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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(bottle - 22 oz) Thick black pour with a thick tan head. Huge coffee and vanilla aroma with a heavy amount of bourbon and roasted notes coming through near the end. Flavor is a huge amount of roasted coffee and roasted malts. The smooth coffee and bourbon blend well and really enhance the heavy vanilla flavor coming in near the middle. Sweet and very smooth finish. Even at 13%, it drinks like chocolate milk. Out of this world good.

UPDATED: JUN 9, 2010 On tap: Huge roasted coffee and expresso aroma with some light dark chocolate and just the slightest hint of bourbon. Dark brown, virtually black, with a small tan head that quickly fades to a ring. The beer just coats the glass. Flavor starts with lots of chocolate with hints of vanilla. Roasted coffee starts in the middle and builds into the finish. Light bourbon in the finish balances very well. I really liked the addition of the coffee. It really adds to the flavor and cuts into the bourbon flavors making them much more subtle. A very well barrel-aged beer and my favorite of the FoBAB 2006. (9-5-9-4-19)

Re-rate (6/10/10) Bottle: The aroma is an excellent combination of chocolate, maple syrup, vanilla, bourbon, and light coffee (lighter than you would expect). It pours a dark brown, virtually black, with no transparency and a small brown head that diminishes to virtually nothing over time. The flavor starts with chocolate, vanilla, and maple syrup. The finish has some nice coffee flavors, but not as strong as when I had it at FoBAB. There’s a definite maple syrup and a touch of wood in the aftertaste. Full bodied with a slick and creamy mouthfeel. Regular BCS is one of my favorite beers at 4.9, but this is that extra .1 better.

22 oz bottle at the Clybourn pub. Pours black with a light tan head. This is amazing. Aroma has coffee, black licorice, and cocoa, giving evidence of its complexity. Flavor varies between cocoa, coffee, bourbon, molasses, brown sugar, and dark fruit. This is one amazing beer. I knew on my first sip that this was going to score at least a 4.9, and the second sip confirmed it as a 5.0. Perfect.

Ladies and gentleman, we have ourselves a winner. I did not think I would come across a beer that was as impressive as Fulton’s War & Peace, but then came Bourbon County Coffee Stout... good Lord. Pours oily black and heavy. Like your high school girlfriend, the head is excellent. Nose is slight bourbon and mild coffee with obvious sweetness. Perhaps a hint of dark fruit, like fig. Taste. I need a moment here. Taste is superb. Simply as good as a beer can get. This beer is dense and no where as bourbony as the regular. The coffee, which is not that intense, seems to tame that and adds some sweetness to it. The coffee, bourbon and high alcohol are balanced perfectly. You would never guess this beer is 13%. One of my top 2 favorite beers of all-time. BA’ers are asking if this will reach #1. my answer... it better.

Enjoyed on tap at Goose Island Clybourn at Rare Stout Night, which is part of the Chicago Craft Beer week. Appearance pitch black with no head...like coffee. Aroma of mocha, coffee, chocolate, and bourbon, super rich black coffee flavor. Taste less alcoholic than regular BCS, very rich but not too rich, mainly coffee but it also enhances the chocolate greatly, you can still get the bourbon in the mix. I typically would give the appearance a 4 but since the taste should be an 11, app will get a 5 which makes this the 2nd perfect beer I’ve ever had. BCS can’t get better than this, beer can’t get better than this.

This beer is a masterpiece. Worth the hype and praise. An absolute contender for the BA #1 beer in the world.

Bourbon County has never my favorite of the style. The bourbon flavor is overwhelming. This helps it age better than most, but its always a bit too sweet and acidic. This version fixes what in my opinion is the beers weakest characteristics. It has a smoother mouthfeel, the bourbon is tempered by the coffee, and aged at 2 years, it really came into its own. Tried at the Cork and Barrel vertical rare beer tasting in Dec. 2012.

2012. Fresh from bottle. Smells of coffee grounds, chocolate, and bourbon. Great black pour with brown head. Good mouthfeel. Amazing taste balance of coffee, bourbon, chocolate, and roasted malt. This is definitely one of the finest beers I’ve tasted, and I feel like I can give it one of my only 5 ratings.

Just the aroma was enough to fall in love with this stout. It only got better from there. Pricy but worth every penny.

UPDATED: NOV 13, 2011 Sampled at GABF! Had this back in the day with Sparky27 but didn’t remember enough to rate it. Now I have no idea how I could have forgotten this one! Black hole pour with a creamy dark latte head that left lacing. Aroma is very assertive with deep rich espresso, vanilla, bourbon, Nestle Quik, and caramel. Flavor has the sweet BCS bourbon qualities with an amazing bitter Starbucks coffee punch. Truly reminiscent of a chocolate covered coffee bean soaked in bourbon. Doesn’t that sound awesome? Nice coat left on the palate and memory etched into my mind. World class!!! BUMP!!!