Bourbon County Brand Vanilla Stout - Goose Island Beer Co.

emerge077

Illinois

4.6/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Lucky pour into a Matilda glass at Smallbar Fullerton, available for one night during Chicago Craft Beer Week, for the Beermapping/HopCast Rare Beer Night.

Black body, dark tobacco stained foam rings the edge, and forms a yin yang swirl when agitated. Not much lace, only random spots here and there. Glassy black obsidian surface. It's not as sticky as regular Bourbon County.

Heavenly aroma of vanilla bean ice cream, some sweet whiskey far in the back. It's mellow and confectionary. Very smooth with no harsh edges. The vanilla is prominent, yet integrated. Woody oak, brown sugar, and related bourbon elements.

Rich, decadent flavors of vanilla fudge brownies soaked in bourbon. Mellow barrel character manifests greatest at the end with traces of dry oak. In the middle it's all charred malts and bakers chocolate, wrapped in a vanilla blanket. Finish lingers forever.

By now BCS is a welcome household name, you know it's going to be smooth and rich no matter what. Additional aging takes the edge off the original, much like the recent coffee incarnation. Could have had more, but the 1/6 barrel blew before I could have another...

Serving type: on-tap

05-20-2010 03:57:24 | More by emerge077

SDStoneEnthusiast

California

4.5/5  rDev -0.7%

05-19-2013 16:52:12 | More by SDStoneEnthusiast

duceswild

Maryland

4.5/5  rDev -0.7%

05-19-2013 15:28:54 | More by duceswild

jakeox

Illinois

4.75/5  rDev +4.9%

05-19-2013 00:16:27 | More by jakeox

gueuzedreg

Colorado

4.75/5  rDev +4.9%

05-15-2013 23:43:17 | More by gueuzedreg

InspectorBob

New Jersey

4.75/5  rDev +4.9%

05-14-2013 22:06:29 | More by InspectorBob

stereosforgeeks

Virginia

4.75/5  rDev +4.9%

05-10-2013 02:29:57 | More by stereosforgeeks

jkane101

New Jersey

5/5  rDev +10.4%

05-10-2013 01:25:05 | More by jkane101

DMBTattoo

Illinois

5/5  rDev +10.4%

05-08-2013 22:20:19 | More by DMBTattoo

BMart

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev -0.7%

05-08-2013 13:34:41 | More by BMart

timc100

Illinois

4.71/5  rDev +4%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

A: Bottled bourbon county has that fizzy head and is overall not attractive, on tap this thing looked amazing. Creamy mocha head with great lacing and that lasted throughout. Poured out pitch black.

S: A lot of vanilla still left. Blends perfectly with the base beer. The fusion of vanilla, bourbon, and chocolate create a nice cinnamon and hazelnut spice. Very sweet - like chocolate cake with vanilla frosting. The bourbon is more balanced and some of the caramel is lost, but still has that nice heat.

T: Incredibly rich and smooth. A lot of vanilla that makes for a smoother, sweeter experience - enhanced milk chocolate. Strong bourbon caramel heat and some oak. Really fantastic

P: Rich, smooth, delightfully soft carbonation. Full body that gets syrupy after a while.

O: An incredibly decadent, sweet, desert beer. Amazing vanilla blend - definitely has not faded in the keg. Overall has held up amazingly with age.

Serving type: on-tap

05-07-2013 20:10:59 | More by timc100

powz87

Illinois

4.75/5  rDev +4.9%

05-07-2013 16:23:51 | More by powz87

dfhhead25

Pennsylvania

4.75/5  rDev +4.9%

05-07-2013 02:58:08 | More by dfhhead25

cfrances33

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev -0.7%

05-06-2013 23:09:16 | More by cfrances33

soldat329x

Illinois

5/5  rDev +10.4%

05-06-2013 21:07:11 | More by soldat329x

StPaulSuds

Minnesota

4.75/5  rDev +4.9%

05-06-2013 18:29:56 | More by StPaulSuds

mikeincharleston

South Carolina

5/5  rDev +10.4%

05-06-2013 00:09:45 | More by mikeincharleston

Morey

Pennsylvania

5/5  rDev +10.4%

05-04-2013 01:45:45 | More by Morey

derkfromwi

Wisconsin

4.5/5  rDev -0.7%

04-29-2013 03:48:19 | More by derkfromwi

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev -6.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

I'd been sitting on this bottle for a while, but once I got the official Bourbon County goblet, I decided the time had come to pop this one open. Looked like a typical BCBS, dark brown-black--might as well call it black--with a small tan head that receded to a ringlet. Some oily streaks on the glass, but no real lacing, as would be expected. Dark roasted malts in the nose, semi-sweet chocolate, bourbon; traces of vanilla, but this aspect was almost completely faded. Taste of roasty malts, thick, notes of coffee and chocolate, bourbon-soaked wood, with a slight vegetal vanilla presence, that I'm sure was stronger when it was fresh, but had by now faded to a background flavor. But it was still BCBS and it was still good. Still quite hot with booze even after about 3 years of aging. Full body, and a good sipper. Nice overall, but I really think the original BCBS is still my favorite of the bunch.

I still have a Rare to pop one of these days though.

Serving type: bottle

04-29-2013 02:02:08 | More by Rifugium

arlingtonjoe

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev -0.7%

04-19-2013 14:49:09 | More by arlingtonjoe

jsanford

Georgia

4.25/5  rDev -6.2%

04-16-2013 21:28:15 | More by jsanford

teddyarrowhead

Oregon

5/5  rDev +10.4%

04-13-2013 17:01:47 | More by teddyarrowhead

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

4.45/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

This poured out as a nice black color, as it should. The head retention is thin and lacing is thin. The smell is actually of cardboard right now. It's not bad, but it reminded me of boxes with a subtle vanilla aroma. The taste is still awesome, plenty of vanilla left in this bad boy! Very nice flavors in here. The mouthfeel is smooth and silky. Overall it's awesome and so glad to try it! Despite the smell, the flavors do the justice! Very good!

Serving type: bottle

04-11-2013 01:40:17 | More by Knapp85

straightlambic

California

4.5/5  rDev -0.7%

04-05-2013 19:50:07 | More by straightlambic