Bourbon County Brand Stout
Goose Island Beer Co.

Bourbon County Brand StoutBourbon County Brand Stout
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From:
Goose Island Beer Co.
 
Illinois, United States
Style:
American Imperial Stout
Ranked #20
ABV:
14.3%
Score:
100
Ranked #60
Avg:
4.6 | pDev: 9.13%
Reviews:
3,324
Ratings:
13,441
Status:
Active
Rated:
Sunday at 08:24 PM
Added:
Jun 26, 2003
Wants:
  2,897
Gots:
  8,020
The Original Bourbon Barrel aged Imperial Stout. Our primary focus every year is to make this beer the best that it’s ever been, with the best ingredients, which includes the finest of bourbon whiskey barrels. This year’s Bourbon County Stout is aged in a mix of bourbon barrels from a variety of whiskey distilleries. Barrel-aged for a year to develop the complexity that only time can provide, Bourbon County Stout boasts a unique blend of flavors such as fudge, vanilla and caramel — topped off with a rich, complex mouthfeel.

IBU: 60
HOPS: MILLENNIUM
MALTS: 2 ROW, BLACK MALT, CARAMEL, CHOCOLATE, MUNICH 10, ROASTED BARLEY
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Rhettroactive:
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Reviewed by Rhettroactive from Virginia

4.82/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
From 12oz bottle to Bruges hybrid glass on 12/8/11
*From notes

-- Vintage 2011 --

A: One of the darkest liquids I've come across. Pitch black from top to bottom. A hard pour yields a minimal and loose .25 finger head that dissipates rather quickly. No real collar or lacing to speak of.

S: Buckets and buckets of delicious and well balanced bourbon. Toasted vanilla and coconut are dominant, and lays down the gauntlet for what's yet to come.

T: Utterly spectacular. With just the first sip, I'm easily able to determine that this is one of the best beers I've ever had. The balance of concentrated dark fruits, rich chocolate brownie batter, medium toast, vanilla bean and coconut shavings is pitch perfect. Though it's slightly hot, it in no ways prevents this from being epically delicious.

M: Whenever someone says viscous, this is what I'm gonna think of. Motor oil comes to mind. Really, it feels like my tongue is drilling an oil well in the south Texas heat. Just incredible.

O: I'm really dissapointed in myself for waiting this long to finally get into Goose Island's BCBS. Words aren't enough to describe my love for this wicked sensation. This is addiction in a bottle - I could literally sip this anytime, anywhere, all day. BCBS has set the Imperial Stout benchmark, and easily ranks in my top two or three favorite beers of all time.

*UPDATE: On 12/16/11, siege06nd, IrishColonial and myself got together to open my five year BCBS vertical ('07-'11). Here is the final collective outcome of the tasting, from top to bottom:

2008: Our hands down favorite. This is a special vintage.
2011: Not far behind. In time, this may be considered the best of the BCBS vintages.
2009: Solid. Delicious in it's own right, yet not quite up to the level of the '08 or '11.
2007: This is showing it's age. Barrel characterics are fading.
2010: In a weird place. On it's own it may be top shelf. But within the BCBS vertical, it was far behind the rest of the proverbial pack.

**UPDATE #2: On 3/24/12, a small group of friends and I got together to venture even deeper into the BCBS portfolio:

2005: Much roastier then any other vintage. It seems that GI had not yet gotten a firm grip on where they wanted to take this beer. All in all though, it's still drinking incredibly well.
2006: Now this is what I'm talking about! All of the things I love about BCBS are present. GI really hits their stride with this vintage, and you can see that this sets the tone for the vintages to come.
Jan 10, 2012
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.75 by Tbone10 from Wisconsin

Sunday at 08:24 PM
 
Rated: 4.84 by Ronan_H

Mar 16, 2024
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Reviewed by taxandbeerguy from Canada (ON)

4.63/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
Finally crossing this historically great brew off my list. 2022 Vintage and 14.3% ABV. Drink by 29Jun27. Served cool into a brandy snifter.

Appearance - Very dark brown from the bottle and virtually black in the glass. Thick and oily looking and a small half finger of deep tan head is poured and fizzles away into nothingness within a minute. Tiny little foamy collar left behind.

Smell - A huge plethora of aromas come to the nose immediately. Leather, molasses, bourbon, treacle, burnt brown sugar, with some fudge-y chocolate backing that up. Dark fruits like prunes and figs are also there. Vanilla is present throughout but subdued. The big thing is the sheer number of aromas and how well they play together.

Taste - Bitter and boozy upfront with vanilla accenting everything before there is some molasses that trhen transitions to sweet slightly toasted brown sugar. Back to bitterness with roasted malts, some dark chocolate and molasses mixture before finishing with a soft toffee. Leather gets mixed in with the earthiness too. The booze is present but well disguised for a 29 proof beer. It drinks and the intensity of the booze is pretty akin to most other 11-12.5% imperial stouts, so there is a smoothness. Taste kind of fades away eventually but after a couple of sips the booziness lingers reminding you of the strength. The depth and variety of flavor here is impressive.

Mouthfeel - Thick and chewy, little prickles of carbonation try to shine through but really full bodied. Gentle warming heat in the back of the throat.

Overall - Probably the best stout I've ever had the chance to enjoy, this lives up to the billing and the hype and I'm so stoked that I have a 2023 vintage to enjoy as well. Very much worth the price for a one off special occasion brew.
Mar 14, 2024
 
Rated: 4.9 by Rollmeaway2loadout from Illinois

Mar 10, 2024
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Rated by Mardinae from Texas

5/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Almost wine, absolutely perfect.
Mar 03, 2024
Photo of defunksta
Reviewed by defunksta from Wisconsin

4/5  rDev -13%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
2022 Version (bottled 10/2022 1.5 years old)

Appearance: Pours a completely dark black color with a moderate black head that fades. (4.00)

Aroma: Strong aromas of bourbon mixed with some chocolate and dark malts. (4.00)

Flavor: Strong and rich flavors of bourbon upfront. A little hot. Then it fades into chocolate and some complex dark malt flaovrs including bread, strudel, maple syrup, caramel, and toffee. Smooth but sweet and more bourbon off the end. (4.00)

Feel: Heavier-bodied, average to lower carbonation. Rich, sweet, shows the bourbon and a bit hot. (4.00)

Overall: Heavy on the bourbon as expected. Evolves into complex malt flavors of chocolate, caramel, toffee, and maple syrup. Less carbonation than I expect and it drinks heavy, sweet, and a bit hot showing the booze a bit. I'm sort of getting the hang of and appreciating BBA stouts, but these 14%+ ones are on a different level that my palate has still not quite primed for. I'm sure it's a World-Class beer, but all I'm getting is a lot of bourbon, booze, and sweetness. It's good, big and a sipper. (Rating: 4.00)
Feb 24, 2024
 
Rated: 4.25 by Riik3 from Illinois

Feb 18, 2024
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Rated by cbuzz24 from Mississippi

4.75/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
By far the best stout that has ever crossed my lips. Beats KBS, beats CBS, beats Narwhal, beats Ten Fidy....Just try it.
Feb 15, 2024
 
Rated: 3.75 by Ox8840bo from Illinois

Feb 12, 2024
 
Rated: 4.63 by Mxsluis from Michigan

Feb 11, 2024
 
Rated: 3.48 by rexdeopp from Texas

Feb 11, 2024
 
Rated: 4.44 by mushycake from Connecticut

Jan 31, 2024
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Reviewed by Rwoodroffe

4.57/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
Aged 1 additional year. Dark color with a darker head the vanished quickly. Strong sweet bourbon aroma and flavor with hints of caramel and chocolate.
Jan 27, 2024
 
Photo of doclh
Reviewed by doclh from North Carolina

5/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
This beer is my all time favorite. It has made many beers that I used to love take a much lower place on my want list. It is thick, black, savory, opulent, and above all incredibly flavorful. The poor is light on the head. I look at it as less waste to the heavens. I really feel that the thick, viscous strands of fluid on my glass are pulling the foam back into the glass. This allows me to enjoy more of it in my glass. The nose is sweet and rich. The initial taste grabs the tongue and lets you know something really good is coming. The thick viscosity makes me feel it is worth the price. Full bodied flavors of Rum, bourbon, hops, and malt fill the palate. The finish is long. Often five to ten minutes after the last sip. I cannot wait for my next one!
Jan 16, 2024
 
Rated: 4.5 by Rodya-CA from California

Jan 15, 2024
 
Rated: 4.16 by SeanP99 from North Carolina

Jan 11, 2024
Photo of nizzle8287
Reviewed by nizzle8287 from Texas

4.02/5  rDev -12.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Over-hyped much? Yes, I believe so... 2022 bottle poured into a snifter, as recommended, at around 50F.
Almost no head, even upon pouring fairly hard, and it disappears into about a BB-sized patch that does percolate up from the bottom of the snifter... Black as a moonless night.
Smell is bourbon, vanilla.
Taste is bourbon, vanilla, a little cocoa, and a smidge of toffee, but the label says "dried fruit" which I fail to recognize. maybe it was the year of rest, or maybe it is the bourbon that overshadows all of the minor flavors... Overall very sweet and cloying.
Perhaps this is where other drinkers give this brew all the credit: Mouthfeel. At 14.3% abv, you'd think this would be unbearable to drink, but it's actually not too bad. Far smoother than Tupps Full Grown Man, with less alcohol presence than one might imagine. Slightly sticky mouthfeel, however my tastes are developing into enjoying much dryer brews, so it just doesn't get the points from me like most others on here give it.
Overall, I have one more 2022 bottle to drink, and I think I'll wait until 2025 to drink it, but I'm not itching to open another bottle of this. Wasn't too impressed, but I'm just not very impressed by cloyingly sweet bourbon anything, so don't take this too personally, but I won't buy this again.
Jan 08, 2024
Photo of JLaw55
Reviewed by JLaw55 from Missouri

4.75/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
Drinking a 2019 vintage, aged for 4 years and drank in 1/1/23. Super smooth, incredibly so. Dark black, almost no head, slightest little lacing around the edges. Rich and indulgent, like a smoother and thinner chocolate syrup flavor and profile. Notes of toffee, vanilla, walnuts, and burnt oak round out the sweet richness of the chocolate. Stunning.
Jan 02, 2024
Bourbon County Brand Stout from Goose Island Beer Co.
Beer rating: 100 out of 100 with 13441 ratings