Bourbon County Brand Café de Olla Stout
Goose Island Beer Co.

Bourbon County Brand Café de Olla StoutBourbon County Brand Café de Olla Stout
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From:
Goose Island Beer Co.
 
Illinois, United States
Style:
American Imperial Stout
ABV:
13.5%
Score:
96
Avg:
4.34 | pDev: 6.68%
Reviews:
129
Ratings:
400
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Mar 10, 2024
Added:
Aug 14, 2019
Wants:
  11
Gots:
  36
Goose Island added Intelligentsia Coffee beans and cold brew to the beer but then also included cassia bark, orange peel, and panela sugar garnish.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by teromous:
Photo of teromous
Reviewed by teromous from Virginia

3.35/5  rDev -22.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
From the back label: "DRINK BY: 07AUG21 0830 13.5% ALC/VOL."
From the neckerchief: "2019"

Appearance: The beer is black and it never really forms a head. Through vigorous pouring it starts to develop a bubbly film and a small ring appears, but it quickly dissipates before ever developing into a full cap.

Aroma: There is a light bourbon aroma to the beer with a slightly metallic and acrid burnt scent.

Taste: Up front there is a bit of chocolate flavor which is followed by cinnamon. A bit of bourbon is in the middle. There is a light coffee-like aftertaste. As the beer is consumed it takes on a bit of a coffee ground flavor.

Mouthfeel: Carbonation feels low and the body feels between upper-medium and lower-full. It coats the palate just slightly but there is a thinness to the beer.

Overall: The neckerchief states that this is a "STOUT AGED IN BOURBON BARRELS WITH COFFEE, CASSIA BARK, ORANGE PEEL, AND PANELA SUGAR ADDED." It does taste like coffee and that cinnamon flavor probably came from the cassia bark. The sugar and orange peel were absent but the bourbon barrel character was there. As a whole the beer is pretty good but the coffee tasted more like grounds than a nice cup of coffee and body was lacking on the beer. This one definitely doesn't live up to the quality of other Bourbon County Brand Stouts. I would prefer a regular BCBS over this variant. It's good enough to drink but I doubt I would buy it again. I would recommend it if you want a coffee and bourbon barrel Imperial Stout and can't find anything else, but otherwise it's just on par with your average coffee bourbon barrel Imperial Stout on the market.
Dec 07, 2019
More User Ratings:
Photo of moysauce
Rated by moysauce from Illinois

3.9/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Weak coffee variant
Mar 10, 2024
 
Rated: 4.76 by Can_if_you_can from Minnesota

Dec 27, 2023
 
Rated: 4.35 by InfernoBoss from California

Nov 25, 2023
Photo of Roy_Hobbs
Reviewed by Roy_Hobbs from Connecticut

3.89/5  rDev -10.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Appearance is like most other stouts, at least in color and head. Deepest of browns / almost black with thin tan colored head. Nice legs. Aroma is rich malts and coffee, but mostly unremarkable. Four years likely hasn't done the aroma any favors, but thankfully the taste is still fantastic. Loads of coffee, rich chocolate notes, light char, a hint of orange and oak. Full bodied and viscous.

Overall, this is really nice, even after four years. Great balance between the coffee / roast and just enough sweetness to add enough depth.
Sep 09, 2023
Photo of jrpapajcik
Rated by jrpapajcik from Illinois

4.79/5  rDev +10.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75
From a bottle into a large mug at home. Just delicious.
Jul 31, 2023
Photo of MadMadMike
Reviewed by MadMadMike from France

4.19/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
500 ml bottle poured into a BCBS snifter at near room temp. Surprised to see a foam cap jump up and linger after sitting for 4 years in the cave.
Aroma is all coffee, dark chocolate, cinnamon and whisky.
Taste leads the same, but imparts flavors of dark stone fruit and molasses. There’s a faint hint of orange zest hiding behind the cinnamon.
Feel is dense, moderate carbonation.
Overall, maybe too busy with all the adjunct, but a nice varient nonetheless.
May 22, 2023
Photo of NiceTaps
Reviewed by NiceTaps from New Jersey

4.47/5  rDev +3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
16.9 ounce bottle poured into a large snifter glass. 2019 vintage, drink by August 7, 2021
May 21, 2023
 
Rated: 4.08 by emerge077 from Illinois

Dec 25, 2022
 
Rated: 4.89 by AngusOg from North Carolina

Dec 24, 2022
 
Rated: 4.39 by dms1767 from Nebraska

Oct 19, 2022
 
Rated: 4.43 by BKotch from Texas

Aug 13, 2022
Photo of superspak
Reviewed by superspak from North Carolina

4.38/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
500 ml bottle into tulip glass, bottled on 8/11/2019, best before 2021. Pours opaque dark brown/black color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense and fluffy tan head with great retention, that reduces to a thin spotty cap that lingers. Light spotty lacing on the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas are muted and a bit boozy as it warms up with notes of coffee, cinnamon, nuts, dark chocolate, molasses, citrus, and dark fruits. Flavors of big dark chocolate, cocoa, medium roast coffee, nuts, caramel, brown sugar, vanilla, toffee, toast, brown bread, bourbon, oak; light cherry, dark fruit, molasses, cinnamon, orange peel, smoke, and yeast earthiness. Light herbal/roasted bitterness and oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Medium carbonation and fairly full body; very creamy/silky/bready malts, light sticky hops, chalky roast, and oak tannins in the mouthfeel. Lightly increasing lingering bitter drying, no cloying/acrid flavors. Insanely smooth sipping. Light warmth of 13.5% lingering after the finish. Age definitely did great things, but spices and coffee usually dull over time. Barrel is super smoothed out and flavors are perfectly balanced. Coffee isn't nearly as huge as I remember the base coffee stout(or even most coffee stouts, regardless of aging), but at the same time they may have just been doing that to not overpower the spices. Nothing overwhelming.
Jul 09, 2022
 
Rated: 4.5 by bigred89 from Maryland

Apr 03, 2022
 
Rated: 4.44 by Thirstygoat from Illinois

Mar 13, 2022
 
Rated: 4.04 by TMoney2591 from Illinois

Jan 27, 2022
 
Rated: 4.66 by NickMunford from Wyoming

Jan 01, 2022
Photo of highdesertdrinker
Reviewed by highdesertdrinker from Arizona

4.4/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
2019 vintage, I had a couple of bottles 2 years ago but didn’t review. Pours a dark brownish black, standard stout color. Smells like mandarin, some coffee and alcohol. Tastes pretty good still: coffee, citrus, some hops, and cinnamon. I liked this 2 years ago and still do. I wouldn’t say it’s improved but hasn’t degraded much and still tastes fantastic. Worth the 8 bucks a bottle and I’ll maybe buy more if available, cheers!
Nov 28, 2021
 
Rated: 4.15 by TWStandley from Massachusetts

Nov 12, 2021
 
Rated: 4.72 by SayBoom from Ukraine

Oct 29, 2021
Bourbon County Brand Café de Olla Stout from Goose Island Beer Co.
Beer rating: 96 out of 100 with 400 ratings