Goose Island Bourbon County Stout

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

Bottle via trade with The Epeeist. Thanks a lot. Pours pitch black with a creamy brown head & lacings. This IS everything: wood, roast, coffee, bourbon, vanilla, chocolate, smooth, oily & phat. Super complex & super delicious. Long end. Amazing. . .

2006 Vintage

2/19/2007: I’ve been sick, so it has been 9 days since I’ve had a beer. I’m finally feeling better now, so it’s time to end the beer drought! Since it has been so long, I decided that I couldn’t just settle for any beer. It had to be something big and bold. Good thing I already had a bottle of Goose Island Bourbon County Stout in the fridge... BCS pours out a viscous, near black color. It looks black as night in the glass with a deep mahogany color peaking out around the edges when held up to the light. This beer is obviously thick. After the pour, a small head eventually forms as the tiny carbonation bubbles slowly slither upward to the surface. In addition, the beer leaves a brown, oily sheen on the inside surfaces of the glass (first time I’ve seen this before!). Charred wood, smoked meat, vanilla, and lots of bourbon are present in the complex and inviting aroma. The flavor is rich, deep, and complex. It begins with roasted malt and bourbon with a smoked, meaty quality. The alcohol is warming and a very nice semi-sweet chocolate flavor with some coffee notes emerge in the finish. Subsequent drinks reveal more and more chocolate flavor up front and throughout (slightly sweeter too), accompanied by some bourbon, charred wood, and roasted malt flavors. The finish is slightly more dry with some caramel and cocoa flavors at the very end. The bourbon flavor is well incorporated, balanced, and complements everything else in this beer very well. The alcohol is apparent, but also well balanced, nicely integrated, and fits in nicely with the overall character of this beer. BCS is full bodied and thick as cream, yet smooth and silky at the same time. It has a wonderful oily characteristic that coats the entire mouth and tongue so that the wonderful flavors linger on and one for quite some time. Overall this is an amazing stout and an absolute pleasure to drink. I love bourbon and this beer showcases the bourbon decorously without overshadowing the other aromas and flavors of the beer too much. A true delicacy...

12 fl. oz. bottle ( 11% ABV) from Rob. Thank you! I needed this... Score: 9/4/9/5/19 = 4.6
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2006 Vintage

11/21/2009: Bourbon County Stout... Aroma: Popped the cap and bourbon immediately wafts from the bottle! The aroma makes my mouth water: TONS of caramelized malt; barrel char; licorice, toffee, maybe even a little high quality soy sauce... Appearance: Viscous and opaque black pour; no head, crown, or other foam on the surface; very little carbonation left. Flavor: Complex blend of bourbon, caramelized malts; toffee, dark chocolate, licorice, vanilla bean; nice alcohol burn through the nostrils; some alcohol-soaked woodiness in the finish; semi-sweet overall with bitterness like that of dark chocolate. Palate: Thick and full-bodied; smooth and mellow; creamy texture. Overall: This beer has aged beautifully; the usual initial hotness is gone and the complexities have melded into a homogeneous delicacy! However, this beer is probably at it’s peak 6 months to 1.5 years from its release date. Regardless, it’s still damn good right now!

12 fl. oz. bottle ( 11% ABV; Bottled on this date: 070306 ). Score: 9/4/8/4/18 = 4.3

12oz ’06 bottle. This is by far the darkest beer I have ever poured. The flavor and aroma was pungent and wonderful. I could smell the smoke and bourbon, and when held up to a light, you can see some ruby red. The flavor was amazing, bourbon, coffee, chocolate, smoke, vanilla, wood, and many more. The first sip hit me like a freight train but the taste kept lingering in my mouth. Awesome beer.

Bottle shared by nolankowal at Columbus Tasting 10. THANKS JOHN. I have wanted to try this for a while and he was kind to share it with us. I LOVED THIS BEER!! I am not a fan usually of the barrell aged beers, but this one is done very well. Alcohol was well hidden and beautifully blended. I could drink this beer frequently.

Pours like motor oil with a late forming, minimal brown head with no retention. It’s got legs and is so thick that it stains the glass and creates a mirror finish of the surface. The nose is rich complex, with chocolate dipped cherries, vanilla and wood from the cask, with a whisper of bourbon. The flavour is smokey, sweet and earthy with bourbon, charred wood, hop bitterness, star anise, rich chocolate, hints of bourbon and nougat. The booze comes through with a nice warming in the finish. The palate is silky smooth and softly carbonated. Long finish.

Bottle. Black colour with a small brown head. Aroma: Bourbon up front, then malty sweetness, roastiness, oak, vanilla, chocolate, cherries, a bit sourish. Taste: Very creamy, bourbon, roastiness, licorice, chocolate, caramel, cherries, coffee, oak, alcohol, a bit vineous. Full bodied. Complex and very tasty.

This is like a bullet in the tongue. The aged quality and the calibre of bourbon make for a sharpened smoke that impales your mouth and bastes it with maple, charcoal, sweet black licorice, dry dark chocolate and the bitterness of having to drink different beers afterward. The head alone is an achievement: a color of dusty brown caramel sage like bull blood on the plains of Wyoming. Simply amazing.

2007 12oz bottle. Pours a very oily looking, jet black. A dark and runny lacing after a minimal chocolate head disappears very quickly. A very strong aroma, I can smell it from at least an arms length away. Lots of vanilla and bourbon. More sweet than roasty although its still present. Woody/oak, dark chocolate caramel, and a mellow fruit background. Fantastic. Mouthfeel is very slick, oily, and smooth with a medium feel. Taste is incredible. Immediate abundance of flavor including chocolate, sweet caramel malts, oak and bourbon casting, and a vanilla backing. The middle kicks in with a very balancing bitterness and a sweet, mellow fruitiness resembling prunes. It finishes incredibly balanced and easy, drying very slowly throughout the aftertaste. Leaves a nice lingering bitterness and a delightful alcohol warmth unlike any beer I’ve had. VERY warming. Overall, this is a fantastic imp. stout. I would love to compare this to Bells Expedition. Great balance, love the bourbon oak smell/taste, fantastic finishing quality. Its a real temptress.