Thoughts on Goose Island's 2022 Bourbon County (BCBS) Lineup?

We we’re probably there at the same time. Were you there at opening?

 

feels dumb to quote myself, but I think the biscotti variant is pretty good, if not a little on the sweet side. I’m glad I got the one but also glad I stopped at one.

 

I’m thinking there’s some variation in these. Have heard both sides of reviews for Biscotti and Coffee, with the same pros and cons. For Biscotti it’s either an anise bomb, or it’s heavy on chocolate and delicious. With coffee it’s either the best of the bunch, or thin with not much coffee flavor

 

Got there exactly at 9:04 haha. Had a Fox Farm hoodie on

 

Forgive my ignorance, how do I know which barrel my 12 ounce bottles are?

 

Ah, just missed. Was there before open, walked in, picked up everything and left. No idea how much they had so I got there very early. Last year they only a case of each variant and I wanted to be sure to get the barleywine.

 

Should be on the bottle label where the drink by date and ABV are listed. Will say “HH” “WT”, etc. or “GI” if blended

 

my bottle was "drink by" 9/7/24, so I assume from the "consume within 2 years" on the label it was bottled 9/7.

It was pretty mediocre. not terrible, but the coffee made it overly bitter and harsh, and I think it'd be better without it. Also pretty thin, even by bcbs standards.

 

Many thanks, I have GI!

 

Interesting. So far I’ve seen 9/5 and 9/7 get “poor” ratings and a confirmed 9/6 get a good one. I have a 9/6 and a 9/8. Drinking the 9/6 in about an hour and will share my scientific findings

 

Shit, read your post and thought "damn, so I had a presumably good one at 9/6", then saw I wrote 9/7. Double checked the bottle and it's actually 9/6. I could just be overly critical, because the person I shared it with thought it was good. I didn't hate it, but it didn't live up to my high expectations.

 

My data is flawed . Opening mine now

 

Update: The Coffee is really good imo

 

While not thrilled that it's like $10 more than regular, I'm glad they brought back coffee this year. Maybe next year the barleywine will finally return? If not, I hope they at least rebrew another classic like vanilla or rye barrel. Have a simple tried-and-true variant to go alongside the new concoctions.

 

I’m willing to bet Vanilla will be back next year. If not, it’ll be a companion like a vanilla/cinnamon or something

 

Wrong thread?

 

Cross post from the impy stout thread.

Doing a blind side by side of the 2022 regular Bourbon County Stout versus the 30th anniversary. The latter is pretty clearly an egregious money grab, picking out special barrels just can't justify a 3x markup. I am curious to see how different they are though.



If nothing else, they are definitely distinct from one another. #1 is very dark chocolate forward, it's deeply rich and has some subtle fig and toffee. Booze is strong but not hot, with light oak and vanilla. #2 is a little drier with less of the decadent chocolate, less layers, and more naked heat. The mouthfeel on #1 is a little more full, but both are above average for a BA stout. I prefer #1, and by a decent margin. But I'd be happy to have either one in my glass.

The reveal




Ok, I preferred the special anniversary edition. This year was my first since 2013 going Bourbon County hunting. I'd forgotten how good they are. They do have plenty of stiff competition these days, I doubt I'll be back out again next year. Going to enjoy the hell out of all I got this year though! Keeping a world-class Barrel program going for 3 decades is quite an accomplishment.

 

Banner haul for me this year- I ended up snagging a case of the Coffee, 6 bottles each of the Sir Issacs and Biscotti, five 30 year Anniversaries and 3 Barleywines. For the original- two 4 packs and eight 16.9oz bottles. Omaha ended up getting everything but the Chicago only Prop. The pocketbook definitely took a hit, but it’s only one time a year- at least that’s how I justify this indulgence in my mind, lol. Cheers everyone!

 

First BCBS in 10 to 15 years... GI blend per the bottle. This is a very good to outstanding stout, up there with WWS (have never had OG, only variants)... And worth the pickup of a bottle or 4 pack.

 

Fallen soldiers this year: Double Toasted, Barleywine, Isaac, Regular/OG, Biscotti, Coffee

 

I’ll be waiting for some of us barleywine-heads to open the BCS one and share thoughts

 

You sir, are financially secure.

 

I opened one last week and it's top notch.


At 17% this is of course, massive but it's all too drinkable given its strength. The barrel presence is intense, mature whiskey, strong leather and oak, plus mellow vanilla. Some sweet elements from the base barleywine manage peek through, caramel primarily but there is a hint of fruit and a traces of chocolate as well. When cold, there is a moderately off-putting floral heat but that disappears closer to cellar temp. Great, great stuff here. Not quite VSOJ caliber, but damn close. Worth seeking out.

 

This is one of those things that I am always so interested and curious about with regards to palates and how they differ and what everyone is looking for. No doubt VSOJ is delicious, but it didn’t wow me. I think I have it a 4.5, and that was from the “famed” B1. It’s delicious, but there wasn’t anything particularly outstanding about it. To me, it was just what a great BW is supposed to be, but nothing to make me sit back and take note.

I’m always curious to see where people put VSOJ, because of the top tier BWs, it and 13/14 OG BCBBW are arguably the most attainable. Some JOs BWs are in the same league, as is some of the old BBA/AB BA Circle of Wolfes from Veil. I remember my first BBA CoW - I remember, that one DID wow me!

Expectations play a role, and it’s very tough to live up to them, no matter who brews it.

 

Haha not the same. Regular BW is aged for 1 year in used BCBS barrels and widely available everywhere.

 

I agree expectations play a role and I would agree that the last VSOJ batch was very good but did not completely floor me. I just posted about 2022 straight jacket and feel it is even better than the last VSOJ I had (although I did have it shipped and drank 6+months after canning). Either way, all world class. Wish I could try the new Goose Island barleywine but that’s just not in the cards for me.

 

Bias is real and hard to account for. VSOJ lived up to the hype for me, a few week later Anabasis did not. A few weeks previously E H. Taylor Bigfoot fell a bit short of expectations, I did enjoy both quite a bit though. Prodigality from Jackie O's floored me a few days ago. Hard to put the old school GI BCBBW into the mix because they came out so long ago. I'd never had anything from Kane and Double Double Cask absolutely blew me away earlier this year, I had no expectations going into that one. What a time to be alive and love Barleywine! At the end of the day we all do our best to be objective with our ratings and reviews. Anchorages average scores tell us that we fall short at times.

 

That’s OG BCBBW, not to be confused with the widely available BCBBW from 16/17. Just for clarity.

 

Correct, thanks. Still it can’t be said that they brought back the barleywine this year because the 2 year Reserve is a different beast altogether. Hopefully they do bring it back someday, fantastic beer.

 

I am another who was not impressed by VSOJ. Had the B1 canned release twice and honestly one of the most disappointingly overhyped beers I've had. I love Straight Jacket and I remember the year they did a partial VSOJ blend with it because that was my favorite year for Straight Jacket. Everything about VSOJ should have blown my mind but I found it to be a completely dull one note beer lacking complexity. I got smooth bourbony brown sugar and that was absolutely it. Didn't shift flavor profile as it warmed, didn't open up into anything special as it sat in my glass. Had the same experience both times having it. I realize I'm in the extreme minority on this one, but that beer was a huge "MEH" I never need to have again.

 

Did anyone see any 2022 barleywine around Philadelphia? I tried a few places, and only one even got it. And they only got one case. Still hunting…

 

Your experience is pretty similar to mine. The best way I can say it is, “Like, it’s good, it’s solid, but it’s not earth shattering or fantasmagoric.” I agree very much with the idea that it is way more one note/not complex than many others.

Oh, and yes, the SJ/VSOJ blend years are always the best versions of SJ. I bought 2 4-packs last year. Still haven’t opened one. Too much of a backlog and other things I’d like to drink, but I know I have another 12-24 months to consume them before they start falling hard (even though I prefer them fresh), will be gifting some this year to a couple close friends, and about the time they disappear should be the next batch with VSOJ blended in. Ideally.

 

We tried the Biscotti variant last night and we both LOVED it.

I can see why some may not, especially if you hate licorice/anise... But I mean, if you dislike those flavors, why would you even buy or expect to like it, anyway?

I thought the anise was just right (I didn't get black licorice type notes, strictly anise here... Quite different IMO) and it had a signature pizzelle cookie type flavor up front. Then the flavor becomes more bitter dark chocolate and marzipan on the finish. Reminded me a lot of the Ritter mazripan chocolate bars I love.

It has a wonderful complexity, though. Absolutely works and I love this variant... Really happy to have another bottle of this one to enjoy in a few months.

 

I drank (most of) one of the four Coffees I got. It was very thin, very little coffee flavor and not much stout flavor in general. I poured out about a third of it. I rated 2017 coffee a 4.75 and this one a 2.75. I've also had all the Coffee variants from 2013-2017, and they have always been between 4.5 and 5 for me. This was one of the most disappointing beers I've ever had based on my expectations for it.

 

Or very irresponsible. I've seen both ends of the spectrum in this lil hobby of ours lol.

 

Damn that’s a pretty cool little Easter egg that i was not aware of until I got home
and saw the “HH” and “Wilt” stamped on my bottles. Pretty cool!

 

As a Californian you should try Firestone Walkers Parabajava . 12oz bottle and half the price.

Looks like Bourbon County Budweiser Stout is receiving the same results after every release. They either love it, hate it or see no distro.
Cheers yall

 

Mine was all licorice/anise and I couldn’t finish the bottle.

 

It's been available in New York and PA, I know that much.