Bourbon County 2 Year Reserve Brand Stout (2019)
Goose Island Beer Co.
Beer Geek Stats:
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- Style:
- American Imperial Stout
Ranked #275 - ABV:
- 14.9%
- Score:
- 95
Ranked #2,958 - Avg:
- 4.62 | pDev: 5.63%
- Reviews:
- 5
- Ratings:
- From:
- Goose Island Beer Co.
- Illinois, United States
- Avail:
- One-off
- Wants
- 7
- Gots
- 8
SCORE
95
World-Class
95
World-Class
Notes:
Spending twice the amount of time in barrels as traditional BCS, 2-year Reserve is a new twist on a variant that has been in the lineup for the past two years. The brewery used 11-year-old Knob Creek barrels which results in an oak-forward flavor with chocolate, hazelnut and maple.
Reviews: 5
| Ratings: 21
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4.34/5 rDev -6.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
2019 vintage; drank 12/5/19 @ Hannah's.
Black appearance.
Minimal dark tan head; almost no lace.
Marshmallow, milk chocolate, vanilla, oak & mild bourbon heat notes in the nose.
Chewy, thick mouthfeel.
Vanilla, oak, marshmallow & milk chocolate flavors; mild bourbon heat emerged as this warmed.
A worthy variation on the classic original; probably not worth buying a bunch of these, due to the price, but one is certainly worth attaining.
451 characters
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
2019 vintage; drank 12/5/19 @ Hannah's.
Black appearance.
Minimal dark tan head; almost no lace.
Marshmallow, milk chocolate, vanilla, oak & mild bourbon heat notes in the nose.
Chewy, thick mouthfeel.
Vanilla, oak, marshmallow & milk chocolate flavors; mild bourbon heat emerged as this warmed.
A worthy variation on the classic original; probably not worth buying a bunch of these, due to the price, but one is certainly worth attaining.
451 characters
4.63/5 rDev +0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
Pours dark black. Roasty aroma of vanilla, caramel, chocolate & bourbon. Taste has an immediate, strong boozy factor along with vanilla and fruits. Feel has the usual BCBS. Incredible stout.
191 characters
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
Pours dark black. Roasty aroma of vanilla, caramel, chocolate & bourbon. Taste has an immediate, strong boozy factor along with vanilla and fruits. Feel has the usual BCBS. Incredible stout.
191 characters
3.71/5 rDev -19.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3
OK so aged 2 years in the knob creek 25th anniversary barrels, possibly the worst bourbon I have ever had, and that's a shocker given how great knob creek generally is. Lets see if beer ages better than the spirit in those god forsaken casks.
Pouring this one it might be a half shade darker than the normal bourbon county stout. Honestly though at this point bourbon county stout needs no review on looks. it's a 5 and as perfect as a stout can be.
Nose - roast chocolate, coffee beans, light citrus hop notes, vanilla, caramel, custard, creme brulee. Just a nice nose, not an overt bourbon note and that's a shocker given the 2 years in the barrels.
Taste - surprisingly alcohol forward. Dark fruits, raisins, plumbs, port wine, oak, vanilla, artificially sweet liquorice. The roots of bourbon county stout are all over this one, but it's bringing a lot more dark fruits and oak to the table. Less of the molasses and deep dark notes.
Mouth Feel - honestly it's over carbonated. A few years in the bottle should fix this however. There's still alcohol heat but it's got a nice creamy thick mouth feel as well.
Overall - man, this is a disappointment. This is just a lesser beer than their namesake. Age is going to greatly improve this one, but this remains a serious disappointment.
1,293 characters
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3
OK so aged 2 years in the knob creek 25th anniversary barrels, possibly the worst bourbon I have ever had, and that's a shocker given how great knob creek generally is. Lets see if beer ages better than the spirit in those god forsaken casks.
Pouring this one it might be a half shade darker than the normal bourbon county stout. Honestly though at this point bourbon county stout needs no review on looks. it's a 5 and as perfect as a stout can be.
Nose - roast chocolate, coffee beans, light citrus hop notes, vanilla, caramel, custard, creme brulee. Just a nice nose, not an overt bourbon note and that's a shocker given the 2 years in the barrels.
Taste - surprisingly alcohol forward. Dark fruits, raisins, plumbs, port wine, oak, vanilla, artificially sweet liquorice. The roots of bourbon county stout are all over this one, but it's bringing a lot more dark fruits and oak to the table. Less of the molasses and deep dark notes.
Mouth Feel - honestly it's over carbonated. A few years in the bottle should fix this however. There's still alcohol heat but it's got a nice creamy thick mouth feel as well.
Overall - man, this is a disappointment. This is just a lesser beer than their namesake. Age is going to greatly improve this one, but this remains a serious disappointment.
1,293 characters
4.56/5 rDev -1.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
Tasted at Prop day. Pours black with beige head. Aroma and taste of cocoa, molasses, caramel and coffee. Thick and chewy. Great mouthfeel. Would like to try them head to head but I think I like the last 2 reserve years a little better. Still very well done.
257 characters
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
Tasted at Prop day. Pours black with beige head. Aroma and taste of cocoa, molasses, caramel and coffee. Thick and chewy. Great mouthfeel. Would like to try them head to head but I think I like the last 2 reserve years a little better. Still very well done.
257 characters
4.71/5 rDev +1.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
This was one of my favorites of the 2019 variants. This one was very oakey both in aroma and taste. There was a fudge like taste from the chocolate and the barrel was very prevalent.
184 characters
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
This was one of my favorites of the 2019 variants. This one was very oakey both in aroma and taste. There was a fudge like taste from the chocolate and the barrel was very prevalent.
184 characters
Bourbon County 2 Year Reserve Brand Stout (2019) from Goose Island Beer Co.
Beer rating:
95 out of
100 with
21 ratings
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