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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Vintage 2010, shared bottle at local tasting. ABV is 13%. Black colour, hardly any head. Intense aroma of concentrated malts and fusel alcohols, vanilla and bourbon. The fusel brings the aroma score down. Intense and complex flavour, much better than the aroma, loads of vanilla, chocolate, roasted malts and bourbon, sweet but not too much.

TAP. Tasted in a flight with BCS, BC Vanilla and BC Coffee. Strong vanilla but not in an over-the-top way. Balanced with oak, chocolate and bourbon.

22 oz bottle. Saved this rating for #200; shared with my brother-in-law for Christmas 2011, aged 1 year. Pours a dark opaque black with a tiny tan head that fades out quickly. Smells of bourbon, vanilla, bourbon, hints of chocolate, a bit of alcohol, and bourbon. Tastes of a ton of bourbon, with the fantastic multi-layered facet that sends the bourbon as the first flavor, then tempers it with a vanilla aftertaste. The alcohol bite is present, though would probably be weaker if aged further. Very full bodied, sticks to the mouth, and leaves you with the pleasant vanilla taste at the end. Overall a terrific beer that is definitely worth the money. Would hope that Goose Island continues to make this in the future.

22oz bottle, 2010 Vintage (bottled on 11/05/10). Pours a black body with a thin, creamy, dark brown head that dissipates slowly and leaves a nice lacing. Aroma is big chocolates and molasses with a nice vanilla that isn’t as heavy as I anticipated, but this is an older bottle. Some nice roasts, caramel cookies, and a moderate oaky bourbon. The wood really opens up as this warms. Flavor is quite nice. Lots of vanilla showing up in the beginning, but its very soft and inviting while blending with the big, rich chocolates, molasses, and caramel cookie malts. A solid roast in the middle with a touch of raisin. The oak also comes out more and gives off a bit of a toasty coconut. Nice bourbon towards the end as the vanilla stays ultra smooth and this finishes creamy, rich, and sweet, but slightly bitter and balanced from the oak and roast. Lengthy aftertaste with a pleasant vanilla-bourbon and alcohol warmth. Full, very smooth body with a light carbonation. Overall, an extremely tasty version of this beer. The vanilla is very smooth throughout and really balances the rich and sweet malts, roasts, and oaky bourbon. Very creamy and round. I think I may like the flavor on this version more than the coffee, but the aroma fell a tad short in comparison. Impressive beer and I hope to try a fresher version soon.

Enjoyed on New Years Eve. Poured into a snifter. Poured an ink black color with thin tan head. Aroma of sweet vanilla, bourbon, oak, chocolate, roasted malt, and dark fruits. Taste was very sweet, with a oily mouthfeel that coats the tongue and mouth and leaves a film on the side of the glass. Very sweet, very smooth, and very delicious!

2010 bomber, from bauermj. Black with a ruby hue, brown head that dissipates quickly. A little hot initially but once it opens up its quite balanced, vanilla, oak, bourbon, roasted malts, some coffee, coconut/chocolate macaroons. Full body, moderate carbonation, bit prickly and hot, sweet but not overwhelming, bourbon, vanilla and wood on the finish.

Bottle. Pours very deep brown, nearly opaque topped with a thin ring of khaki bubbles. Really enticing aroma, with notes of chocolate, vanilla bean, wood, with a little molasses and smoke in the background. Thick bodied with an oily mouthfeel. Cocoa and vanilla hit the palate first, and are backed up with bourbon, dark fruit and peat. Bourbon and alcohol really come to the forefront for a hot finish. Really enjoyable, but I’m glad I’m splitting the bottle.

0.65l bottle from Ølbutikken shared with Bergen Beer Geek Tasting Crew. Have been looking forward to this for quite some time now. Actually had a couple of dreams about opening this one, so this is hopefully going to be great! It pours this deep deep dark - near black - body with a medium sized quickly sideclenshing chocolaty head. The aroma? Oohh, the aroma. Just fantastic! Roasted sweetness topped with vanilla, bourbon, wood, dark sweet Belgian chocolate, caramel, rum raisins and tones of dark nuts. Just amazing. The carbonation level is average to soft and it has a fantastic thick, rich and chewy mouthfeel. The flavors? Oh, the flavors.. It’s just so concentrated and almost unrealistic. Chocolate, bourbon, wood, vanilla, alcohol, roasted dark goodies, concentrated dark dried fruits and the aftertaste? Don’t get me started on the aftertaste! Warming as hell with a fantastic dark and chocolaty vanilla mindblowing experience. What a beer. What a beer. 30.12.2011

Shared a bottle with 48fanincali. Poured from 22oz bottle. Pours black with tan head. Aroma is loads of vanilla and just a bit of bourbon. Taste is sweet, chocolate, bourbon and lots of vanilla. Clinging stickiness. Truly a great beer.

Pitch black pour with little head and retention. Nose is absolutely the best I have ever had. HUGE on vanilla with notes of sweet malt, bourbon, toffee, and more vanilla. Taste follows the nose and is very sweet. The heat is not that high which probably has something to do with the 2 years in the bottle. Very sticky on the palate. I absolutely love this stuff ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone