinous elements in the flavor...but they are pretty slight. SMooth and slightly grainy mouthfeel...roasty, bittersweet, boozey finish. Still fairly hot...certainly something for someone who loves bourbon. I was totally off with the absence of chocolate and coffee...it’s in there. Great stuff, though I’m still miffed that GI stiffed Ohio on this stuff this year.