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Islay Scotch Barrel Stout
Goose Island Beer Co.
Beer Geek Stats
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- From:
- Goose Island Beer Co.
- Illinois, United States
- Style:
- American Imperial Stout
- ABV:
- 13.4%
- Score:
- 88
- Avg:
- 3.91 | pDev: 21.74%
- Reviews:
- 18
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Apr 14, 2022
- Added:
- Jan 25, 2018
- Wants:
- 3
- Gots:
- 9
Imperial stout aged in Ardbeg barrels for 15 months
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by PSU_Mike:
Rated by PSU_Mike from Pennsylvania
4.24/5 rDev +8.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25
Apr 08, 2018
4.24/5 rDev +8.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25
Apr 08, 2018
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by 5toutman75 from Illinois
4.61/5 rDev +17.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.61/5 rDev +17.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Bottled 2017-12-05, consumed 2020-04-03
Wow, this is a unique beer. When I say that, I mean it in the best possible light as I’m loving it. I love my Smokey, peaty Ardbeg scotch to begin with, so I was hopeful about this one when I got it when I came out. I remember the smoke being very strong when I first had it and after more than 2 years, it’s still very present. I still get the BCS like sweet bourbon notes too on the nose and pallet. The smoke still overtakes a lot of other flavors though, so if you don’t like that, you won’t like the beer. 12oz is still a lot of this beer to consume as once. Like all BA stouts, I wish I could buy them in 8oz formats. The alcohol is maybe more present here than in a regular BCS. This is definitely a sipper. I’m glad I have 3 more to age further!
Apr 04, 2020Wow, this is a unique beer. When I say that, I mean it in the best possible light as I’m loving it. I love my Smokey, peaty Ardbeg scotch to begin with, so I was hopeful about this one when I got it when I came out. I remember the smoke being very strong when I first had it and after more than 2 years, it’s still very present. I still get the BCS like sweet bourbon notes too on the nose and pallet. The smoke still overtakes a lot of other flavors though, so if you don’t like that, you won’t like the beer. 12oz is still a lot of this beer to consume as once. Like all BA stouts, I wish I could buy them in 8oz formats. The alcohol is maybe more present here than in a regular BCS. This is definitely a sipper. I’m glad I have 3 more to age further!
Reviewed by fountainofyouth from District of Columbia
4.4/5 rDev +12.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
4.4/5 rDev +12.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
I love stout and I love Islay malts, so big expectations here. Poured from a bottle into a pint glass.
Appearance: Black, with almost no head at all.
Smell: Basically a Lagavulin 16. Iodine, peat, and wood. Almost spooky how similar it is.
Taste: Well done. The Islay malt flavors are strong but not overpowering. The iodine and peat lead, but I still get the roast and sweetness of the malt underneath. A teensie bit of booze on the back end, but given the high ABV and the fact that it's basically a whisky, not a fault. The only thing that's a little off is the salinity -- I'm just not used to salty beer.
Feel: Medium-bodied, light carbonation.
Overall: Perfect for a one-time experiment. I probably won't go out of my way for it again, but the concept worked and I'm glad I tried it.
Feb 20, 2020Appearance: Black, with almost no head at all.
Smell: Basically a Lagavulin 16. Iodine, peat, and wood. Almost spooky how similar it is.
Taste: Well done. The Islay malt flavors are strong but not overpowering. The iodine and peat lead, but I still get the roast and sweetness of the malt underneath. A teensie bit of booze on the back end, but given the high ABV and the fact that it's basically a whisky, not a fault. The only thing that's a little off is the salinity -- I'm just not used to salty beer.
Feel: Medium-bodied, light carbonation.
Overall: Perfect for a one-time experiment. I probably won't go out of my way for it again, but the concept worked and I'm glad I tried it.
Reviewed by spav from Illinois
4.89/5 rDev +25.1%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75
4.89/5 rDev +25.1%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75
Big fan of ardbeg over here.
Look- the only downfall of this beer is the lack of any head at all and the fact that it's not as pitch black as youd think.
Smell- extraordinary! Everything I love about ardbeg plus some chocolate. So essentially bacon, salt, peat, charred wood, more bacon, smoke, chocolate, more bacon.
Taste- milk chocolate covered bacon with some sea salt atop and the scotch peat that we all love
Feel- superb. Oily and thick like chocolate syrup, lack of carbonation makes it perfect
Overall- after a year of aging in the basement it's perfect and its ardbeg
Nov 08, 2018Look- the only downfall of this beer is the lack of any head at all and the fact that it's not as pitch black as youd think.
Smell- extraordinary! Everything I love about ardbeg plus some chocolate. So essentially bacon, salt, peat, charred wood, more bacon, smoke, chocolate, more bacon.
Taste- milk chocolate covered bacon with some sea salt atop and the scotch peat that we all love
Feel- superb. Oily and thick like chocolate syrup, lack of carbonation makes it perfect
Overall- after a year of aging in the basement it's perfect and its ardbeg
Reviewed by MSPEAR1 from Illinois
4.81/5 rDev +23%
look: 4 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
4.81/5 rDev +23%
look: 4 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
Look- opaque and oily with little head formation
Smell- smells like Ardbeg (obviously) with some chocolate along with a wet straw and some fresh oak. Smell is amazing.
Taste- tastes like chocolate covered bacon covered in salt and perfumed with smoke. There is a slight chocolate sweetness along with some toffee and roasted barely.
Feel- very viscous with a nice oily texture that coats the tongue nicely. There is little carbonation, which is pleasant of a beer with so much complexity
Overall- very well balanced after a year of aging. Simply so different from your traditional coffee and chocolate flavors typical of a stout.
Nov 08, 2018Smell- smells like Ardbeg (obviously) with some chocolate along with a wet straw and some fresh oak. Smell is amazing.
Taste- tastes like chocolate covered bacon covered in salt and perfumed with smoke. There is a slight chocolate sweetness along with some toffee and roasted barely.
Feel- very viscous with a nice oily texture that coats the tongue nicely. There is little carbonation, which is pleasant of a beer with so much complexity
Overall- very well balanced after a year of aging. Simply so different from your traditional coffee and chocolate flavors typical of a stout.
Reviewed by REVZEB from Illinois
3.15/5 rDev -19.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.25
3.15/5 rDev -19.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.25
I'm pretty sure I burned brain cells just smelling this. Wow barrel burn and not much else. Even the subtle scotch is lost, just disinfectant at this point. Now for the taste, the smoked peat of the scotch whiskey certainly is present, but not overpowering like the smell. Malt, slight toffee, smoke, barley, and ginger all are underneath, but hard to shake the ashtray taste. Still feel like I am fighting this beer to the death trying to drink it, definitely a sipper!
Jul 20, 2018Reviewed by ZebulonXZogg from Illinois
3.11/5 rDev -20.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
3.11/5 rDev -20.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Pours a very dark brown with a small khaki head that fades to nothing quickly.
Aroma was mostly smoke, peat and hint of whiskey.
Taste was almost like licking a dirty ashtray that someone might have spilled some Scotch.
The beer was thinner than expected, and very little carbonation.
Overall this was a huge disappointment. I love Scotch ales, especially BA one. To me it was a disaster, but then again I'm not a Scotch drinker.
Jun 26, 2018Aroma was mostly smoke, peat and hint of whiskey.
Taste was almost like licking a dirty ashtray that someone might have spilled some Scotch.
The beer was thinner than expected, and very little carbonation.
Overall this was a huge disappointment. I love Scotch ales, especially BA one. To me it was a disaster, but then again I'm not a Scotch drinker.
Reviewed by Sandis from Minnesota
1.56/5 rDev -60.1%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 1 | feel: 3 | overall: 1
1.56/5 rDev -60.1%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 1 | feel: 3 | overall: 1
I was so hopeful that this would be tasty after reading the label. Unfortunately, my hopes were dashed after the first sip. This is an absolute smoke bomb. After the first sip I felt like my breath smelled like fire pit ashes. The mouthfeel was good and the carbonation level was very good. I just can't get past the smokiness. Just not for me.
Jun 26, 2018
Islay Scotch Barrel Stout from Goose Island Beer Co.
Beer rating:
88 out of
100 with
52 ratings
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