Goose Island Big John vs. Night Stalker

Discussion in 'Great Lakes' started by Gotti311, Mar 11, 2013.

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  1. Gotti311

    Gotti311 Initiate (0) Mar 22, 2009 Wisconsin
    Trader

    Curious what everyone thought of these two.

    I picked up a bottle of NS not long after it was released and I was not terribly impressed by it. I was pretty reluctant to try BJ, but had received encouragement from a number of people to try it. I looked quite a few different place and finally ran into a bottle and drank it last night.

    Wow that beer is really good. Reminds me of Stone RIS with the sweet chocolate flavors, but to me it wasnt as overwhelming and had better balance than Stone/

    I was a sucker for marketing on this one, liked the name Night Stalker better than Big John...maybe I should have done my research first :slight_smile:
     
    #1 Gotti311, Mar 11, 2013
  2. Stevedore

    Stevedore Grand Pooh-Bah (5,096) Nov 16, 2012 Oregon
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Big John is great. The sweet cocoa flavours really make it a treat to drink. And I think its perfectly priced at $8.99 a bomber at Woodman's.

    Nightstalker is actually good although I'm surprised you didn't see the 20-page thread over in Beer Talk about whether it was infected or not, haha. The hoppiness quotient is a bit too high in it for me- makes for way too much Umami flavours imo.. not infected, but I don't think the Cook County Stout is the right base beer for a super hopped RIS- its already too sweet and malty.
     
    #2 Stevedore, Mar 11, 2013
  3. Gotti311

    Gotti311 Initiate (0) Mar 22, 2009 Wisconsin
    Trader

    That is pretty funny. I have to go check that out now. I didnt take notes, but I remember too much sweetness and no balance. I know I had a hard time finishing NS because by they end of the bomber I wasnt really enjoying it.
     
    #3 Gotti311, Mar 11, 2013
  4. misterid

    misterid Initiate (0) Apr 3, 2009 Wisconsin

    big big fan of both these beers.

    probably put Night Stalker slightly ahead
     
    #4 misterid, Mar 11, 2013
  5. pschul4

    pschul4 Initiate (0) Jan 7, 2011 Illinois

    Big john is much better IMO. The chocolate flavors just go better with the base stout than the dry-hopping does. That being said there is nothing wrong with Nightstalker and its delicious for what it is
     
    #5 pschul4, Mar 11, 2013
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  6. stevegoz

    stevegoz Savant (1,122) May 5, 2008 Illinois
    Trader

    I mos def prefer Big John. I find the chocolate works much better with the fruity sickly sweetness of Cook County than the Nightstalker dry hopping does. I don't expect to buy Nightstalker again. (Though I just did a quick check and see that I have several cellared from previous years.)

    I noticed something interesting on my most recent bottle of 2012 Big John. My cellared bottles have the generic Goose Island verbiage about the flavors developing in the bottle for up to five years. The 2012 Big John only says one year.
     
    #6 stevegoz, Mar 11, 2013
  7. mbockstruck30

    mbockstruck30 Pooh-Bah (1,800) Dec 31, 2010 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    The first batch of Big John with 1 year of age on it was top notch. Really damn good. After about 1.5 years it really started to fall off.
     
    #7 mbockstruck30, Mar 11, 2013
  8. Gotti311

    Gotti311 Initiate (0) Mar 22, 2009 Wisconsin
    Trader

    I never knew the story behind Cook County Stout as a base for Goose Island Stouts.

    It is odd that I noted Night Stalker being overly sweet, but it must have been something with the balancing. Or maybe some of the bitterness of the chocolate in Big John played better with CCS.

    I actually considered buying a second bottle of Big John for aging, but thanks for the tips. I had a feeling if I was getting a second bottle, it wasnt going to make it down to the cellar.
     
    #8 Gotti311, Mar 11, 2013
  9. pmoney

    pmoney Initiate (0) Apr 15, 2011 Illinois

    This is what I came here to say.
     
    #9 pmoney, Mar 11, 2013
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  10. Bay01

    Bay01 Initiate (0) Nov 19, 2008 Illinois

    [​IMG]
     
    #10 Bay01, Mar 11, 2013
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  11. Casedogg43

    Casedogg43 Initiate (0) Jan 4, 2012 Indiana

    Really like them both alot!

    Which ever one I'm drinking at that moment is the best. At that moment....!
     
    #11 Casedogg43, Mar 11, 2013
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  12. Mjmoser

    Mjmoser Initiate (0) May 6, 2012 Illinois

    Night Stalker as TERRIBLE. Prolly the worst beer I had this year. Drain poured 21.5 ozs of it.

    On the other hand, who doesn't like BJ? :slight_smile:
     
    #12 Mjmoser, Mar 12, 2013
  13. Lognar

    Lognar Initiate (0) Apr 10, 2012 Illinois

    I definitely feel that I am in the minority, as I love Nightstalker because it's unique to the point of being strange and I really enjoy the savory soy sauce umami characteristic in stouts, which for most ends up being horrible, infected-tasting, and/or a drain pour.

    Big John was good, but it was not anything special imo. For my palate, I find overly roasty/bitter dark chocolate difficult to enjoy for more than half a glass.
     
    #13 Lognar, Mar 12, 2013
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  14. everettsbeerguy

    everettsbeerguy Initiate (0) Aug 7, 2005 Illinois

    Hey, I got plenty of good Night Stalker I'll sell anyone.. Everett's in South Beloit...
     
    #14 everettsbeerguy, Mar 12, 2013
  15. mbockstruck30

    mbockstruck30 Pooh-Bah (1,800) Dec 31, 2010 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    as opposed to the bad version? :stuck_out_tongue:
     
    #15 mbockstruck30, Mar 12, 2013
  16. Vav

    Vav Savant (1,049) Jul 27, 2008 Illinois

    Dammit, i've been trying to figure out how to get a BJ joke in there. Well done.
     
    #16 Vav, Mar 12, 2013
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  17. pschul4

    pschul4 Initiate (0) Jan 7, 2011 Illinois

    I drive up 39/90 3-4 times a year. I've been wondering if there are any decent bottle shops on the route to madison. I'll keep you place in mind next time I'm heading that way :slight_smile:
     
    #17 pschul4, Mar 12, 2013
    everettsbeerguy likes this.
  18. Stevedore

    Stevedore Grand Pooh-Bah (5,096) Nov 16, 2012 Oregon
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Its a great stop for us Wisconsinites who want to get in on that IL distro- Pipeworks, Deschutes, FW, etc. Not sure how useful it is for Illinois folks, but you only have to drive across the border to the Beloit Woodman's to get some NG/CW. So its not a bad stop for the half hour out of your way it takes.
     
    #18 Stevedore, Mar 12, 2013
  19. pschul4

    pschul4 Initiate (0) Jan 7, 2011 Illinois

    Badass! I will definitely take this detour. THanks for the tip bro!
     
    #19 pschul4, Mar 12, 2013
  20. Gotti311

    Gotti311 Initiate (0) Mar 22, 2009 Wisconsin
    Trader

    Sure Matt gets on here just to make a plug for his shop. For the record, I am constantly pointing people your direction. I am responsible for getting Stevedore for making his first stop.

    The Agates Rule!
     
    #20 Gotti311, Mar 13, 2013
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