Goose Island Beer Company Bourbon County Brand Stout - Vanilla Rye

Bourbon County Brand Stout - Vanilla Rye

 

Goose Island Beer Company in Chicago, Illinois, United States 🇺🇸

  Stout - Imperial Series
Score
8.39
ABV: 14.0% IBU: - Ticks: 89
Imperial Stout Aged in Rye Whiskey Barrels with Madagascar Vanilla Beans

It’s been six years since we released one of the most celebrated Bourbon County Brand Stout variants. Today, we're excited to warmly welcome the return of this iconic member of the Bourbon County Brand Stout family.

Vanilla, as an ingredient, has made an appearance in Bourbon County lineups over the years, but the 2024 Bourbon County Brand Vanilla Rye Stout is a new take on our 2014 Vanilla Rye release. This year’s release showcases rye and the complexity it delivers by starting with a rye imperial stout and aging it in freshly emptied rye whiskey barrels. After aging in barrels for a full year, the stout is then finished with incredibly aromatic madagascar vanilla beans. Bourbon County Vanilla Rye Stout has the beloved attributes of the vanilla variants before it–with a new characteristically rich spice character from aging in the rye whiskey barrels.
 

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8.4
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

Poured from 1 pint .9 fl oz bottle (bb 04 Aug 2029) with papa. Black with small tan head. Lots of creamy balanced vanilla with soft rye barrel underlay. Solid.

Tried from Bottle from Markus Community Market (Markus Foods) on 29 Oct 2025 at 01:41


6.3
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6

Black with a small tan head. Toasty and boozy with overwhelmingly strong vanilla and almost mint. Very long finish. Full bodied.

Tried from Draft on 12 Oct 2025 at 21:49


7.8
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7.5

Bottle from Stuu's Chicago adventure. Pours black with a thin tan head. Aromas of chocolate, wood spice and vanilla. Taste is more of the same. Quite rich and thick. Boozy finish.

Tried on 29 Sep 2025 at 13:59


8.1
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Bottle thanks to Stuu's Chicago mule run.
Appearance - opaque jet black and a thin crema head.
Nose - molasses, dark chocolate, leather, wood and raisins.
Taste - prunes, syrup and raisins. Some vanilla.
Palate - dark chocolate, syrup and prunes.
Overall - full bodied, boozy though a wee bit thin.

Tried from Bottle on 29 Sep 2025 at 13:59


8.1
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

bottle at ashs ....dark black ..thin tan ..soft sweet woody chocolate roast malts nose ...dark sweet chocolate roast ...sweet vanilla ..rich chocolate roast ...dark soft chocolate malts ..massive sweet vanilla ...

Tried on 29 Sep 2025 at 13:55


8

Sweet and boozy, quite thin body. Bourbon, vanilla, chocolate, very nice.

Tried from Bottle on 13 Sep 2025 at 17:46


7.6
Appearance - 9 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 7

Bottle. Pours inky black, small beige head, decent lacing. Aroma is heavy vanilla, bourbon, fudge, oak. Flavor is medium sweet, medium bitter, a bit cloying. Full body, lingering bitterness.

Tried from Bottle on 08 Jun 2025 at 04:35

gave a cheers!

8

Sweetish, loads of vanilla notes, hints of stingy rye barrel, chocolate ice creamy notes and licorice roastiness. A bit unbalanced, vanilla is slightly artificial. Good but not as great as I expected, 2014 was a lot better

Tried from Bottle on 28 May 2025 at 17:54


9
Appearance - 9 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 9 | Overall - 9

Refrigerated 0.5 L 2024 brown bottle poured into a glass. Black with small light brown head. Aroma is rich vanilla, medium/thick head, and little lacing. Taste is rich vanilla, chocolate, and nice bourbon.

Tried from Bottle on 27 Apr 2025 at 00:32