Beer Review: Goose Island Bourbon County Stout

Whenever I am in South Attleboro, MA, I make a point of visiting Yankee Spirits, a very large liquor store with a huge craft beer selection. Recently, I had just such an opportunity and spent several minutes wandering the craft beer aisle, eyes wide like a kid on Christmas morning. A few brews caught my eye, but one practically leapt off the shelf and yelled "buy me!"

The beer was the Bourbon County Stout from Goose Island Brewery in Chicago, IL. The reasons the 650 ML bottle caught my eye included the fact that the brew was aged in old Bourbon barrels, the fact that the beer sports an impressive 13% ABV, and the fact that the label included the year it was brewed (2009) along with the claim "develops up to five years in the bottle." They had me at "aged in bourbon barrels", and I snagged a bottle and headed to the register, arms stuffed with assorted craft beers.

I got the opportunity to sample this brew a few days later while sitting in a friend's backyard on a nice early summer day. Not a bad way to sample a brew.

We poured the beer into a couple of glasses, the pour was thick and creamy with a thick, tan colored head that looked great on top of the brew. The color of the beer was very, very dark. The Goose Island web site describes it as "midnight" and I'd say that's appropriate. The aroma was pleasant, with notes of chocolate, and a touch of sweetness (caramel?), and a bit of smokiness that I guessed was from the bourbon.

I raised the glass to my lips honestly expecting a bit of a harsh or strong flavor due to the high alcohol content and the influence of the bourbon. Instead, my mouth was met with a surprisingly smooth flavor that was a great mix of malty smoothness with just a bit of tickle in the back of the throat late in the sip that I attribute to the bourbon. The beer, in a few words, had huge flavor. As each sip rolled around my mouth, I picked up notes of chocolate, vanilla, and a bit of something I'd explain as "kind of camp-firey, without being unpleasant".

The beer has a fairly mild 60 IBU of hop bitterness, which I picked up in some sips but not others. I won't say the hops flavor was lost here, but it certainly played a backup role to the malty sweetness. The mouth feel of the beer matched our expectations...pleasantly thick and creamy.

This is a beer that is obviously crafted by people who know what they're doing and who took their time with this one. It's a beer meant to be sipped slowly at a slightly higher temp than beers. The brewers suggest 40 degrees, and that seems about right, although I bet you could go as high as 50 or 55 degrees and still find this beer very enjoyable. Certainly not a beer you want to drink "ice cold", as you'll simply numb your tongue and miss out of some of the subtle flavors.

The folks at Goose Island have put out a great beer here, and judging by the awards they have won, and their history, I'm not surprised. Goose Island started as a brew pub, which got so popular they opened a larger brewery and bottling plant, and later another brew pub. I look forward to trying more of their beers in the future, and sampling this beer again (and again). I can't see myself being patient enough to let a Bourbon County Stout age in the bottle for five years!