Goose Island Bourbon County Stout

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

Where to start. As other raters have said this stuff is thick and dark. I swear it pours in clumps! This would make a great marinade for a thick filet mignon. Seriously. There are a lot of flavors going on here. The aroma is interesting but hard to pinpoint. In the taste, I get Merlot, a warm fruit brandy, mild hints of chocolate, and yet somewhat astingent notes of coffee. You really can mix this with a macro and create a more "normal" stout, as someone else suggested. I took Schlafly Pilsner (12 oz) and mixed with 6 oz of Bourbon County Stout. It was still totally opaque but became slightly thinner in texture. It totally absorbed the flavor of the pilsner. Invasion of the Beer Snatchers!

Big thanks to beer handy for this. This is #1,450 for me, and I hope to have 50 solid beers leading up to 1,500. This one pours dark as the night, with minimal tan head. Aroma of malt, big prunes, dark fruit, chocoff, molasses, scotch, oak, bourbon, berries, vanilla. Higher intensity aroma than Heresy. Tastes wonderfully malty, with an oatmeal, blackberry, graham cracker, molasses, chocolate syrup, prune, licorice flavor. Yes, this is a bit cloying due to its amazing thickness, and the alcohol appears as it warms, yet it remains smooth. Up there with the DFH Worldwide Stout as far as thickness and intensity of flavor goes (although not as thick or alcoholic). Gets a bit heavy toward the end, but damn! this is a good beer. Lightweights, or non-stout fans need not apply. Beers like this make me proud to be a ratebeerian. Major props to Goose Island! JPDIPSO, I agree with your marinade idea. I may save a few ounces of this to marinate some steak or pork with. I’ll bet it would kick major ass! Not as smooth as the CWBBS or Speedway, not as complex as Dark Lord (but just as thick), yet amazing in its own right. The bourbon doesn’t overpower the beer, it just accentuates it. Stouts like this don’t come along very often. I’m a hardened, 16 year-veteran beer drinker, and as my last beer of the night this one is intimidating even me! Bravo, Goose Island.

From a 12 oz bottle this poured a very opaque black and when held up to the light let nothing though. The head was a light brown and the lacing was almost non-existent, and seemed to slide off the side of the glass like olive oil. The nose greats you with a huge amount of bourbon. Only bourbon itself smells more like bourbon. But there is more there as well---vanilla, ripe fruit, and chocolate. The mouthfeel is very rich, heavy, and full bodied. The flavor is simply amazing, with bourbon of course, but like the nose also showing vanilla, chocolate, floral hops, roasted caramel, burned oak, coffee, and the finish is sweet with traces of the floral hops. This is one of the most amazing beers ever, and is one you want to sip very slowly and enjoy each and every nuance.

Big thanks to biggreen (BA) and KAggie97 for bringing this to the 2nd Houston Tasting. Dark as night pour with a gorgeous mocha head. Beautiful nose of bourbon and dark pitted fruits. Wow...the taste on this is incredible. Big heat, but the bourbon, smoke, chocolate and vanilla tastes are just amazing. I love this beer.

This beer was wonderful. It pours real thick and clings to the glass for a long time. While 11% alcohol, the alcohol was not noticable. The aging in the bourbon barrels gives a wonderful flavor and aroma. This stout was great from first sip to last. Wondeful marriage of malt, chocolate, nuts and bourbon.

bottle, thanks to santa for this one. pours black with a huge brown creamy head. aroma is whiskey smokey oak taste is oak vanilla, molasses, it is smokey with a light alcohol warming at the end there is so much going on in this it is simply amazing.

2006 12 oz bottle from discount liqour in Milwaukee. Opaque black color with very thin burnt red/brown head that I had to beg to come out, but it was oh so beautiful when it did. Fantastic smoky bourbon aroma, with sweet malt, caramel, dark chocolate, darklord in quality. Flavor is roasted malt, vanilla bourbon, the darkent belgian chocolate, some fruit, like cherries, alc is there but not overpowering. Full body, no carb, maybe a little syrup. Overall an amazing brew that knocks down most impys out there. So good!!

The aroma was great. It poured inky black with a tiny cream head. Definately charred oak on the front of the palate, vanilla in the middle palate and smoke all the way through. For a bourbon aged stout at 150 days I would ahve expected the flavors to have mellowed a bit more than they did. It wasindeed a strong full flavored beer with very sharp flavors. Drink this one around 50 degrees.