Bourbon County Brand Stout - Goose Island Beer Co.

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4,440 Ratings

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rAvg: 4.54
pDev: 10.57%
Reviews: 2003
Hads: 2437

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Brewed by:
Goose Island Beer Co.

Illinois, United States

Style | ABV
American Double / Imperial Stout | 15.00% ABV

Availability: Winter. bottle (1856), on-tap (133), growler (12), nitro-tap (1), cask (1).

Notes:
60 IBU

Reviews

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Reviews by tectactoe:

tectactoe

Michigan

4.63/5 rDev +2%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

2012 edition. Pours a thick, deep, black color with a very dark tan head. Beer is fairly volatile at first, producing a huge creamy head. Once the head finally dissipates away, it's hard to bring back. The nose on this beer is incredible. Huge oak and vanilla aromas, heavy bourbon and whisky, sweet caramel and roasty malts. HUGE nose, full of a powerful set of flavors - I think I just sat and smelled this beer for about five minutes before I finally took a taste. It will open up right in front of your nostrils.

The beer has a great vanilla taste right off the bat. You get hit with a syrupy sweetness that transforms into a flavor with bittersweet chocolate, malts, and heavy bourbon. As the beer warms up, the bourbon and oak flavors become more and more plentiful, but the wonderful vanilla flavor and aroma never goes away. The aftertaste leaves a nice buttery malt flavor on the tongue. The mouth is huge - super creamy, thick, and chewy with a mild amount of carbonation.

This is a beer you certainly must baby and sip slowly - however, it is worth every minute of it. Amazing brew here, with an incredible nose and flavor. I'm glad I got my hands on a four pack, and I plan on aging a few of these to see how they react.

EDIT: 2008 Vintage

Thanks to Jeff for sharing one of his '08 bottles. Last year to have the white label. God, this stuff was amazing. Bourbon was still strong and robust, but so incredibly smooth. Huge vanilla, chocolate, molasses. Sweet and warming all at once, silky on the palate. Oak notes were lighter but still present. Good reminder of why I love this beer so much.

Serving type: bottle

10-06-2012 19:39:28 | More by tectactoe

More User Reviews:

steevbr

Illinois

5/5 rDev +10.1%

05-24-2013 20:51:31 | More by steevbr

Grant35

California

5/5 rDev +10.1%

05-24-2013 08:18:38 | More by Grant35

cyrushire

Florida

4/5 rDev -11.9%

05-24-2013 06:26:09 | More by cyrushire

Hoozierdaddy

Illinois

5/5 rDev +10.1%

05-24-2013 05:18:29 | More by Hoozierdaddy

SwG237

New York

4.5/5 rDev -0.9%

05-24-2013 03:51:55 | More by SwG237

BeerGardener

Nebraska

5/5 rDev +10.1%

05-24-2013 03:45:44 | More by BeerGardener

Tidesox28

Maine

5/5 rDev +10.1%

05-24-2013 02:16:52 | More by Tidesox28

kevanb

Illinois

4.61/5 rDev +1.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

12oz bottle, 2012 dated, poured into a Goose Island Bourbon County snifter.

The beer pours a deep, jet black color, touches of cola brown when struck by the light with a short, tightly packed caramel colored head that vanishes almost immediately that leaves no lace behind. The aroma is lovely, strong oaky bourbon, rich chocolate, light roasted coffee and barrel char and potent alcohol with some stone fruit and marshmallow character. On the tongue, rich toffee and bourbon creep out ever so smoothly before vanilla, thick chocolate and chewy oak captivate the palate. Alcohol, pitted fruit, marshmallow and light coffee roast tickle the tongue at the finish. The body is so velvety and smooth, low carbonation, but just enough to prop up the flavors and coat the mouth perfectly. The finish is so silky and easy and has a nice warming sensation as it goes down.

Verdict: There is a reason why this is the benchmark for all bourbon barrel aged stouts. It has such depth of flavor and wonderful balance and the alcohol, while prominent is so tame for hovering around 15.00%. This really is a beer that holds its own against any competitor in the style.

Serving type: bottle

05-24-2013 02:11:27 | More by kevanb