Backyard Rye Bourbon County Brand Stout
Goose Island Beer Co.

 

 

Look - black and thick with a great tan head
Smell - fruity roasty chocolate
Taste - chocolate berry barrel, fantastic
Feel - medium body and syrup
Ovearll - for being a berry stout, just delicious

 

 

 

 

2013 vintage. Has held up unbelievably well. Black with a minimal head that dissipates quickly. Fruity aroma with a trace of spice and roastiness. Flavor follows the nose but ramped up on fruitiness. Thick mouthfeel. This was a BD from my local beer guys in 2015. Hope I get a chance to thank them. Remarkable beer.

 

 

 

 

Tasted from bottle now 6 years old. Pours black with thin beige head. Aroma is lots of berries, cocoa, caramel and bourbon. Thick and chewy. So smooth. Still get tons of berry flavor but also lots of chocolate, molasses, caramel and even a little coffee. Probably the best berry beer I’ve ever had. Awesome!

 

 

Pours a pitch black coloration with a small, frothy head that soon fades to just a fine ring around the glass. Lovely aroma of tart, fresh and juicy blackberries and raspberry, with a rich dark chocolate note, just a hint of vanilla and light earthy/woody oak notes. Taste follows the nose, with a fantastic balance of slightly tart, fresh blackberry/raspberry notes (the blackberry standing out a lot more), rich, bittersweet dark chocolate and roasted malt bitterness, all tied together by lovely barrel notes of subtle vanilla, earthy/wooden oak notes and mild, herbal spiciness. There's a certain warming presence that develops as you drink, but not a hint of real booziness to this. Finishes with a very light bitterness and tartness, with some chocolate-covered blackberries lingering in the aftertaste. Thick, oily mouthfeel with a rich body and low carbonation.

This has held up incredibly well over almost exactly 5 years, with the fruity notes still standing out tart and vibrant and a very mellow and incredibly well-balanced flavor profile without a hint of booze to it despite the almost 13% ABV. Very high on my list of best Stouts I've ever had.

 

Had it in 2018. Good and sweet.

 

2013 vintage tasted in a Rastal Teku from a bottle on October 5, 2018. Big thanks to Joshua for sharing this cellar aged gem. One of the best stouts I have ever tasted.

Opened 7/28/18, and “wow”.
Still fizzy and crisp, but full bodied. Hige boysenberry nose. Just a hint of oak and booze on the nose. Looks dark and tan ring head. Fruit is just coming through huge. The heat of booze is there still to remind us of all our brothers who died in a soury mess since. Man. Good old days. Murca.

 

Properly cellared, five year old bottle, poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, appearing nearly opaque black in the glass with a quarter finger dark khaki head that dissipates to a persistent thick film with good retention and nice lacing. Aroma of dark toasted malt, red berries (my immediate reaction was raspberries, but those were not used here), a hint of cocoa and light cardboardy oxidation. Flavor is dark lightly toasted malt, mixed red berries (that once again reminded me of raspberries), bare hints of cocoa and whiskey. Medium bodied with light creaminess. I have discovered that I'm often not fond of tart berries or fruit in my stout, so I was approaching this with a little trepidation. No problem. This was a beautiful blend of dark malt and berries, with a little sweetness and touch of tartness from the latter. Although the overt chocolate flavors were muted, the flavor is reminiscent of a red berry chocolate cordial. The fact that this has berry fruit and is aged for 5 years makes this even more impressive; I wish I had been able to get two bottles and tried it fresh and cellared, but this is my only bottle. And it is a fine one. The big ABV is frighteningly well covered, this drinks full bodied, but with very little hint of booziness. This brewery and line of stouts has dropped from my "must have" list as I'm less interested in fighting for bottles with so many worthy stouts available made locally, but I have to say that this emphasizes the fine quality of that era of Goose Island stout production. This has held up beautifully. I'm guessing that fresh this had even better rich malt, but it has aged gracefully with the malt and berry balance still great and appealing. When I first had my mind blown by the regular BCBS in 2008, it sat in case pyramids at my local grocers and I bought it at leisure over months and fortunately was able to put some away in the cellar. By 2013 when this came out, I was lucky to get a bottle or two of available base and variants and the cellaring days were over. Glad I found this in the cellar and even happier that it is so tasty still. Impressive.

 

 

 

22oz bomber, bottled on 11/20/2013, consumed on 3/10/2018. Poured into snifters.

Crude oil black color with glowing colorful highlights on the perimeter - purple, pinkish red, and burgundy. The brown cap was thin and fleeting, left little lacing, but revived with a gentle swirl.

Berry, cherry, vanilla, and a healthy dose of soak in oak. Soft rye whiskey aroma.

Lightly sweetened berry flavor, jam like. Perfectly roasted malt with chocolate, liquid oak, mellowed rye whiskey, and a touch of char.

As smooth as a barrel aged BCBS with 52 months of rest in the bottle could be. Perfectly smooth with no booze burn. In fact, the 12.7% abv is disguised throughout the experience, showing no sign in the aroma or taste.

Better than I expected. What good fortune to have purchased and held it until ready. I shared it with a good friend who genuinely appreciated the gesture, thus enhancing an already sublime experience.

Incredible. Even at 5 years old, the berry flavors and booze still shine through. Wish I had more.

 

 

 

 

The berries make this ridiculously good. You can smell it from across the room.

Chocolate covered dark fruit with rye barrel accents coming through on the finish.

 

Pours pitch black with a pinkish hue noted in the head. Nose is rich chocolate, raspberry truffle, oak, not getting much bourbon. Taste follows the nose with dark chocolate, sweet berries, licorice, mild bourbon notes. Full bodied, smooth, classic Bourbon County feel. Overall, a delicious, unique Bourbon County variant. A treat to have the opportunity to try.

 

 

Drank this with the Firestone 2017 Crew on the night before. Been owing this beer to Adam for days from our Chiefs/Raiders bet.

Pours black, carbonation seemed fine, thin 1/5" brown head ring on it. Aroma of heavy bourbon and lighter red fruits.

Taste, ah a sweeter, fruity BCS basically. I think it works wonderfully. Its the sweetest, but it isn't deserving of any tired beetus jokes you liked to kick around your first decade in craft beer. Its just a rich, well, heavily roasted massive ass stout that was put into bourbon barrels with tons of Oregon berries come harvest time. I dunno if they're from Oregon, but shit like that is all over the place there. This one was aged 5 years and was just exquisite. Not hot, fruit where it should be. Carbonation spot on, especially for age and style.

Pours a viscous and rich looking dark black with a light shade of brown on the pour, a minimal thin layer of foam sits as a crown.

While this beer was sampled quite some time after it's release there is still a nice pungent aroma of berries, while the chocolate, roasty, and barrel character is also quite pleasing yet.

With some age, some of the character has fallen off, but the berry addition has changed to a jammy sweet deliciousness, while oaky barrel along with vanilla, bourbon, and roasted malt adds even more complexity.

Full-bodied, low carbonation, rich, pleasing, warming, where sweet and roasty meet in perfect harmony.

Overall, I sure do wish this was brewed yearly, it's a true home run and do not pass up a sampling if you have a chance.