Goose Island Bourbon County Stout

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

Good stuff! Pours black, with almost no head. Smells of sweet bourbon oak. The 13% ABV is disguised nicely by the bourbon and chocolately overtones.

Bottle. Poured blacker than black with a thin brown head. Aroma of good bourbon, caramel and smoke. Full strong flavour, vanilla, malt chocolate, bourbon and smoke. Lasting malt and chocolate finish. This one is strong, sip it and enjoy i.

12oz Bottle $19.99 4-Pack Sam’s Marcey 2007 Bottling 13% The ’07 Bourbon County Stout pours black as a moonless night. Not a shred of light can fight it’s way through the blackness. An aggressive pour yields only a small crown of tan foam which is to be expected with the massive abv. The head settles to a ring and leaves patches of lace after each sip. As you take your first whiff you’re hit with a big dose of vanilla from the barrel aging. Traces of bourbon come next followed by a mellow oakiness. The barrel aging runs throughout but is greeted and embraced by a big roastiness, caramel maltiness, and a smattering of dark fruit. There’s even a ghost-like smokiness floating around in there. There is a great stout in here but the barrel aging makes it world class. All the qualities from the aroma are right here in the flavor with the bourbon, vanilla, and a touch of woodiness working throughout. If this beer was aged any longer the bourbon would overpower everything else, if it was aged any less the bourbon wouldn’t have been able to stand up to such a big robust stout. A slice of heaven in a glass. Thick and rich mouthfeel but exquisitly smooth. The carbonation is on the sluggish side which lets this silky body glide through slowly and coats every tastebud. The alcohol warms the throat on the swallow. I can’t give a stout this big abv wise a perfect score for drinkability but this is as close as it could get. A sipper without a doubt but one to sip and savor all night long. One of my favorites from Goose Island and one of my favorite stouts. The barrel aging sets this beer apart from the other great stouts. Absolutely delicious. 1/20/08

The first time I tried this one was with jarspag, too bad his gf spilled half the bottle on the carpet...noooo! Thanks to Sephiroth for gettin me another bottle through trade. Pours a very silky pitch black, & I mean black! Minimal red-beige head that coats the top layer in my snifter, with good lacing. Wonderful aroma of bourbon and oak wood, with vanilla, espresso, licorice and currants. Flavor blew me away, wow! Tons of coffee, roasted malt, stained oak wood, vanilla and black cherry. Very well balanced with the nice hint of bourbon at the end of each sip with a warming alcohol finish that coats the tongue. Great smooth and chewy palate, you can really dig your teeth into this brew, and the taste lingers on...and on...and on...Gets even better with warmth. Nice!

Poured jet black with brown head. Strong aroma of bourbon and coffee with some chocolate and vanilla hints. I could smell this all day. Extremely strong alcohol taste with bourbon, coffee, and chocolate hints. Also some fruit present. This brew is definately made for sippin.

2005 vintage consumed in February 2008. Whoa! This brew screams bourbon! As soon as I cracked the top, a massive nose of kentucky bourbon laden chocolate and nougat malts hit me like a ton of bricks. The thick, syrupy, opaque mahogany liquid exudes fumy notes of vanilla and burnt caramel over the silky dark chocolate malts and omnipresent bourbon. The aroma is nothing short of fantastic, and it transitions perfectly into the luxurious, intense flavor. Dark chocolate and caramel caress the tongue, while the intense bourbon melts perfectly into the fold. There is a perfectly complimentary smoky taste that sticks to the roof of the mouth and the edges of the tongue. This brew is masterfully crafted in its use of massive amounts of malt to balance out the huge bourbon notes. I can’t believe how well this has held up after nearly three years. My only knock is on appearance, which would certainly garner a perfect score save for the lack of a head or lacing, a condition that is most likely due to the brew’s age. A thick viscous body drinks incredibly smooth for such a huge beer, though it falls just short on carbonation levels. I will revisit this beauty as often as possible, as this is truly one of the classics. EXCELLENT!

Wow, amazing beer! Pours black with wispy tan head. Aroma is of vanilla and dark fruit. Very full mouthfeel, almost enough to chew on! Very smooth finish, with notes of vanilla, hard to believe this is 13%.

been looking for this bad boy for a while. Got a single at Whole Foods in Louisville for 5 and change. 12 oz. bottle (bottled 07/03/06) into a sniffer. First thing first, this god damn thing is a twist off! What are you thinking Goose Island? it even has a trace amount of crust around the twister grove (hopefully it isn’t ruined). Aroma: strong cloud of dark chocolate, coffee, vanilla, caramel, and only a faint hint of bourbon. Pours one of the thicker oil black impy stout pours I have seen. It was so thick that when trying to pour it from extreme heights to stir up a head, nothing came because it was so soft and dense, and merely absorbed the falling liquid like a trampoline. (4 on appearance b/c I like a big dark head on my impys). Flavor - holy shit! Tons of everything good from chocolate, vanilla, smoke, currants, molasses, bourbon, and port. The alcohol bites pretty hard, but in a very bourbonesque way that warms the stomach very well - I love it. The thickest and most coating brew to have ever touched my palate - drinking this is like eating a 4 course meal. Overall - this thing is fucking phenomenal and I must rush to get the last one that was on the self at whole foods to age even further. With more age to soften the flavor and aroma this will be a 4.9 (I’ll still deduct 1 for the lack of head). Sorry this rating got so fucking long.