Goose Island Bourbon County Stout

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

Serve in Snifter

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   add pic

2011 bottle. Very dark pour with a small head. Aroma of roast and a little sweetness from the oak & bourbon. Taste is very complex. Some raisin with vanilla and bourbon. Some roast in there too. Nice and toasty. Not overly sweet. Super creamy mouth. Very tasty beer.

2007 Vintage. Black pour, very tiny head, low carbonation. Beautifully balanced in both aroma and taste - Bourbon, Vanilla, high quality belgian dark Chocolate, slight bit of black coffee w/ cream and sugar, slight oak, dark caramel. Very slight alcohol warming while drinking with almost none detected in the aroma. The2006 vintage I later had fell short of the majesty in the 2007. If you have one of these in your cellar, consider opening it now. Superlative.

Bottle shared in line at DLD. Chocolate malt and strong bourbon aroma.. Black with a small tan head. Chocolate malt, cola, and strong bourbon flavor. Smooth full body. Personally, I thought the bourbon flavor was too boozy and overpowering.

Vintage 2008 bottle (12oz) poured into tulip glass A: This unbelievable beauty pours as black as night with absolutely no head at all. There is no carbonation visible except if I stare at the side and strain I spot a stray bubble or two pushing its way to the top. It poured like motor oil of the 10w 30 type and that is no exaggeration! I love the appearance of this awesome imperial stout. THIS is the way this style should look! S: The nose on this gem is f*cking outstanding. When I popped it open and even before pouring I caught a few whiffs from the bottle. Now when I got my nose in the glass I literally got the chills and goosebumps. This smells wonderfully of sweet molasses, chocolate, figs and dark fruits. The bourbon has melded together with the other scents like a masterpiece. The aroma is so damn smooth with almost no alcohol to speak of. Where is the 13%? T: It can’t get much better than this! WOW!! At first the sweet caramel hits my mouth along with a cloyingly sweet molasses. I get the bourbon but like the smell it is so damn smooth and not overpowering at all. I love the chocolate notes flirting with the vanilla notes from the barrels. The dark fruits come out mid sip and in the finale the alcohol makes itself known but does not burn. I mean there is absolutely no burn from the alcohol like you’d think at 13%. It has aged perfectly and the heat is GONE! M: Perfection and this is not an understatement IMO. The viscosity is lovely as it coates every nook and cranny of my mouth including on the swallow. This is so smooth for a huge beer I can’t describe it. This baby lingers forever and even coates my lips as I take a drink. I do get that wonderful alcohol warming sensation after a while as it is now hitting my head. This beer has the perfect mouthfeel for its style for me. It is chewy, thick and oh so good! O: This has always been my favorite Imperial stout and the 2008 vintage only shows itself off even more so. This is absolute, unbelievable, mind blowing perfection. If you get a chance to trade for a 2008 vintage I recommend you do it. Believe me you will not be disappointed! This is still one of my favorite beers and definitely my favorite of this style especially cellared as it has just melded together like a beautiful masterpiece!

Pours pitch black with a very low brown head. Aroma is strong and very complex. Bourbon, roasted malts, chocolate, vanilla, mudcake....Full bodied flavor is dark fruits, bourbon, chocolate, alcohol and roasted malts. Some sweetnes. Long lasting after taste is espresso and roasted malts and chocolate. Gotta love this beer! Extremely swell!!

Pours black with just a bit of bubbles visible just inside. Off-white fluffy head. The smell is deeply malty, with hints of cocoa, vanilla, and bourbon sweetness. The big flavor is definitely sweet caramel maltiness, with a notable amount of cocoa feeling. bourbon is apparent, but not overpowering. It’s a good one.

Originally reviewed: 11/16/09. Vintage 2008. Poured into my goblet. Pours a very viscous deep black with no head at all. No lace present. Smells like booze, chocolate, fresh coffee, vanilla, and cream. The mouth is creamy smooth. No carbonation bite at all. This is a big-time bourbon beer! Huge sweet vanilla notes, some oak, and malted chocolate. The liquor quality hasn’t worn off very much after a year in the cellar. Alcohol is very present in the flavor. This is a very good beer, but I could not drink any more than this 12oz. Too boozy for me.

UPDATED: MAY 7, 2012 2011 Bottle, opened 5/3/2012. pours a dark oily black, with a finger of dark caramel head that dissipates to a quarter finger. Nose is all bourbon. Lots of vanilla and oak. Very full bodies. Finish is all bourbon, chocolatey roasty stout to start. But this is mostly a bourbon monster, complete with burning. I’ll be interested to see how it mellows out. 2008 Bottle, opened 4/7/12: Pours a thick, oil like black, with no head. Tons of bourbon aroma, sweet chocolatey flavor, with oak and bourbon all the way through. Does a decent job masking all the alcohol, with the exception being the bourbon flavors. Sweet, dark chocolate finish. I’m impressed with how well it’s aged.

Pours pitch black, with a minimal brown head that forms a ring quickly around the glass. Aroma is of alcohol and sweet bourbon. Taste is carmel, coffee, and burnt malts. Bourbon comes out towards the end. Body is on the full side.

Bottle (14,5% ABV). An opaque black beer, with a small, fully diminishing brown head. The aroma is heavily malty (roasted/burnt grain, caramel, chocolate, molasses, touch of coffee), with strong notes of bourbon and vanilla, other notes of alcohol, raisin, dark fruits, smoked/burnt wood. The flavor is heavily sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter. Full body, sticky/syrupy/thick texture, soft carbonation, very long finish with moderate bitterness, heavily alcoholic. On one hand the aroma is simply amazing (complex, of course very bourboney, yet enough "beery" and super palesant), on the other, flavor and mouthfeel are super sweet, dense and syrupy to the point of being cloying after 5-6oz. Burning alcohol in the aftertaste, too. I usually prefer non bourbon barrel aged impys, so the score is something in the middle, but this is a nice stuff.