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Bourbon County Brand Regal Rye Stout
Goose Island Beer Co.
- From:
- Goose Island Beer Co.
- Illinois, United States
- Style:
- American Imperial Stout
- ABV:
- 13.2%
- Score:
- 97
- Avg:
- 4.39 | pDev: 7.97%
- Reviews:
- 174
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Dec 06, 2023
- Added:
- Jul 30, 2015
- Wants:
- 156
- Gots:
- 383
Bourbon County Brand Stout aged in rye whiskey barrels with blackberries, Luxardo candied cherries, fresh sour cherries and sea salt.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by TmKeisySC:
Rated by TmKeisySC from South Carolina
4.98/5 rDev +13.4%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 5
Dec 18, 2015
4.98/5 rDev +13.4%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 5
Dec 18, 2015
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho
4.16/5 rDev -5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4.16/5 rDev -5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
bottle from BCBS horizontal. Dark brown pour, thick, small spotty beige head. Aroma is sweet and chocolaty with lots of fruity notes: berries and cherries. Taste starts with the fruity sweetness and is quickly joined by the woody, roasty malts, Rye barrel lends mild spicy character. full, sweet, fruity, boozy.
Dec 06, 2023Rated by jrpapajcik from Illinois
4.75/5 rDev +8.2%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
4.75/5 rDev +8.2%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
At home from a well-aged bottle. Just outstanding.
Oct 08, 2023Reviewed by Rhettroactive from Virginia
4.41/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.41/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Drank room temp outside of the storage unit where it’s been, post friend’s divorce, for years.
That said, shockingly delicious given its age and storage conditions. I’d call this “drink now” if you’re holding.
Jun 25, 2023That said, shockingly delicious given its age and storage conditions. I’d call this “drink now” if you’re holding.
Reviewed by Rug from Massachusetts
4.34/5 rDev -1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.34/5 rDev -1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Bottled 10/28/15
This is a bottle I picked up from the Goose Island brewpub on my trip to Chicago over the weekend. I got some cool bottles, but some of them are pretty old and I need to start cracking into them. This is probably one of the weirder variants I’ve seen, blackberries, candied cherries, sour cherries, and sea salt. It should be interesting to see what this is like 7 years in so let’s get into it
Pours completely pitch black with a finger of brown head that quickly fades to a ring and leaves minimal lacing
Perhaps it’s the age, but it’s quite subtle on the fruit in the nose. I’m picking up on aromas of dark chocolate truffle, candied cherry, light roast coffee, sweet bourbon, toasted oak, tannic blackberry, and just a touch of sea salt
It displays a different balance in taste, but it’s even better in my opinion. On the front end of the sip I’m tasting sweet bourbon, milk chocolate, cognac, sweet red grape, jammy blackberry, caramel, light sea salt, and lightly tart cherry. The swallow brings notes of dark chocolate truffle, jammy blackberry, tart cherry, caramel, sea salt, nougat, sweet bourbon, toasted oak, cognac, and vanilla
A medium full body pairs with gentle carbonation, resulting in a smooth beer. Finishes a tad sticky and slick but pretty balanced
I honestly really like this one despite the weird adjuncts and age. It’s quite complex, and I don’t regret splurging on it. Let’s hope that keeps up for the rest of them
Sep 21, 2022This is a bottle I picked up from the Goose Island brewpub on my trip to Chicago over the weekend. I got some cool bottles, but some of them are pretty old and I need to start cracking into them. This is probably one of the weirder variants I’ve seen, blackberries, candied cherries, sour cherries, and sea salt. It should be interesting to see what this is like 7 years in so let’s get into it
Pours completely pitch black with a finger of brown head that quickly fades to a ring and leaves minimal lacing
Perhaps it’s the age, but it’s quite subtle on the fruit in the nose. I’m picking up on aromas of dark chocolate truffle, candied cherry, light roast coffee, sweet bourbon, toasted oak, tannic blackberry, and just a touch of sea salt
It displays a different balance in taste, but it’s even better in my opinion. On the front end of the sip I’m tasting sweet bourbon, milk chocolate, cognac, sweet red grape, jammy blackberry, caramel, light sea salt, and lightly tart cherry. The swallow brings notes of dark chocolate truffle, jammy blackberry, tart cherry, caramel, sea salt, nougat, sweet bourbon, toasted oak, cognac, and vanilla
A medium full body pairs with gentle carbonation, resulting in a smooth beer. Finishes a tad sticky and slick but pretty balanced
I honestly really like this one despite the weird adjuncts and age. It’s quite complex, and I don’t regret splurging on it. Let’s hope that keeps up for the rest of them
Reviewed by hopley from Massachusetts
4.03/5 rDev -8.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
4.03/5 rDev -8.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
The blackberry and sour cherry taste was way too dominant for me and overshadowed all other variants. Typically, when I have blackberries - they are sweet, but every now and then you'll get one that's a bit sour...it felt like they used those for this beer. Also, the sour cherries...just didn't work as a stout variant for me, but to be fair, while I love sour beers, I'm not much into ones that use sour cherries...so I guess even though perhaps past its prime, I probably wasn't destined to love this beer however you look at it. Otherwise, it had all the typical attributes of a Bourbon County that I love.
Aug 15, 2022Reviewed by M-Fox24 from New Jersey
4.15/5 rDev -5.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.15/5 rDev -5.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
A: Midnight pour nearing concentrated coal, with mousy brown and viscous motor oil shades. The head is muddy yet short lived to nurture oily dregs
S: Leathered black currants against molded tree bark, which have a tannic overcoat in astringent fruits that befall to a chocolatey fondue fountain. Lesser indications hint at berry-cocoa torte with further delicacies in blackberry cobbler, toasted oak chips, and smoked old fashioned. Foraging yields/progresses the mileage in dark fruits, while patience and warming ties espresso marks, scotch-mallow bars, barreled-aged figs/prunes, and whiskey charred walnuts
T: Blazed, crystalized malts aiming at palate, with a softer barrel presence than aroma. Concourses have a slight decadency, but nothing that stirs a syrupy glut via burnt liquored custards, cognac truffles, and warm molasses raisin bread. Moreover is timing on leathered vanilla, strawberry shortbread, and the candied, red cherry licorice
M: A calculated richness across a technically thin surface with moderate heat alertness and minor causticity over +5yrs
O: A vintage with lasting toughness, and development across multiplexes
Dec 25, 2020S: Leathered black currants against molded tree bark, which have a tannic overcoat in astringent fruits that befall to a chocolatey fondue fountain. Lesser indications hint at berry-cocoa torte with further delicacies in blackberry cobbler, toasted oak chips, and smoked old fashioned. Foraging yields/progresses the mileage in dark fruits, while patience and warming ties espresso marks, scotch-mallow bars, barreled-aged figs/prunes, and whiskey charred walnuts
T: Blazed, crystalized malts aiming at palate, with a softer barrel presence than aroma. Concourses have a slight decadency, but nothing that stirs a syrupy glut via burnt liquored custards, cognac truffles, and warm molasses raisin bread. Moreover is timing on leathered vanilla, strawberry shortbread, and the candied, red cherry licorice
M: A calculated richness across a technically thin surface with moderate heat alertness and minor causticity over +5yrs
O: A vintage with lasting toughness, and development across multiplexes
Reviewed by moysauce from Illinois
4.43/5 rDev +0.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.43/5 rDev +0.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Second time having this beer. Last time was roughly 2 years ago. Obviously being a 5 year old beer there will be attributes that have become subdued. There was still some blackberry on the nose and some faint cherry. Kind of like a cherry tootsie pop on the finish. Just nitpicking here. Exceptional beer, but was better 2 years ago. If you’re sitting on this bottle, I’d drink it sooner rather than later.
Nov 26, 2020Reviewed by Rristow from Ohio
4.53/5 rDev +3.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
4.53/5 rDev +3.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
Tasted from bottle aged 4 years. Pours black with minimal head that fades quickly. Definitely blackberries on aroma along with cherry, cocoa and molasses. Flavors of cherry and berries, molasses, caramel, cocoa, and a little coffee like notes. Awesome beer.
Nov 13, 2019Reviewed by cbutova from Massachusetts
4.62/5 rDev +5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
4.62/5 rDev +5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
2015 bottle courtesy of Dan and Emma.
A- Oil black pour 500ml to a 8oz taster glass. Small dark tan head dies quick to a small ring and spotty lace is left behind on the glass.
S- That Bourbon County aroma of thick boozy, brownie, vanilla, fudge, chocolate and spicy Bourbon barrel. Subtle cherry and blackberry round it out quite nicely. Superb with some spicy raisins in there as well.
T- The fruit grows quite a bit but it plays into the booze, bourbon, vanilla and heaping amounts of dark things superby well. Cherry and luscious blackberry notes are joined by raisin and the fruits are the backdrop as well as the balance of the big barrel and gargantuan stout. Definitely vinous and has some grape and stem notes. Fruity bourbon vanilla fudge dessert
MF- Thick but definitely cut into by both the fruit and the barrel/booze. Silky and creamy texture and medium carbonation. Warm boozy ending.
Fruit and barrel stout makes sense but is hard to pull off without going to far in either way. Not the case here. Wonderful stout fruit and barrel balance.
Sep 16, 2019A- Oil black pour 500ml to a 8oz taster glass. Small dark tan head dies quick to a small ring and spotty lace is left behind on the glass.
S- That Bourbon County aroma of thick boozy, brownie, vanilla, fudge, chocolate and spicy Bourbon barrel. Subtle cherry and blackberry round it out quite nicely. Superb with some spicy raisins in there as well.
T- The fruit grows quite a bit but it plays into the booze, bourbon, vanilla and heaping amounts of dark things superby well. Cherry and luscious blackberry notes are joined by raisin and the fruits are the backdrop as well as the balance of the big barrel and gargantuan stout. Definitely vinous and has some grape and stem notes. Fruity bourbon vanilla fudge dessert
MF- Thick but definitely cut into by both the fruit and the barrel/booze. Silky and creamy texture and medium carbonation. Warm boozy ending.
Fruit and barrel stout makes sense but is hard to pull off without going to far in either way. Not the case here. Wonderful stout fruit and barrel balance.
Bourbon County Brand Regal Rye Stout from Goose Island Beer Co.
Beer rating:
97 out of
100 with
834 ratings
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