Goose Island Bourbon County Vanilla Stout

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

Serve in Snifter

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On tap at GTMW 2010
Perhaps the best rated beer of the festival this was no surprise. I knew going in that Goose Island would not screw up by taking a great base beer and tossing in more ingredients. Having said that this is just a hair below the Black Kat version. If I could rate by hundredths the difference would be nominal. The vanilla just gets to be a little cloying by the time you finish even the four ounce sample.

Aroma / Appearance - Black oily liquid fills the glass as if somebody had scooped a handful of mud from a dirty pond bottom. Brown lacing betrays the ABV level without even a sip. Vanilla and bourbon are the main stars of the show but the rest of the aspects of a good BCS (such as coffee) do hold it together like glue.

Flavor / Palate - Creamy and thick the mouthfeel is like somebody spiked a Starbucks coffee with bourbon. Coffee, vanilla, and bourbon stick to every corner of the palate. Taking BCS up a notch this is perhaps best enjoyed not on a hot summer afternoon but by a warm fire after a big dinner. When it gets released in bottles I fully expect it to lodge itself in the Top 50.

UPDATED: JUN 19, 2011 GTMW 2010. My highlight of the festival. Pours to a black body with a non-existent head. Viscous. The aroma is coffee and natural vanilla. Flavor is viscous chocolate, vanilla, coffee, and black malts. The palate is very viscous, but seemingly only medium-full bodied on the finish. I would drink lots of this one! 9, 4, 9, 5, 18 = 4.5.
Tap at Sugar Maple 6/14/2011. The beer pours to a pitch black syrupy body with a thin ring of head. The flavor is sweet syrupy chocolate malts, vanilla, marshmallows, subtle oak, and is very sweet. There’s subtle boozy bourbon on the finish. The aroma is chocolate sauce, bourbon, and vanilla beans. Subtle marshmallows. Syrupy thick palate has a heavy viscosity. Full bodied and yet clean. Clingy, in terms of finish duration, but it’s not a sticky beer. Alcohol is super well hidden.

On tap at GTMW. Poured black with an easily-resuscitated dark tan head. The aroma picked up warm, burnt dark chocolate, molasses, and coffee with a tall order of fresh vanilla bean laced throughout.. the power and decadence didn’t lay off the nose for a second. The flavor found black patent malt and a whole lot of vanilla at the core.. very warm throughout, but never hot or offensive.. lots of sugars anchored to vanilla on the memorable finish. Heavily-bodied and warm on the palate, but nowhere near as hot as it could’ve/should’ve been.. balance was solid, but drinkability suffered a little due to the high booze and sugar content. I’d still drink plenty more.

World Beer Cup bottle. The beer pours completely headless and completely opaque. Aroma is alcoholic-licorice, meaty and leafy, and the whole bunch of overwhelming vanilla. Flavor is similar, meaty stout with overwhelming vanilla. I’ll stick the the regular version.

UPDATED: SEP 7, 2011 Re-rate from Beer Bistro Takeover. Was supremely disappointed this time ad it really was a much sweeter and cloying beer. Much more molasses character as well. Really seemed to lack the cleanliness and refinement of the first time. Not awful, but far less good. 8-4-7-4-15(3.8). 8/2/10 Draft at the Fulton St. plant for AHA Rally. Pours Black with a deep brown head. Nose is very aromatic with oak and bourbon, nice vanilla notes and some sesame. Very clean and refined. A bit of booze as well. On taste, it is simply huge. Vanilla is not overpowering, but rather very complimentary to the cocoa and toasted coconut notes. There is a very pleasing roundness to this one and lacking the prickly alcohol of the original. Fantastic stuff and my favorite of the BCBS editions thus far. 9-5-9-5-18(4.6)

Wow wow wow... sipping on this one on draft at the AHA Rally @ Goose Island. Deep dark brown pour with nice bit of tan head... just a little lacing. Aroma is mostly sweet bourbon and vanilla (duh). Flavor is the same but waaaay more intense. Delicious balance between the vanilla and bourbon. Amazingly well balanced and very easy to drink. Thick, and syrupy, but not too sweet, I could drink this all day. Deeeelicious!

Bottle at PilsnerPeter’s Spring Gathering 2010. The aroma is the same malty, chocolately bourbon aroma, with some sharp vanilla thrown in. The appearance is the same as the base beer, black tan head. The flavor is the same malty, roasty flavor, bourbon, and a strong component of vanilla. The finish is the ssame as the base beer, but a noticeable vanilla flavor pops up as well. IMHO, the addition of vanilla doesn’t add a lot to this beer.

Tap at Blind Tiger. Deep black pour with a very thin tan head. The nose is quite interesting. There seems to be a lot of blackberry character on the back. Lots of vanilla as well that enhances the dark cocoa flavour. Rich and vanillaish, but it doesn’t come across as sweet or too chewy. A touch of peppery character on the back helps cut the sweetness and the bourbon flavour seems to be accentuated by the vanilla. Intense bourbon/vanilla richness on the back. The vanilla is here but it is nicely restrained. It’s a little bit hot as it warms up in a way that I don’t recall from regular BCS. Nice stuff.

On tap and served to a snifter at Goose Island’s Invasion of Hop Leaf, with a thick appearing black/brown pour, a small ring of dark tan foam and film to the head, and minimal lacing. The aroma was a bourbon presence, along with dark fruit sweetness, some tartness, and subtle vanilla. The flavor was similar with the alcohol advanced to warming, the vanilla layering on and mellowing the dark fruit sweetness, and a nice, appropriate hop bitterness exposed toward the finish. An added bit of complexity to an already excellent sipper!

8oz pour into a snifter @ Hopleaf’s event. Pours just like the BCS a very dark brown/black with a tan head that has decent retention. Slight cherry, strong vanilla aromas and a slight hint of bourbon/alcohol. Light chocolate, vanilla, and bourbon flavors. Very bold but smooth body that lingers, medium - low carbonation. Slighlty softer characters than the original BCS with a larger presence of vanilla than chocolate. Ranked it in my top ten same rating as the coffee BCS. Enjoyable!