Goose Island Bourbon County Stout - Coffee

Brewed by Goose Island Beer Company (AB-InBev)
Style: Imperial Stout
Chicago, Illinois USA

Serve in Snifter

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Excellent stout. Lots of refined coffee flavor. So many coffee stouts turn into iced coffee as beer. Much like BCS has a strong bourbon flavor that doesn’t dominate, BCBCS has a strong coffee (and bourbon) flavor that is strong but works with the dark roast flavors rather than against them. Actually, my favorite part of this beer is the strong vanilla flavor. Great oak flavor, too.

22oz. bomber, with a big thanks to FlssmrBrewAlum for yet another awesome Chitown treat! Pours dark brown with a moderate fizzy tan cap. Aroma is lovely blend of espresso, coffee, chocolate, bourbon, oak, and vanilla. Flavor is more of the same, with espresso, bourbon, oak, chocolate and vanilla; fairly warming and a touch sweet from the notes of espresso and vanilla, but works fine by me. Everything I hoped it would be, thanks again Adam!

What can I say about this beer. It’s great. I love BCS and couldn’t wait to try the coffee version. The black cat integrated the coffee really well into the BCS I thought. Still has plenty of vanilla notes and bourbon, with a nice dose of coffee thrown into the mix. Not as sweet as the vanilla, but still a good amount of sweetness. I thought they pulled this off really well. I wish it was more readily available. Can’t wait to rate this again. I expected this to be awesome and it was.

A: The pour is fairly viscous and black with a finger’s worth of brown head that has amazing retention. S: An incredibly rich and robust nose. Tons of vanilla and coffee attack the sense. There is also quite a bit of chocolate, bourbon, and some more coffee for good measure. T: The bourbon and barrel flavors come through more than I would have expected. Certainly plenty of vanilla and the coffee flavor is quite intense. A nice chocolatey and sweet finish. M: As one might expect, this is a full bodied beer. The carbonation is low and smooth, giving the beer a very creamy mouthfeel. D: There is a bit of heat that comes through (as there is with regular BCS), but it is covered up quite nicely by the vanilla and coffee. Still, this is one to drink with a few friends.

Bourbon and coffee are strong in the nose, but this is pretty well balanced with a nice rounded sweetness and full mouthfeel. Very dark black.

Rating #1800. Bomber courtesy of Chicagodri – thanks Paul! Pours crude oil black with a thin tan head. The nose is brownies, dark roast coffee, vanilla and bourbon. The taste is coffee, burnt malt, ashy cocoa, milk chocolate and a nice smooth bourbon finish with some bitterness in the backend. Medium semi-creamy mouthfeel. Very good brew.

UPDATED: AUG 9, 2011 Bottle shared at a recent BA/RB tasting... Poured oil black with a light, khaki head. Lots of bourbon flavors going on with a hint of coffee. Very similar to regular BCS, with just that hint of coffee. Honestly, I would love to see this beer explode with more java notes.

I truly was excited to try this beer. Anything that reaches the top 10 on BA is a must try. But this really is a massive disappointment. Choke the hype. This beer is almost more overly hyped than Patrick Rue’s 18% bourbon RIS. The pour was expected. Gorgeous dark stout with tight mocha carbonation that disspated quickly. Best part about this beer for sure, however everything on was total crap. Aroma is straight bourbon. Nothing complex what so ever. At least bring some complexity into this. I thought this beer was brewed with top notch Intelligentsia Black Cat Espresso. Taste is of more bourbon with slight creme’d sugar and lactose. Can I get some toasty malt or some hops in this, please? Taking another whiff of this, I get cheap vanilla extract with more milk chocolate (hence the lactoce again). The body is rich and full without any stickyness. Finish is one dimensional with bourbon straight through. I hardly want another sip. Luckily I’m splitting this beer with a friend or else I’d drain pour at least half the bottle. I’d say if one is looking for a coffee infused RIS done the right way, search out the Mikkeller Beer Geek Weasel (BA’ed one if you can find it).

Thanks to JMFG. Great beer. Strong bourbon, vanilla and coffee. A little too sweet, now. Could use a little more time. Still very good, though.

22oz bottle. Bottled on 3/26/10. Coffee on the nose is thankfully almost absent. Chocolate and vanilla. Fairly heavily charred malt. Melted dark Belgian chocolate. Fairly high grade espresso upon warming. Bourbon barrel presence is pretty tame on the nose. Pours nearly opaque with a quickly fading dark khaki head. Minimal lace left on the glass. Coffee is slightly ashy and stale on the palate. Plenty of vanilla and wood influence. Vanilla extract and chocolate. Fusel alcohol. Higher level of carbonation than the regular BCS which disappoints me. Lacks the velvety smoothness that I love in the BCS. Boozy, messy, hot, unrefined and a shell of the non coffee version.