Rare Bourbon County Brand Stout (2010)
Goose Island Beer Co.

 

I’m sure this was a banger…..12 years ago. This was simply just past it’s prime regrettably.

 

 

 

Chocolate, vanilla, barrel. Very dark, thick color. Silky, smooth, gets even better as it warms. Slightly boozy, but still excellent.

Purchased from Lush in 2011 as part of a package.

The best beer I ever had. I had it at the opening of the Beer Temple in Chicago a couple years after it came out. I have yet to have a better beer. Especially a BBA Stout. Thanks Beer Temple for doing that opening, I will be forever grateful.

Bottled 11/19/10; drank 3/5/15 @ Tiny Lounge. Bottle# 7454.

Black appearance.

Almost no dark tan head; no lace.

Marshmallow, vanilla, milk chocolate & cherry nose.

Silky, medium thick mouthfeel.

Vanilla, milk chocolate, marshmallow & caramel flavors up front; booze heat & faint pineapple (?!) notes emerged as this warmed.

A truly remarkable beer that aged beautifully.

Drank in 2019, bottle is about 9.5 years old at this point. Smell is chocolate and dark fruit, but oddly weak. It was hard to get much smell off of this at all. The taste followed the smell - tons of flavors swirling around, chocolate, vanilla, dark fruit, but also weaker than I would have expected. The feel is outstanding, and all of those years really smoothed it all out. Overall, great beer. Possibly a little past its prime, but it's still got it.

 

Pours black with dark brown head. Lot of bourbon on aroma with boozy notes mixed with roasted malts. Thick and chewy mouthfeel. Flavors of caramel, molasses, cocoa, brown sugar, bourbon. Still a little boozy taste on finish but excellent overall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Take a stellar vintage of BCBS, elevate the nose and palate with scents and flavors imbued by Pappy barrels, increase the viscosity of an already thick and chewy stout, and enjoy one of the finest beers ever crafted for human consumption. There is virtually nothing wrong with this beer, even after all of these years.

It is the best beer that Goose Island has ever made. If ever you feel the need to tick a whale, this might be the best value still out there on the trade market today.

This is the closest thing I have had in terms of a perfect bourbon barrel aged dark beer. The mouth feel was kind of thin so I really would liked to have had it on tap. The newer Rare has nothing on this guy. When this first came out the shelves were full if it. Nobody in Chicago could justify spending $60 on a bottle of beer! Ahhh, the good old days.

Beautiful still. Tons of barrel even almost 8 years later. Great nose, not boozy or hot at all. Nice and smooth. Pours a nice dark thick color. Really held up well.

Big business. Looking at my bottle number, I lament I don't have another one of these. I've been into beer for 20 years and I missed this release. SAD!

Bottle split with 2 buddies, allongside bcbs 2011 for comparison

Aroma is rich, increasingly yeasty as it warms.

On the palate, caramely bourbon, toffee, banana, all you'd expect. The big diff between this and the bcbcs 2011 is that while that fades to fuzzy cola, this has more flesh on its backside.

It is past its prime--falling apart a bit in the body, but still super sexy. More so for still being out there.

Get it done!

Cheers!

 

 

 

Simply wow, Lucky to get a taste of this rare gem. After 7 there is still so much complex barrel flavor to this beer. Amazing oak, wood, old barrel, rustic, vanilla, musty in a good way nose and taste. wow!

 

22oz bottle poured into a snifter

A- pours viscous black in color with a one-finger khaki head that eventually disappears

S- smells of mocha fudge brownies with toasted walnuts up front, followed by dark artisan chocolate, fig & dark cherry. Big oaky bourbon barrel aroma gives sweet vanilla and coconut, caramel & toffee. All elements blend brilliantly

T- opens up with huge sweet notes of dark chocolate, caramel & toffee, quickly followed by a hit of toasted walnuts. The bourbon barrel kicks in mid-palate, adding plenty of vanilla & coconut and just the right amount of bourbon. As it nears the finish, notes of dark cherry, raisin & fig pop up, along with more toffee sweetness. Lingers of a perfect blend of bourbon, caramel, chocolate and dark fruit

M- medium-thick body with low carbonation leads to a slightly foamy mouthfeel and a silky finish that coats the mouth

O- quite possibly the best aged barrel aged stout I've ever had. It blends brilliantly and leaves you wanting more

 

 

 

 

Finally opening up my 1 bottle of 2010 Rare in celebration of my first child, a son named Micah!

A: pours black as motor oil with a small khaki colored head that disapates quickly.

S: like sniffing an awesome triple chocolate cake. Sweet notes, vanilla notes, coffee and chocolate notes, and a hint of raisin on the back. Smells like heaven!

T: coffee notes upfront quickly followed by chocolate brownie smothered in fudge. A slight dryness on the backend and oh so smooth! Man, did those barrels and holding onto the bottle for 6 years do wonders for this beer! Like pouring chocolate fudge over molten lava cake!

F: so thick, but never cloying. Sweet but not overly sweet.

O: this beer is definitely magical! I'm so glad I waited so long before cracking this one. I've had it for so long that I can't even really remember getting it, hah. If you get the chance to try this beer at least once, cancel you vacation to Italy and do it!!

Bottled on 11/19/2010. Consumed on 10/2/2016. Bottle #1738.

My god... BCBS heightened to perfection.

There are only a few beers in the world that could be considered perfect, this is one of them.

 

 

 

Lots of booze in the nose, as well as dried fruit and bourbon. Tastes like roasted barley, bourbon, chocolate, cacao, vanilla. A very complex and balanced taste that is still very good after five years. I advice people to drink it soon, since more age won't probably make it better than it already is.

L - Pours a dark shade of brown. Almost black. No head. A ring of tiny bubbles edge the glass. As you swirl it it coats the glass like cough syrup.

S - Pappy predominance. Chocolate and caramel. For a 6 year old beer the bourbon still dominates.

T - Some bourbon. Sweet malt. Sweeter than expected. Chocolate and caramel.

F - Round, full mouthfeel. Smooth.

O - This is awesome. Duh. I was surprised by the malt sweetness but it was still balanced, and the Pappy barrels still shine through. Delicious.