Specs from Goose Island:

ABV: 6.2%
Color: Ruby, Chocolate
Hop Bitterness (IBU): Changes year to year
Malts: Pale Ale, Munich 10, Caramel 20, Caramel 60, Caramel 120
Hops: Change year to year
Availability: November – December

Serving Suggestions:

Preferred Glass: Nonic
Food Pairings: Ham, Turkey, Lamb
Cheese Pairings: Aged Gouda, Dry Jack
Cellaring Notes: Develops in the bottle for up to 5 years

The Review

Appearance: The body is a deep garnet, with fluffy toasted marshmallow-colored head, which quickly subsides and leaves no lacing.

Aroma: The nose is soft, but as the beer warms, the body of hazelnut appears. There is a slight alcohol hint lingering, that becomes less present when the beer reaches room temperature.

Flavor: I detect a bit of aged hops with the first sip. There’s a bitter finish that quickly fades. I can imagine there’s a brown sugar / spice duo, but it’s only a very faint notion. It’s certainly a warm, sweet brew, but at 6.2%, not alcoholic.

Mouthfeel: Christmas Ale 2011 is sweet, with very low carbonation. There is a roasted caramel toffee aftertaste. This beer reminds me of a ramped-up version of Mild Winter.

Overall: I’m pleasantly surprised by this one. When I think of a Christmas ale, Anchor Brewing’s Christmas Ale comes to mind. However in this example, Goose Island nailed it. They produced a centric, not overly-hoppy, smooth-malted ale. This beer works well throughout the Christmas gathering. I’ve been sipping on it while grazing appetizers, and plan to open another bottle to enjoy during dinner.

Thanks to Ken Hunnemeder at Goose Island for providing me this sample.

Supplementary Review (by Mike)

Appearance: The Christmas Ale poured hazy amber with a tan, bubbly froth on top. If you swirl the glass around, the beer will slowly drain off the sides. There does seem to be a bit of carbonation as bubbles cling and rise against the glass edge.

Aroma: This beer comes off as slight sweet and somewhat toasted. If you hold your nose to the glass long enough, you can convince yourself that you’re smelling banana bread.

Taste: I get a fair amount of effervescence with this beer. Not that it’s a bubbly champagne, but it doesn’t fall flat on the palate. I get that metallic tinge with slight bitterness. The real flavors here, however, are the roasted malts balanced with some sort of spice (maybe cinnamon) element.

Overall: The beer tastes rounded, and I believe it’s because of the alcohol content. It’s not too high of an alcohol content at 6.2%. But that ABV does make the beer a little warmer and leaves a balance between the sweet and the spice.

Specifications from Goose Island:

ABV: 5.6%
ABW: 4.4%
Color: Toffee Brown
Hop Bitterness (IBU): 20
OG: 14.0° Plato
Malts: 2 Row, Carapils, Dark Chocolate, Roast Barley, Rye Flake
Hops: Pilgrim, Centennial, Tettnang
Availability: December – March

Serving Suggestions:

Preferred Glass: Willi
Food Pairings: Beef, Stews, Sausages
Cheese Pairings: Gruyere, Fontina
Cellaring Notes: Enjoy within 180 days

The Review

Appearance: The body is a ruby to toffee brown. The head is fluffy white, and as it subsides, it laces the glass. I poured into a Saison Dupont glass, the only example of a willi glass I own.

Aroma: Soft, caramel roast, raisins. Fleeting finish, with peppery rye notes.

Flavor: Mild Winter is only slightly sweet. It’s very reminiscent of a British mild or a bitter, with low hop presence and a slight toffee bitterness. I enjoy the fact I’m not drinking a boozy behemoth. I could comfortably quaff a few of these at a sitting.

Mouthfeel: Sweet, low carbonation. It feels slightly like corn or unfermented grain. The beer finished with little bitterness and no alcohol heat.

Overall: Mild winter is a great change of pace for the season. When friends are bringing out high ABV brews like Russian Imperial Stouts and barley wines, or spicy winter warmers, this beer would please a broad range of beer drinkers’ palettes. I know I plan to share this brew with my family (they’re typically drinking American adjunct lagers at get-togethers).

Thanks to Ken Hunnemeder at Goose Island for providing me this sample.

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.

Lucky number 13! Shawn and Mike go real dark with the Stockyard Oatmeal Stout by Stockyard Brewing Company and the Gonzo Imperial Porter by Flying Dog Brewery. The Stockyard brew looks to be sneakily produced by the fellows over at Goose Island in Chicago. With the spring time comes warmer weather and a slew of brewer events – let us know what is going on in your area!

Flying Dog Brewery – Gonzo Imperial Porter Style: Baltic Porter ABV (Alcohol by Volume): 9.2%

Stockyard Brewing Company – Stockyard Oatmeal Stout Style: Oatmeal Stout ABV (Alcohol by Volume): 5.0%

The Beer Genome Project #13 Show Notes

0:00-1:10 – Introduction 1:10-8:19 – Stockyard Oatmeal Stout by Stockyard Brewing Company 8:19-23:29 - Flying Dog Brewery’s Gonzo Imperial Porter 23:29-37:23 – Weekly Discussion 37:23-41:03 – Conclusion

The Journey Continues with the Goose Island Imperial IPA from Mike BGP on Vimeo.

Rush River Brewing Company – Bubblejack IPA Style: American India Pale Ale ABV (Alcohol by Volume): 6.0%

Goose Island Beer Company – Matilda Style: Belgian Strong Pale Ale ABV (Alcohol by Volume): 7.0% IBU (International Bitterness Units): 32

The Beer Genome Project #6 Show Notes

0:00-1:09 – Introduction 1:09-7:29 – Rush River Brewing Company’s Bubblejack IPA 7:29-17:46 – Goose Island Beer Company’s Matilda 17:46-37:40 – State Liquor Laws and Stores 37:40-38:43 – Local Involvement in Venues 38:43-41:05 – Get-together Beer Choices 41:05-42:38 – Conclusion