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Goose Island Bourbon County Stout

Score
10099
OVERALLStyle
Serve in Snifter

bottled
common

on tap
common

Broad Distribution

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RATINGS: 1624   WEIGHTED AVG: 4.21   IBU: 60   EST. CALORIES: 390   ABV: 13%
COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION
"I really wanted to do something special for our 1000th batch at the original brewpub. Goose Island could have thrown a party. But we did something better. We brewed a beer. A really big batch of stout-so big the malt was coming out of the top of the mash tun. After fermentation we brought in some bourbon barrels to age the stout. One hundred and fifty days later, Bourbon County Stout was born-A liquid as dark and dense as a black hole with a thick foam the color of bourbon barrels. The nose is a mix of charred oak, vanilla,carmel and smoke. One sip has more flavor than your average case of beer. It overpowers anything in the room. People have even said that it’s a great cigar beer, but I haven’t yet tried a cigar that would stand up to it." Brewmaster Greg Hall;
IBU’s 60-High Color - Midnight
Was 11% abv,
2007 and 2008 - 13% abv
2011 - 14.5% abv

4.4
   AROMA 9/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 8/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 19/20
wilnatp (189) - USA - FEB 7, 2012
TAP. Tasted in a flight with BCS, BC Vanilla and BC Coffee. BCS is amazing. Tons of bourbon, but balanced with caramel and smoke. Oily palate.

4.2
   AROMA 8/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 8/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 18/20
Jacob23_5 (62) - Edinburgh, SCOTLAND - FEB 7, 2012
2011 bottle at home. Black, no head, Massive, caramel, toffee, (almost!) sweet paprika nose. Enormously rich flavours, boozy, sweet, toffee, caramel, almond, huge marzipan finish. Certainly extraordinary, absolute madness, in my opinion really really great.

4
   AROMA 8/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 9/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 16/20
dantheman278 (733) - SCOTLAND - FEB 7, 2012
2011 bottle at home. Pitch black, viscous pour, no head. Massive rich nose of bourbon, vanilla hints, chocolate, booze also present. Sweet rich palate, milk chocolate, really smooth bourbon, hint of coffee, big booziness, super-smooth but incredibly rich. Notes of toffee and marzipan also. Sticky rich finish, big alcohol hum. Incredibly, ridiculously unbalanced and sweet, but still great in its own way. Looking forward to trying my aged version.

4.7
   AROMA 10/10   APPEARANCE 5/5   TASTE 10/10   PALATE 5/5   OVERALL 17/20
deekyn (135) - Yosemite, California, USA - FEB 3, 2012
UPDATED: FEB 5, 2012 2008 vintage 12 oz bottle shared at City Beer in SF. A - pours pitch black/brown like motor oil with almost no head. S - bold and very complex aromas, chocolate, oak, vanilla coffee, toffee caramel, and bourbon. M - surprisingly light feel, no carb. Lingering alcohol warmed ending. T - this is where BCS shine. Bold and subtle, very complex. Notes of chocolate and toffee on the front. Coffee, vanilla, licorice, oak on the palate. Lingering alcohol warmed bourbon, oaky, chocolatey malts end. O - fantastic well balanced dark dark stout. One of my favorite beers 9/9+

4.3
   AROMA 9/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 9/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 17/20
aphelion1979 (117) - West Sussex, ENGLAND - FEB 3, 2012
(2011) pours deep black with a dissipating tanned head. strong aroma of smoky whisky, chocolate and coffee. taste is a strong, complex, and insanely rich. layers of chocolate, vanilla, bourbon and coffee bitterness. its dense and almost syrupy in consistency. great warmth from the alcohol (very well concealed), and lovely lingering taste of infused oak barrels. its basically a grown up chocolate sauce! you almost couldn’t call this a beer at all. I’ve marked down because its so damn rich I struggled to finish the whole bottle. beautiful and bonkers!

4.8
   AROMA 10/10   APPEARANCE 5/5   TASTE 9/10   PALATE 5/5   OVERALL 19/20
MrsRickyisms (7) - San Diego, California, USA - JAN 29, 2012 does not count
I’ve drank this beer twice now. The first time I couldn’t rate it because it was so absolutely wonderful that I was distracted. It has the perfect blend of bourbon, vanilla, and malty nose. It’s smooth almost to its fault, as I can drink it as though its simply dessert(to be quickly devoured and absolutely enjoyed). I could and would drink a 6 pack of this for a hefty price. My description might not be concise or helpful but know this...if this beer hits your lips and you don’t enjoy it, something is wrong with you.

4.4
   AROMA 9/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 9/10   PALATE 5/5   OVERALL 18/20
Nocturne (35) - Northwich, Cheshire, ENGLAND - JAN 29, 2012
355ml bottle. Pitch black with a scant ring of mocha bubbles. Aroma nearly knocked me out... wow. Lusciously thick moutfeel with chocolate, vanilla, tobacco. Lingers on forever. A huge beer in every sense, deserving of its reputation.

3.4
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 13/20
Gription79 (596) - Bountiful, Utah, USA - JAN 28, 2012
12 ounce bottle. I found this beer to be syrupy sweet in both the aroma and flavor. Its viscosity was like cold syrup as well. The nose and flavor also contained huge bourbon notes. Maybe blended this beer would become more appealing to me, but as it stands it is to far out of balance for me to really enjoy it. I am impressed with how well the alcohol is hidden. This beer is not for me.


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Rating Notecard:
Beer: Goose Island Bourbon County Stout Rating Avg: 4.21 No. of Ratings: 1624
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