Review: Bourbon County Stout by Goose Island
Bourbon County Brand Stout (2008)
Goose Island Beer Company
Serving type: Bottle ABV: 13% IBU: 60
BAM! A kick to your throat for your first sip.
It’s mid-summer and let’s face it, you’re parched. Water, tea, soda, and lemonade are alright, but you want a beer. Your buddy grabs an American adjunct lager and your craft-sipping friend opens the top of a local hefeweizen. Both of these friends are me. Temperature and environment determine which styles of beer you’ll be enjoying tonight. Far too often, however, in my world of exploration, do I get caught up in the seasonal beers and forget to enjoy the classics upon which I have built the foundation of my love for this world of beer. Tonight’s beer was a gift from a friend, and I have to say, it is not the first beer I would imagine anyone to drink on a hot summer’s night. The Bourbon County Brand Stout from Goose Island Beer Company was brewed in honor of the 1000th batch created at the company’s original brewpub. The cellaring notes from Goose Island state this beer could develop over a 5 year period, but I cut it a lot shorter. Over the past few months I have been trying any saison, hefeweizen, lager and summer seasonal beer that looked interesting to me. I needed my staples back, the stouts and porters. This certainly seemed like an appropriate choice; a 2006 gold medal winner in the World Beer Cup Recognition. From Greg Hall
I really wanted to do something special for our 1000th batch at the original Brewpub. Goose Island could have thrown a party. But we did something better. We brewed a beer. A really big batch of stout – so big, the malt was coming out of the top of the mash tun. After fermentation, we brought in some bourbon barrels that aged the stout. One hundred days later, Bourbon Country Brand Stout was born. It’s a liquid as dark and dense as a black hole with thick foam the color of a bourbon barrel. The nose is an intense mix of charred oak, vanilla, caramel and smoke. One sip has more flavor than your average case of beer. It overpowers anything in the room. People have even said it’s a great cigar beer. But I have yet to try a cigar that can stand up.
Might as well reintroduce myself to a style with a beer that uses a little flair.
Appearance
Popped the cap, placed the glass on the table and poured. This beer was thick and dark. Gravity found the stout and drained it from the bottle. It honestly looked like taking oil out of your car, if you were about 6,000 miles overdue for an oil change. The stout filled the glass up and knocked out all the lights – nothing shines through. The head on top dissipates quickly, but the color when present was a dark brown. No lacing on the sides of the glass, just a thin ring of carbonation will linger on the very edges. You certainly won’t view this stout as one to be downed quickly and followed by another. You’ll be sipping this one, for quite some time. And that, I am sure, is well intended.
Aroma
Sweet malted goodness. Take a deep breath and you’ll notice the 13% ABV hiding below the surface. Is the alcohol, as it is too commonly, overpowering the rest of the aroma? No, because there are many other characteristics to pull from this beer. Behind the mask of bourbon, I pull out some subtle licorice and vanilla scents. The bourbon plus alcohol scent isn’t quite stinging, but it is quite strong and what you’ll walk away remembering.
Taste
You are going to find this beer to be sweet and alcoholic. The 13% ABV just cannot hide, no matter the amount of malts. Now, the malts give the stout a rich, dry and chocolate aftertaste. It’s fulfilling and rounds out the entire beer. You’re going to love breathing in the beer’s aroma and following it with a full sip. The combination brings you to savor the beer for its variety of flavors. The stout is thin, lightly carbonated, and probably better a little colder. Mine has been sitting out for a while, but Goose Island recommends around 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Barrel aged beers are a newer concept to me. “Can you oak that?” So I can’t point out what really makes a barrel aged beer much different, other than the bourbon notes should be stronger and beers of this style tend to be mildly dryer.
Overall Evaluation
I was, in fact, expecting a completely different beer. This may be due to my departure from exploring stouts and porters recently, but this beer was exceptional in its delivery of a variety of flavors and aromas. A thin mouthed stout can leave you rather dissatisfied with your choice of drink, but the Bourbon County Brand Stout leaves you with a mouthful of rich flavors. Sure the high alcoholic content is not very well hidden, but it’s not an overpowering characteristic as it’s well balanced by the malts and bourbon. Try one for yourself and see what other flavors you can pull out of this beer. Goose Island sure knows how to celebrate, and the Bourbon County Brand Stout is a great addition to the Goose Island lineup. I wouldn’t mind finding myself another bottle and keeping it for a few years to compare. To be continued. 4.5/5.
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