Bourbon County Brand Chocolate Praline Stout (2025)
Goose Island Beer Co.

 

Pours black small coco head falls quickly not much lace.

Nose is sweet roasted malts loads of chocolate, barrel notes, dates, caramel, vanilla light on the nuts which is little strange, only lightly boozy in the nose more wood then bourbon for me. Definitely a dessert beer nose, smells nice and inviting.

Taste not quite as nice and smooth as the nose. Lots of chocolate still smooth at first, sweet light dark fruits, vanilla, wood. then a light uptick in carbonation with lingering caramel and a bit of too much bite from the booze, finishes a little burnt, bitter, nutty like. Not that its bad just not living up to the nose.

Mouthfeel is big medium still doesn't feel full which is weird considering, maybe its the uptick of carbonation in the finish.

Overall a good little sipper maybe age will mellow it out but for the price wouldn't buy another to find out.

 

Muddled dark brown with surprisingly no head.

Cocoa powder, woody whiskey heat and cola.

This is one of the more pedestrian variants I've had from Goose, as it's kind of plain but also messy.

It pours very dark brown with a tan head. It has low retention. It is quite thick and almost chewy with chocolate flavors. There are praline notes with cherry and strong alcohol warming. It has a brownie like quality to it.

Deep mahogany brown with a thin brown head. Nice mouthfeel, smell of chocolate and bourbon, and taste of chocolate and sweet fruits. Another good one from Goose Island!

500ml bottle. Date stamp on label is 'BOTTLED ON: 06AUG25'.
Black colored body, with a thin mahogany brown back lit edge. A finger of fizzy tan colored head retreats immediately and becomes an active surface storm and thicker full ring. Swirling the glass brings forth lacing legs that slide back down into the glass.
Aroma of chocolate, nuts, dates, bourbon barrel, and oak.
Taste is sweet, with notes of dark fruits. Flavors of chocolate, nuts, dark cherry and dates, Bourbon barrel contribution with oak and vanilla. Vapors rise into the nasal passages after each sip. Long lived aftertaste with all flavors, and remaining sweet.
More than medium mouthfeel. Smooth and silky texture, with a bit of left over stickiness. Higher ABV% expresses mainly as vapors, with no mouth burn nor stinging, but is quite warming. Supportive carbonation.
Dessert sipper, with a sweet balance of flavors, including the praline nut concoction.

Bottle: Poured a pitch-black color stout with a dark brown medium foamy head with some retention and some lacing notes. Aroma of chocolate notes with some light bourbon notes and chocolate praline notes that are dominant. Taste is also a mix of chocolate notes with some bourbon notes and nice chocolate praline notes with residual sugar notes. Body is full with an oily texture and good carbonation with no real discernible alcohol notes. This is tasting closer to a dessert than a beer but extremely enjoyable.

 

Fobab 2025.

1 PINT 0.9 FL.OZ. bottle
Served in a snifter
2025

This beer pours black and is topped with a fleeting tan head that leaves no trace.

It smells like a cherry cordial. I just keep diving in and getting maraschino cherry and chocolate. I get occasional wafts of darker and more intense chocolate.

The taste even convinces me more that I am drinking a cherry cordial. Luxurious chocolate, maraschino cherry, and some hints of nuts. Hazelnut comes into play.

Fuller bodied with a velvety smooth mouthfeel

I had to read the bottle to see what I was supposed to be tasting. I get chocolate covered cherries. I thought I was insane but saw some similar comments online. It is actually great it that is what they were going for. I like it even though I don't get the ingredients stated on the bottle.

good, but diabetic, and to me a far cry from what this series is at its best, the whole natural flavor game in big stouts is ruining what made them all fun and different and worth seeking out back in the day, and im not just talking bourbon county, but the style in general. this is neat, and its cool they use real nuts in it, but the ingredients dont speak as loudly as they could and maybe should, to me brown sugar and vanilla overtake the nuts in aroma and flavor, quite a lot of alcohol too, which is a lot with the sweetness this has the whole way, and even my half of the bottle felt like a little more of it than i wanted, perhaps the dates are unnecessary, or should have been fermented out a bit more, there is just heavy sugar hung all through this, its a lot. near black, pretty leggy, close to flat and without hardly any head even with a somewhat aggressive pour, still a shade of brown i suppose, but very dark. aroma is sweet, lots of chocolate and caramel, malty and long cooked, some roast and espresso too but not enough for this to be balanced, strong whiskey and vanilla, light smoke and char, warm oak and booze, the nuts are behind all of this, hazelnut maybe most prominent to me, some fatty cashew character too though, some cocoa nib bitterness, toasted almond, raisin and date for sure, molasses, maple, and lots of late vanilla, perhaps part of the natural flavors in this, undeniably appealing, but also assuredly overdone, nothing subtle about it. the flavor is about the same, forced vanilla, over the top whiskey and alcohol intensity, sweet enough to taste for a long long time even after its gone. i do get the pops of real nuts in this, almond, hazelnut, and cashew each have flashes, and thats the best part of this far and away, i taste the date too, sweet but fruity, a cool layer in this particular edition. wood is strong, body is massive, palate coating stuff but pretty well refined too, although more bubbles wouldnt hurt anything. this could be dialed back a bit i reckon, turn down the natural flavors part and turn up the real nuts, i like all the wood, the warmth, and the chocolate, which is also really prominent in here, milk chocolate dessert character more than raw nib type earthy bitterness, but i get some of both i guess. lots of caramel and middle malt decadence, lots of alcohol, a serious commitment to open a bottle of this, even with a buddy. i feel less compelled to track down all the variants of this that come out every year now than i used to, but its still always fun to check in with one of the most iconic series in all of beer. a little goes a long way with this one...

I poured this straight into a snifter. It did not produce a head or even a film nor lacing. But that's OK. This 2025 was bottled 06AUG25.
It has an appealing nose: nutty chocolate, dried figs, anise and the barrel whence it came.
Nutty is the flavor. Light licorice notes follow with figs, dates and a chocolate backbone with a mild bitterness. This is more an adjuncted stout than a dessert beer.
It is a full-bodied treat.

2025 Vintage
16.9 oz. Bottle
BOTTLED ON: 13AUG25

Poured into a Westy glass a very nice black color, very nice carbonation, with a very nice thick/creamy/quick, one-finger tan head, which also leaves a very nice medium size island, and some pretty nice sticky lacing behind. The nose is very nice, malty, hoppy, very nice dark fruit complex (grapes, figs, raisins, dates, cherries, plums), very nice chocolate/toffee, cocoa nibs, very nice bourbon/oak, hazelnuts, almonds, cashews, very nice vanilla, roasty, licorice. The taste is fuckn' awesome, malty, hoppy, with a very nice dark fruit complex (grapes, figs, raisins, dates, cherries, plums), some pretty nice roastyness, very nice chocolate/toffee, cocoa nibs, very nice bourbon/oak, hazelnuts, almonds, cashews, licorice, very nice vanilla sweetness. Full Body, ABV hidden very well, very complex brew/sipper. Overall, this is an awesome brew.

 

 

From the 1 pt 9 fl oz bottle in a snifter via Jeanette and Jamie----Cheers!
This solid imperial pours a pitch black with a moderate head of khaki foam
that settles to a thin ring, thin dusty layer, and sports some decent legs with a
swirl. Nose of rich bourbon, vanilla, dark chocolate, subtle oak, roasted nuts,
and dark fruit notes of cherry. Flavors follow the nose with some light exceptions
of dark chocolate, roasted nuts, coffee, dates, cherry cola, vanilla, rich bourbon,
and mellow oak dashed with char and deep roasted goodness. Mouth feel is
full, smooth, rich, coating, warming, and finishing moderately sweet without
being overly cloying.

Overall, a stellar BCB variant.

Cheers

Not usually a fan of beers that taste like a dessert/candy but this one is actually pretty good.

Jet black pour with a nose mingling chocolate, nuts and bourbon. Loved the balance of this stout as it veered from sweet to bourbon bite and back again, with nuttiness coming along every step of the way. A bit of dark fruit loveliness as well. My only regret is my impatience. I had this 2025 vintage stout in 2026. Usually I like to age the BCB stouts longer than that. Even so, this beer is special.