Bourbon County Brand Special #4 Stout
Goose Island Beer Co.

Bourbon County Brand Special #4 StoutBourbon County Brand Special #4 Stout
Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Goose Island Beer Co.
 
Illinois, United States
Style:
Oatmeal Stout
ABV:
13.3%
Score:
97
Avg:
4.41 | pDev: 5.67%
Reviews:
121
Ratings:
328
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Yesterday at 01:21 AM
Added:
Aug 23, 2020
Wants:
  3
Gots:
  29
Bourbon County Special #4 Stout is an oatmeal stout variant of our original Bourbon County Stout recipe, also aged in bourbon barrels, that uses crystal oats to add a nutty character and a smooth mouthfeel. After barrel aging, we added Intelligentsia Coffee, both their cold coffee and single origin coffee beans from Ethiopia, called “Metad Buku,” to bring out a pleasant fruity coffee character. Lastly bourbon barrel-aged maple syrup from Bissell Maple Farm in Ohio is added which provides complexity to the nutty oats and coffee to round out the flavors, ultimately reminiscent of your breakfast ‘special’ at the local diner.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by NeutroMan:
Photo of NeutroMan
Reviewed by NeutroMan from Illinois

4.24/5  rDev -3.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.25
16.9 oz bottle, best by 14 Sep 22, into a snifter.

A: Black motor oil color and consistency. Minimal brown head vanished almost immediately.

S: Lot going on here. Chocolate-covered raisins, demerara sugar, fig, maple syrup.

T: Follows the complexity of the nose. Chocolate, dark fruits, and maple syrup are all there, but the coffee bitterness comes out more in the taste. Definitely hides its ABV - not really picking up much in the way of boozy alcohol warmth.

F: Medium bodied, actually a little thin and watery for the style and most other iterations of BCS.
Jan 01, 2022
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.25 by hopley from Massachusetts

Yesterday at 01:21 AM
Photo of moysauce
Rated by moysauce from Illinois

4.46/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
When fresh, this one was excellent!
Mar 10, 2024
 
Rated: 4.42 by MDDMD from Pennsylvania

Feb 11, 2024
 
Rated: 3.99 by Can_if_you_can from Minnesota

Jan 05, 2024
Photo of Whyteboar
Reviewed by Whyteboar from Michigan

4.23/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Drank past the “best by” date but as far as I am concerned, it’s still very good.
Poured stout black with an impressive light brown head (for a BA stout that’s 3 years old) which left spotty lacing.
The aroma was very sadly lost on me. Stupid Covid.
The taste leads with maple syrup which coffee strives and fails to balance. Still freaking tasty, just not as well balanced as I expected.
The feel is properly viscous, really nice sipping beer. Wish I had many more.
Dec 10, 2023
 
Rated: 4.32 by TP2MSU from Michigan

Jun 10, 2023
 
Rated: 3.06 by westcoastbeerlvr from California

May 07, 2023
 
Rated: 4.49 by InfernoBoss from California

May 03, 2023
 
Rated: 4.28 by einman from Minnesota

Feb 19, 2023
Photo of pathman
Rated by pathman from Ohio

5/5  rDev +13.4%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
02/05/23 bottle @ home
Feb 05, 2023
 
Rated: 4.51 by Ristaccia from Nebraska

Dec 12, 2022
 
Rated: 4.34 by Abe_Froman from Massachusetts

Dec 10, 2022
Photo of LXIXME
Rated by LXIXME from New Mexico

4.18/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Older bottle incorrectly stored (?) but still pretty dang good, I'd love to try a correctly aged bottle of this beer.
Nov 20, 2022
 
Rated: 4.75 by bigred89 from Maryland

Nov 12, 2022
Photo of mwilbur
Reviewed by mwilbur from Minnesota

4.59/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Poured from 16.9 oz bottle into snifter. Stamped drink by 11SEP22…just in time.
A: Pours a dark brown hue with 1/4 inch dark mocha head that quickly settles to a thin skim.
S: Dark roast coffee with cream, smooth dark chocolate, maple syrup, soft oats, subtle bourbon, and a nutty note.
T: Dark roast coffee, maple syrup, smooth dark chocolate, smooth sweet bourbon, nuttiness, oatmeal, and cream.
M: Medium body. Extremely smooth and silky feel. Layers of dark sweetness with mild roasty bitterness. Soft oat feel. Lingers nicely on the palate.
D: Extremely well balanced and a too easy to drink sipper at 13.3%. A superb variation!
Aug 30, 2022
 
Rated: 4.75 by bigpoppa67 from Wisconsin

Jul 31, 2022
 
Rated: 4.5 by a77cj7 from South Dakota

Jul 18, 2022
Photo of SHODriver
Reviewed by SHODriver from North Carolina

4.5/5  rDev +2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
A: Poured into a snifter to a black beer topped by a dense and slightly rocky finger of tan head which fades quickly to a collar around the edge of the glass with minimal lacing
S: Smells of coffee, bourbon barrels, dark chocolate, roasted malts and hints of maple
T: Taste is coffee up front with some hints of maple, nice bourbon barrel notes with oak, caramel, and vanilla along with some dark chocolate and roasted malts interwoven with some maple sweetness. On the swallow there's more coffee, maple, dark chocolate, oak, caramel, and vanilla.
M: This beer sits at the heavier side of medium on the palate. Carbonation is on the slightly effervescent side but it's fine while the beer has a drying finish due to the ABV.
O: Overall this is an excellent beer. Really good flavors and complexity along with some very nice balance. It's a little coffee forward which is fine, but there's still plenty of other stuff going on to keep things interesting. I'd like for this one to come back.
Jul 18, 2022
Photo of drdiesel9483
Reviewed by drdiesel9483 from Ohio

4.49/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Look - Black and thick with a great tan head and even better tan thick rimming and sticky lacing
Smell -chocolate coffee maple roasted malts slight barrel
Taste -nice barrel slight roasted malts pretty good amount of coffee slight maple oatmeal
Feel -medium full body with a slight carb
Overall - if it was a little thicker and more barrel it would be just incredible, great balance
Jun 15, 2022
Bourbon County Brand Special #4 Stout from Goose Island Beer Co.
Beer rating: 97 out of 100 with 328 ratings