Goose Island Bourbon County Stout - Rare

Formerly brewed at Goose Island Beer Company (AB-InBev)
Style: Imperial Stout
Chicago, Illinois USA

Serve in Snifter

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Bottle @ THE Stout Tasting. Thanks to Deeblo for supplying this! The pour’s deep brown with a tiny tan head. The nose is rich chocolate cake, brown sugar, some cinnamon and roasted wood. Hints of vanilla. The taste is more rich chocolate. Plenty of woody bourbon sweetness. Big, hot notes of caramel and woody vanilla. Charred grain. Full, thick body. Viscous and rich. Overall, quite nice. It’s certainly flavorful, though I find it a bit unwieldy and blunt.

Bottle thanks to deeblo at THE stout tasting - part 1. It pours very dark brown with a small tan head. The nose is dark caramel, roasted malt, big on the bourbon, vanilla, toasted coconut, earth and fudge. The taste is roasted malt, boozy, bourbon, oak, some bitterness, ash, earth, hint of soy sauce, oak, caramel, some spice and toasted coconut with a warming, bitter-sweet finish. Full body, fine carbonation and sticky mouth-feel (a bit cloying actually). Big, sweet, hot and ballsy! Flavoursome, but I just don’t find it that drinkable.

Pours black with a thin tan head. Beautiful nose of vanilla, chocolate, caramel, bourbon. Great flavors follow the nose, lots of vanilla, chocolate, roasty malt, oak, bourbon sweetness. Big silky mouthfeel, medium soft carbonation. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

UPDATED: NOV 24, 2012 Huge bold bourbon flavors with a nice tracing of the barrel. Taste is a huge smooth bourbon flavor, nice and sweet, outstanding finish. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Review #400 Pulled this guy out of the cellar. Bottle #574 split with friends at my engagement party. Bottled 11/19/2010. 22 oz. bottle served in a Deschutes tulip. A: Pours a pitch black color with a dark wood head forming on the pour. It recedes quickly to a thin ring and leaves some splotchy and sticky lace down the glass. S: Wonderful sweet bourbon, roasted malts and dark fruits are harmoniously all wafting out of the glass. Some light oak and chocolate come up as the beer warms. It’s a very smooth and delicious smell. T: Just simply divine. Deliciously smooth bourbon, this Pappy 23 is so smooth and sweet. Nice dark fruit malts with a little dried, salted plum flavor. A nice mix of savory and sweet. Once the bourbon flavors die down a little the actual barrel comes out with nice mild, woody oak and a bit of char. Sweet caramel and smooth vanilla. Nice brownie flavors with some bittersweet chocolate and great roasted malts. M: Smooth and creamy with medium to low carbonation, but it is a tad thin even for a barrel aged beer. I would have liked a bit more chew, but it just goes down so smooth with a mild warmth it’s really a nitpicking complaint. O: Basically perfect. There is no overt alcohol flavors that are offputting, just the deliciously smooth and sweet PVW barrel. Decadent flavors with an awesome combination of sweet and savory this is a must try for any stout fan. It was my only one, but I couldn’t imagine sharing it with anyone but my friends on a really special occasion. Hopefully I can try this beauty again some day! Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 06-07-2012

As good as advertised. From notes at BBL Stout tasting in Centennial CO. Tons of vanilla and coconut bourbon notes in the nose with sweet molasses and toffee. Taste is much like the nose, very well integrated notes of caramel, vanilla, boozy bourbon and oak play with the fudge-y base beer. Thick and chewy, coats the mouth. Amazing beer, the best of the night and one of the best I’ve ever had.

Notes from a 6 oz pour at a tasting with jcr. Yes, black pour. Thick brown sticky that lends black oil leaking down through the dense bubbles. Nose is intense and complex - cherries, sweet pleasant vanilla, mellow bourbon, caramel complexities, oaky, raisins, dried dates, and pleasant rich bourbon. Flavor lends smooth bourbon, cherries, vanilla, mellow bourbons. Smooth, rich, and oily. Viscous. Wonderful. We had this with the 2009 regular and 2010 Vanilla and Rare was a huge standout.

UPDATED: MAY 3, 2013 660 ml bottle shared at the epic beer tasting - pours pitch black with almost no head. Aroma is full of bourbon but with sweet notes of dark forest fruits, chocolate and roasted malts. Full full full body with an overwhelming mouthfeel and great aftertaste. Worth the hype, one of my best impies ever tasted but perhaps a tad one-sided.

UPDATED: DEC 4, 2012 100th Imperial Stout rating. Pours a pitch black color with a nice tan head. Aroma is super complex, I get lots of barrel character, lots of bourbon, oak, vanilla, coconut, bourbon soaked raisins, roasted malt, prunes, dark fruits, coffee, dark chocolate, tobacco, cocoa nibs, dark caramel, molasses and fudge. The flavor follows the nose with tons of barrel character, the bourbon, oak, vanilla, coconut, bourbon soaked raisins, prunes, roasted malt, coffee, dark fruits, tobacco, cocoa nibs, dark caramel, fudge, molasses and dark chocolate. Wow this is soooooo complex!! The body is full with a sticky and creamy mouth feel. By far the best Imperial Stout I have had, and probably one of my all time favorite beers!

Simply awesome. Strong and deep tastes of molasses, vanilla, huge nice sweet bourbon, chocolate, coffee.....it is all there...really, really good. Pours a nice dark black with a very thin almost flat head that dissipates quickly. Thick, a bit of heat, but deserves every bit of its 100 rating!