Bourbon County Brand Stout | Goose Island Beer Co.
Brewed by:
Goose Island Beer Co.
Illinois, United States
gooseisland.com
Style: American Imperial Stout
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 15.20%
Availability: Winter
Notes / Commercial Description:
60 IBU
Added by DrewBeechum on 06-26-2003
HISTOGRAM
View: Beers | Place Reviews
Ratings: 12,857 | Reviews: 3,096
4.67/5 rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75
2016 Vintage reviewed Jan 20, 2019 (2017 and 2016 Vintages Below)
Pour: Black with a little brown tonge or maybe that’s the deep tan head. Minimal head that quickly dissipated into a thin ring. Slight bubble lacing while drinking. A bit underwhelming. (Same as 2018)
Nose: sweet malts, just a hint of bourbon up front. Lots of Dark brandied fruit. Really nice but more subtle than the 2018 from Nov.
Taste: rich dark chocolate, sweet bourbon up front. Deep roasted malt, some bitter coffee in the middle. Dark fruits and more chocolate, maybe some burnt toast on the backend. Really well balanced. A little less chocolate, a little more sweet malt than the fresh 2018 but still Outstanding.
Mouthfeel: rich, thick but not syrupy. Coats the tongue, lingers a bit but finishes well balanced and relatively clean. Moderate to low carbonation; just enough to tingle the tongue. Not as pilllowy as fresh 2018. Still really good.
Overall: high expectations and this lived up to them. BCBS remains a/the standard by which other BA stouts are measured. Liked the fresh 2018 a bit better. Maybe more similar to the year old 2017. Ages well but makes me really appreciate the 2018.
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2018 Vintage reviewed Nov 23 2018 (2017 Vintage Below)
Purchased at Total Wine today, Black Friday, or BCBS day.
Pour: Black with a little brown time or maybe that’s the deep tan head. Minimal head that quickly dissipated into a thin ring. Slight bubble lacing while drinking. A bit underwhelming.
Nose: sweet malts, bourbon up front. Dark brandied fruit. Hints of dark chocolate and coffee. Really nice.
Taste: rich dark chocolate, sweet bourbon up front. Deep roasted malt, some bitter coffee in the middle. Dark fruits and more chocolate, maybe some burnt toast on the backend. Really well balanced. Even more chocolate than I recall and bourbon very mellow and balanced. Outstanding.
Mouthfeel: rich, pillowy, thick but not syrupy. Coats the tongue, lingers a bit but finishes well balanced and relatively clean. Moderate to low carbonation; just enough to tingle the tongue. Outstanding.
Overall: wow! I had high expectations and this lived up to them, again. As with the 2017, and previous vintages, BCBS remains a/the standard by which other BA stouts are measured.
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2017 vintage. Reviewed Nov 20 2018. Purchased at Total WIne in Sarasota (Siesta Key) today. Couldn't get last year at home so very happy to find it here.
Pour: Jet black, maybe a hint of dark brown. 1-2 finger deep tan head. Ends in a few clouds and a thick ring. Pretty solid lacing, more like coating of the glass.
Nose: bourbon, dark, sweet fruit, vanilla and oak, chocolate, molasses.
Taste: heavy bourbon, some coffee (recognizing it's not a coffee stout), dark chocolate. Brandied fruit, figs, some vanilla and oak. Fair amount of hops bitterness on the backend. Relatively clean finish despite the intensity of the flavors. You have to like bourbon to like this.
Mouthfeel: thick, thick, milkshake like. Moderate carbonation. Coats the tongue but not cloying and finishes pretty clean.
Perfect.
Overall: this is still the standard for BBA stouts IMO. Have a bottle to age and will likely pick up another one or two assuming they are still on the shelf.
3,272 characters
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75
2016 Vintage reviewed Jan 20, 2019 (2017 and 2016 Vintages Below)
Pour: Black with a little brown tonge or maybe that’s the deep tan head. Minimal head that quickly dissipated into a thin ring. Slight bubble lacing while drinking. A bit underwhelming. (Same as 2018)
Nose: sweet malts, just a hint of bourbon up front. Lots of Dark brandied fruit. Really nice but more subtle than the 2018 from Nov.
Taste: rich dark chocolate, sweet bourbon up front. Deep roasted malt, some bitter coffee in the middle. Dark fruits and more chocolate, maybe some burnt toast on the backend. Really well balanced. A little less chocolate, a little more sweet malt than the fresh 2018 but still Outstanding.
Mouthfeel: rich, thick but not syrupy. Coats the tongue, lingers a bit but finishes well balanced and relatively clean. Moderate to low carbonation; just enough to tingle the tongue. Not as pilllowy as fresh 2018. Still really good.
Overall: high expectations and this lived up to them. BCBS remains a/the standard by which other BA stouts are measured. Liked the fresh 2018 a bit better. Maybe more similar to the year old 2017. Ages well but makes me really appreciate the 2018.
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2018 Vintage reviewed Nov 23 2018 (2017 Vintage Below)
Purchased at Total Wine today, Black Friday, or BCBS day.
Pour: Black with a little brown time or maybe that’s the deep tan head. Minimal head that quickly dissipated into a thin ring. Slight bubble lacing while drinking. A bit underwhelming.
Nose: sweet malts, bourbon up front. Dark brandied fruit. Hints of dark chocolate and coffee. Really nice.
Taste: rich dark chocolate, sweet bourbon up front. Deep roasted malt, some bitter coffee in the middle. Dark fruits and more chocolate, maybe some burnt toast on the backend. Really well balanced. Even more chocolate than I recall and bourbon very mellow and balanced. Outstanding.
Mouthfeel: rich, pillowy, thick but not syrupy. Coats the tongue, lingers a bit but finishes well balanced and relatively clean. Moderate to low carbonation; just enough to tingle the tongue. Outstanding.
Overall: wow! I had high expectations and this lived up to them, again. As with the 2017, and previous vintages, BCBS remains a/the standard by which other BA stouts are measured.
==============
2017 vintage. Reviewed Nov 20 2018. Purchased at Total WIne in Sarasota (Siesta Key) today. Couldn't get last year at home so very happy to find it here.
Pour: Jet black, maybe a hint of dark brown. 1-2 finger deep tan head. Ends in a few clouds and a thick ring. Pretty solid lacing, more like coating of the glass.
Nose: bourbon, dark, sweet fruit, vanilla and oak, chocolate, molasses.
Taste: heavy bourbon, some coffee (recognizing it's not a coffee stout), dark chocolate. Brandied fruit, figs, some vanilla and oak. Fair amount of hops bitterness on the backend. Relatively clean finish despite the intensity of the flavors. You have to like bourbon to like this.
Mouthfeel: thick, thick, milkshake like. Moderate carbonation. Coats the tongue but not cloying and finishes pretty clean.
Perfect.
Overall: this is still the standard for BBA stouts IMO. Have a bottle to age and will likely pick up another one or two assuming they are still on the shelf.
3,272 characters
4.34/5 rDev -5.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.75
look: 4.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.75
5/5 rDev +8.7%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Hands down, the best Bourbon beer you can find. I love this beer so much. Aging them is so much better. Each sip is just amazing. Well respected brew.
150 characters
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Hands down, the best Bourbon beer you can find. I love this beer so much. Aging them is so much better. Each sip is just amazing. Well respected brew.
150 characters
4.72/5 rDev +2.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.75
look: 5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.75
4.21/5 rDev -8.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
4.73/5 rDev +2.8%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
3.79/5 rDev -17.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.5
2018 edition
Look: Pitch black. Barely a finger of dark tan head that quickly dissipates into a ring; even changing how I pour it doesn't get more head.
Smell: Very sweet. Chocolate, coffee, milk, and some roast malt.
Taste: A big blast of chocolate and roasted malt, fading into roast coffee notes. Very sweet, almost sickly so.
Mouthfeel: Thick and full-bodied, with virtually no carbonation.
Overall: I'm going to be in the minority and say no to this beer. The insanely sweet taste is an immediate turn-off, to the point where even finishing the glass is hard. It comes off highly unbalanced.
601 characters
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.5
2018 edition
Look: Pitch black. Barely a finger of dark tan head that quickly dissipates into a ring; even changing how I pour it doesn't get more head.
Smell: Very sweet. Chocolate, coffee, milk, and some roast malt.
Taste: A big blast of chocolate and roasted malt, fading into roast coffee notes. Very sweet, almost sickly so.
Mouthfeel: Thick and full-bodied, with virtually no carbonation.
Overall: I'm going to be in the minority and say no to this beer. The insanely sweet taste is an immediate turn-off, to the point where even finishing the glass is hard. It comes off highly unbalanced.
601 characters
4.36/5 rDev -5.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
4.25/5 rDev -7.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
Great beer at 15$ a bomber, the vanilla is far superior, but somehow cost 7$ more. Take your time and pour in a snifter, I advise sharing it as the almost 15% abv is definitely present. I should have aged it a year or two though mellow out the boozy taste. But seriously, get the vanilla!
288 characters
look: 5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
Great beer at 15$ a bomber, the vanilla is far superior, but somehow cost 7$ more. Take your time and pour in a snifter, I advise sharing it as the almost 15% abv is definitely present. I should have aged it a year or two though mellow out the boozy taste. But seriously, get the vanilla!
288 characters
4.52/5 rDev -1.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
2.9/5 rDev -37%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2
The first sip tastes much like when you've taken a shot of whisky and taken a swig of beer. But the rest of the bottle is a nasty series of progressively overly- whisky-flavored sips. Too much whisky flavoring, guys...
218 characters
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2
The first sip tastes much like when you've taken a shot of whisky and taken a swig of beer. But the rest of the bottle is a nasty series of progressively overly- whisky-flavored sips. Too much whisky flavoring, guys...
218 characters
5/5 rDev +8.7%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
L: dark dark dark dark brown, almost no head
S: Smores and Bourbon
T: Hot on the tongue, but alcohol taste quickly dissipates into chocolate, coffee, and something else I can't put my finger on
F: Hot in the chest
O: WOW
220 characters
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
L: dark dark dark dark brown, almost no head
S: Smores and Bourbon
T: Hot on the tongue, but alcohol taste quickly dissipates into chocolate, coffee, and something else I can't put my finger on
F: Hot in the chest
O: WOW
220 characters
4.75/5 rDev +3.3%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
4.49/5 rDev -2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Exceptional bourbon stout!
26 characters
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Exceptional bourbon stout!
26 characters
4.7/5 rDev +2.2%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
4.44/5 rDev -3.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.34/5 rDev -5.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.67/5 rDev +1.5%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
4.49/5 rDev -2.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.17/5 rDev -9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Wanted to love this beer after waiting so many years for the chance to try it. Unfortunately, I can only say "like" as it seems to be true that you can have too much of a good thing. The over-the-top ABV and flavors just don't meld for a great overall experience. And that's from a guy who loves other "big" bourbon beers like KBS, Parabola, BA TenFidy, BA Expedition, etc. Individual notes of bourbon, leather, tobacco, licorice, chocolate, charred grains, etc are all there, but the ABV is just a couple points too high to allow all that goodness to come together. Instead of doing everything possible to push this beer to 11, I wish they had just the slightest restraint and allowed all the goodness to come out in full. Still a pretty good beer, but definitely not at the hype level. A bit tough to finish the whole thing over the course of a long sitting.
867 characters
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Wanted to love this beer after waiting so many years for the chance to try it. Unfortunately, I can only say "like" as it seems to be true that you can have too much of a good thing. The over-the-top ABV and flavors just don't meld for a great overall experience. And that's from a guy who loves other "big" bourbon beers like KBS, Parabola, BA TenFidy, BA Expedition, etc. Individual notes of bourbon, leather, tobacco, licorice, chocolate, charred grains, etc are all there, but the ABV is just a couple points too high to allow all that goodness to come together. Instead of doing everything possible to push this beer to 11, I wish they had just the slightest restraint and allowed all the goodness to come out in full. Still a pretty good beer, but definitely not at the hype level. A bit tough to finish the whole thing over the course of a long sitting.
867 characters
4.68/5 rDev +1.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
4.08/5 rDev -11.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Draught 8oz snifter at the Brass Tap here in Baltimore. Expected more for the price ($12). Probably, benefit from ageing - mellowing out the ABV.
145 characters
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Draught 8oz snifter at the Brass Tap here in Baltimore. Expected more for the price ($12). Probably, benefit from ageing - mellowing out the ABV.
145 characters
4.55/5 rDev -1.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5
4.14/5 rDev -10%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
2018 vintage. Can’t wait to try the 2016 I have. But this hot as hell at first sip. Taste better as it warms in glass. Boozy but pretty easy to drink for ABV.
160 characters
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
2018 vintage. Can’t wait to try the 2016 I have. But this hot as hell at first sip. Taste better as it warms in glass. Boozy but pretty easy to drink for ABV.
160 characters
4.29/5 rDev -6.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Bourbon County Brand Stout from Goose Island Beer Co.
Beer rating:
4.6 out of
5 with
12,857 ratings
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