Bourbon County Brand Kentucky Fog Stout
Goose Island Beer Co.

10/13/23 bottle @ home

 

 

The earl grey and choice of barrel makes this an excellent variant.

16.9 oz bottle poured into a snifter

A- pours black in color with a one finger foamy khaki head that reduces to a ring

S- aroma has a bold herbal tea note up front, giving some floral elements. Also picking up a Dr Pepper note. The base beer pops through with dark chocolate, figs and prunes, oaky bourbon barrel closes it out

T- initially seems much sweeter than the original, with the honey being noticed immediately. A floral and herbal tea note follow the sweetness, along with a wave of chocolate. Big chewy oak and barrel juice emerge, along with figs and molasses. The finish gives more honey sweetness and herbal tea, with a linger of oaky bourbon

M- medium heavy body with moderate carbonation, creamy mouthfeel and syrupy warming finish

2020 vintage, into a snifter.

Pours a deep black with lingering tan foam. Aroma is really complex. There's the base chocolatey BCB smell, which is sweeter and lacking the usual dark roasty notes and coffee, and follows up with bergamot and honey. The combination of teas and honey smells kind of like Froot Loops, which I always got from a good London Fog. Flavor follows the hints of the nose quite well. The upfront chocolate and dark fruit from the base stout give way to smooth tea with honey flavors. Finish brings in some heavy barrel char and vanilla. It moves from dark and fruity to very smoothly brighter, softer, and sweeter tea ideas, to finally whiskey. Mouthfeel is very sticky and syrupy; the age on this bottle has made it completely flat. Finish is bittersweet chocolate, quite sweet but not overbearingly. Lots of whiskey on the end as well.

Overall, I can't comment on what this beer was when it was first released, but 5 years of age have turned it into a syrupy, sugary treat. There's good complexity here as well; it's not just pure sugar, but it trends towards sweetness like the drink it was inspired by. The base stout already is rich dark red fruit and cocoa, but that's brightened up by a more light sweetness from the teas and honey, and tempered by the barrel undertones and char on the finish. Whatever alcohol was present in this beer has been totally rounded off and softened, and it drinks incredibly easy. I still think 2024 Vanilla Rye is the best BCBS ever made, but this one is incredible. Much more soft and interesting compared to my two previous wheatwine bottles (man those were boozy), and the adjuncts offer a lot in terms of interest compared to base bottles I've had of the same year.

Great stuff, truly.

Review: 2344
Name: Bourbon County Brand Kentucky Fog
Brewery: Goose Island Brewing
Location: Chicago, IL
ABV: 14.1
Style: Barrel Aged Imperial Stout
Canned: 2020
Date: 24 March 2025
I will work through my Goose Island Stash over the next few days. I am using a tulip glass and serving the beer at 50. The pour created a frothy, foamy, dark tan half-fingered head with poor retention. The quick dissipation did not leave any lacing on the glass. The coal black beer with dark mahogany hues charts at SRM 36 and is opaque. The beer's appearance is average for this style; I would have liked to see a longer-lasting head.
Nosing the glass, I smell dark chocolate, earthy tea, honey, caramel, medium chocolate, vanilla, and bergamot. Smelling the glass again, I notice toffee, bourbon, oak, char, light Maillard, and floral ester. The tea aromas are vibrant and bright; black and Earl Gray are intense yet allow the base beer and Barrel aging to be nosed.
Sipping the beer, I taste black tea, Earl Gray, bourbon barrels, and stout. The tea has a dynamic earthiness, floral ester, bergamot, herbal, and dirt. The Barrel adds char, caramel, oak, bourbon, and light orange peel. The stout flavors are anise, leather, dark chocolate, espresso, molasses, raisins, toffee, resin, honey, and dark roasted malts.
The body is heavy with low carbonation. The mouthfeel is chewy and thick, finishing warm and smooth.
I wondered if the tea would overpower the beer; however, it works well with the barrel-aged imperial stout. I do not notice any off-flavors or oxidation. This is another one from Goose Island that I enjoyed. It reminds me of Grey Girl, a fabulous tea-inspired beer. The spring day in Idaho is a bit warmer than usual, but nonetheless, I am still enjoying the beer.

 

 

 

Bottle: Poured a pitch-black color stout with a dark brown foamy head with some retention and some lacing notes. Aroma of chocolate notes with some dry bitter black tea notes offset by some honey with some woody bourbon notes and vanilla. Taste is also a mix of chocolate malt notes with some black tea notes with some woody bourbon notes and with some vanilla notes. Body is full with good carbonation with some discernible alcohol notes. Solid BA stout with tea notes that actually pairs well with the beer.

2020 vintage drank in 2024.

WOAT BCS.

This one pours a fairly dark black color, with a small head, and not much lacing.

This smells like roasted malt, licorice, dark fruit, and honey.

I really enjoy tea flavors in beer, and it works pretty well for this variant, despite how up and down the reviews for this one generally are. There’s a nice little floral bitterness here, with the honey adding a pleasant sweetness that balances it. The barrel character is still strong – charred oak, vanilla, caramel, along with the deep dark chocolate of the base. The tea flavors seem to accentuate the oakiness a bit, and I enjoy that.

This is medium bodied, slightly boozy warming, but not aggressively so, with a decent little drinkability.

This is one of the more odd variants of Bourbon County from over the years, but it’s honestly quite enjoyable.

 

 

Teku glass. Looks the part, smells the part. If a drinker doesn’t give this mostly 5’s, it’s their fault and not the beer’s. Properly chilled, this is ambrosia among the pedantic sargasso sea of this-and-that-aged imperial stouts. We need ya back!

Look - Dark brown and slight rimming
Smell - dark chocolate honeyl tea barrel
Taste - barrel honey slight tea
Feel - full body light carb
Overall - interesting take

Working through my cellar... Poured into an imperial pint glass, the beer is coal black with a dark tan head.

Aroma of dark fruit, charred malt, and bourbon. It is inviting.

This is an interesting version of BCS. The base beer is fantastic and even after two years in the cellar the tea adds a nice overlay. Both dark and bakers chocolate, raisins, plum, dark roasted malts and tea. There is something slightly sweet like bit o'honey candy. Just a touch of heat at mid-glass.

The mouth is slick, thickish and has low carbonation.

I'm glad I have one more of these and I will let it get another year or so on it.

Of all the BCBS variants I've tasted, this was the least interesting. Not much to smell, couldn't pick up the tea notes. Overall lacking for me.