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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Pours pitch black and completely opaque without even the slightest hint of lighter color when held to a light source. One finger dark mocha brown head that immediately fades into a thin ring. Not much in the way of lacing. Deep roasted malt aroma with lots of silky dark chocolate, roasted coffee/espresso bean, alcohol heat and toffee. There’s also a slight nut presence and this is all perfectly balanced by a nice bourbony, earthy oak character along with some slight vanilla. The chocolate, roasted dark malt is very prominent in the nose but the other notes provide a nice complexity that makes this beer smell amazing. Chewy medium body with lots of silky dark chocolate malts, hot bourbon, deep roasted coffee/espresso bean, toffee and nut. Very roasty up front with a prominent roasted coffee/espresso flavor followed by the silky dark chocolate notes and a very prominent bourbon presence that lingers into a long sweet dry finish. The heat from the beer is mostly from the bourbon barrel and overall, at 13% the ABV is decently masked. The bourbon barrel also gives off a touch of vanilla that adds to the silky chocolate notes, balancing out the hot bourbon/alcohol and deep roasted coffee notes. Very well balanced and very tasty but this beer is just a bit too hot at this stage and will only improve with age. Recommended!

Thanks for sharing bro! This one pours out a viscous black color with medium light brown head. Aroma is of intense vanilla, light wood, bourbon, rich chocolate and notes of french roasted coffee. Taste is bourbon, vanilla, light oak, french roast coffee, light chocolate and light molasses. This is a thick potent motha of a beer, but is delicious and hides the alcohol oh so well. To me, it seems a like like Founder’s KBS which is definitely a good thing. Loved this one!

One of the best coffee stouts ever. Pours deep brown with a beautiful dark tan head. Huge full nose of coffee, chocolate and Bourbon. Same in the flavor. Smooth on the palate. Just awesome.

After making the original Bourbon County Stout a top 10 personal rated beer and it’s cousin/brother/sister the Night Stalker a top 35 peronally rated beer I still had low expectations for this thing. Coffee mixed in with that original amazing brew that is BCS just didn’t seem like a great idea, but Greg Hall has really come to the plate and produced a stellar, smooth as silk, not over the top but brimming close to it, high quality beer with this thing. So rich, so smooth, so damned delicious. I bought 5 and know it will not be enough to satisfy my taste buds until we see it again next year. Produce more of this please. This new BCS series they have going is getting very interesting, excited to see what else it will bring.

Friggin’ epic beer. Delicious vanilla, caramel and coffee aroma. Super thick, rich, velvety mouthfeel. Over the top and stunning, with layers of intense flavor.

Fluctuating aroma of fresh ground coffee ,chocolate malt and alcohol more grain whiskey then bourbon,soon that bourbon becomes the major player and your pretty sure your dealing with bourbon county. First mouthful,you notice the velvety creamy texture,flavor is bourbonmalt dominated, with all kinds of roasted malt and flashes of that ground coffee. Roasted malt and bakers chocolate make their way to the front,with bourbon still a major player,and the coffeetrying hard to stay noticed. Has a little more complexity and diversity then the straight BC,,full bodied ,but not thick ,like Dark Lord. Burps are pretty slid bourbon with a little coffee aftertaste. Being Bourbon County ,it is one of the best malty beers in existence. Would have liked to have had just a smidget more coffee influence,,but still its a real piece of art

UPDATED: MAY 20, 2010 Big thanks to Dan for sharing a bottle. Pours extremely dark brown out of the bottle and sits black in the glass with only hints of mahogany showing through the edges. There’s a small bubbly tan head that recedes very quickly to a small collar. The aroma is massive though not extremely different than the normal BCS. There is plenty of vanilla, chocolate, roasted malts and, of course, bourbon. The espresso is present but it’s not nearly strong enough to be the dominant aroma. Think BCS with a hint of coffee. The taste is more of the same. It’s got a sweet molasses and chocolate sweetness up front with some heavily roasted malts and bourbon and vanilla in the finish. The coffee comes out more as it warms up and shows up mostly in the finish. The mouthfeel is completely decadent, nearly perfect - full bodied but with enough soft carbonation to keep things from getting too syrupy. Velvety. As a coffee beer fanatic, this one doesn’t exactly knock my socks off, but as a beer lover it’s fantastic. I can’t say that it’s a major deviation from the base beer but, why mess with a good thing I suppose.

Pours an oily black with a medium mocha head which fades slowly and leaves a few streaks on the glass. Aroma is chocolate, dark roasts, coffee grounds, vanilla, and a bit of syrupy sweetness. Mouthfeel is full-bodied and rather thick but smooth. Taste is heavily vanilla, dark chocolate, and coffee grinds. I wasn’t a huge fan of the vanilla aspects and I prefer the original Bourbon County. We’ll see what the extra bottle does in a few years.

UPDATED: DEC 3, 2010 Bottle pour gives black oily color, seems a little less viscous than the BCS. No head to speak of. Aroma bourbon and alcohol. Taste is smooth chocolate, vanilla, caramel, bourbon, and coffee. The coffee is not as prominent as you might think from the name, but overall the flavor comes together very nicely. Palate thick and smooth. Finish mildly bitter with moderate alcohol. I was not a big BCS fan but I did enjoy this, and it seems much smoother. My wife tried it and didn’t dislike it, which is somewhat amazing as she generally prefers Wits and Lagers. Definitely a sipping beer. Overall give it a thumbs up.

Bottle from jsquire and I immediately need more. Holy shit this stuff is great! Dark brown pour, tannish head. Aroma is loaded with coffee, roast, chocolate, coffee, bourbon and oak. Flavor is creamy with tons of toffee, coffee, vanilla, bourbon, molasses and chocolate. Great great beer!