Bourbon County Brand Stout - Vanilla Rye
(has 2 batches)
Goose Island Beer Company in Chicago, Illinois, United States 🇺🇸
Stout - Pastry / Flavoured - Imperial Series Out of Production|
Score
8.38
|
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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.
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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7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Dark brown. Lots of vanilla, a bit over the top with the vanilla cream thing. Is this an omnipollo collab or some shit? That makes the beer good but disappointingly simple. Rye spice is fun in the finish, but it sort of clashes with the silly level of vanilla.
Tried
on 11 Jul 2026
at 03:37
8.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 10
Overall 8.5
(Draft at Beer Temple, Amsterdam, 27 Feb 2026) Black colour with creamy, beige head. Malty, roasted nose with notes of coffee, dark chocolate, cacao, black rye bread, oak wood, whiskey and vanilla. Malty, roasted taste with coffee, dark chocolate, cacao, dark bread, vanilla, rye whiskey, wood and a balanced roasty bitterness in a warming finish. Full body, quite sweet. Rich, harmonious and quite well balanced for its strength, with a generous whiskey wood character. Great beer!
Tried
from Draft
at
BeerTemple
on 18 Apr 2026
at 21:18
8.3/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Bottle at ash's. Pours black, nose is cream, vanilla, chocolate, coconut, bit of custard, taste is sweet, creamy, vanilla, chocolate, woody, fair bitterness. 8/9/8/8/8
Tried
on 18 Apr 2026
at 10:35
8.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8.5
Flavor 9
Texture 9
Overall 9
Tap @ Mig & Ølsnedkeren. Black with a beige head. Aroma is sweet, roasted malt, chocolate, vanilla and bourbon. Flavor is very sweet. Sweet finish with lots of warming alcohol. Oily and soft. 110326
Tried
from Draft
at
Mig & Ølsnedkeren
on 11 Mar 2026
at 17:54
7.8/10
—
Appearance 7
Aroma 9
Flavor 7.5
Texture 7
Overall 7.5
Sample at High Side Fairfax. Murky brown, legs, head faded fast. Big brown sugar and brownie nose, booze, barrel, a little bready. Flavor is brownies and booze and malt and cocoa. Full bodied, nearing dry, long finish.
Tried
from Draft
on 18 Dec 2025
at 22:39
7.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 6.5
Texture 9
Overall 6.5
Thought I would like this variant more than I did. Comes off a little over-oaked, with a hefty bit of cascara acidity offset by a lot of barrel and not enough rye. Alcohol also seems more prominent than usual for a BCBS pint. Still, not a bad pint in any way. Pairs well with chocolate peanut clusters.
Tried
from Bottle
on 17 Dec 2025
at 17:24
9/10
Wonderfully rich vanilla notes, a bit of rye bite. Quite smooth. This one is excellent.
Tried
from Bottle
on 28 Nov 2025
at 22:22
9/10
Tried
from Bottle
on 08 Nov 2025
at 22:00
8.4/10
—
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
6.3/10
—
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