Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout

12 oz. Bottle

Of all the beers I've ever heard of, very few have been held in such high esteem as this one. Trying to find this beer was tough - I actually almost skipped right over it because most stores keep it behind the counter. First time I tried to buy it, Total Wine would only let me buy one bottle - that's how rare and in demand it is. I hope it meets all of the hype.

Pours very dark, pretty much black, with a very light head of dark caramel colored bubbles that dissipate very quickly. Bourbon and caramel off the nose, strong vanilla as well, but not as strong as the first two.

Bourbon on the taste, along with that caramel, alcohol is apparent (you get the tiniest bit of burn from the bourbon, nothing too overpowering, but it is 14.9% ABV afterall), sweet caramel fades a bit into dark chocolate and a nice bitter coffee while keeping tones of the bourbon throughout. Really complex, really smooth with a low/moderate amount of carbonation. These flavors just work so well together. Very minimal amount of hops, dark roasted malts are pretty strong here, but take the third seat after bourbon and caramel. Even with that, this beer has just the right amount of sweetness and just a tad of bitterness from the coffee/dark chocolate combination. This beer is almost beyond flavorful.

 Definitely delicious, but low drink-ability because of how strong it is and how strong the almost raw bourbon hits you.

But wow. By every means, a fantastic beer and worth a try if you can find a bottle (and believe me, that’s a big if in some parts of the country).

Overall Rating: 5/5

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