Bourbon County Brand Stout
Goose Island Beer Company in Chicago, Illinois, United States 🇺🇸
Stout - Imperial Winter|
Score
8.48
|
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Every year since its inception in 1992, we strive to honor the original Bourbon County Stout recipe. And, 30 years later, we continue Gregory Hall’s legacy and passion for making the best beer possible, starting with the best barrels the bourbon trail has to offer. This year, our Imperial Stout is aged and blended from freshly emptied bourbon barrels from Heaven Hill, Four Roses, Wild Turkey, and Buffalo Trace distilleries. Expect flavors of vanilla, dark chocolate, toffee, molasses, almond, and dried fruit.
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7.5/10
—
Appearance 7
Aroma 8
Flavor 7.5
Texture 7
Overall 7.5
On tap. Pours black with thin tan head. Aromas of boozy bourbon, iced black coffee, powdery dark chocolate and roasted malts. Flavors of bourbon alcohol, oak, dry dark chocolate, black coffee and roasted malts. Lots of oak and alcohol. Good but way overrated. Maybe better when young?
Tried
from Draft
at
Beerlovers Bar
on 16 Apr 2026
at 18:10
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 7
Overall 8
(Bottle, 0.375l - a sample, at Pien Shop, 20260416) The beer poured black. Its head was tiny and lightly brown. Aroma had burnt malts, dark chocolate, wood and vanilla. Palate was full bodied, dry and lightly warming with low carbonation. Flavours were burnt malts, dark chocolate, vanilla, wood, earth and bitterness. Aftertaste had burnt malts, earth, alcohols and bitterness. A tasty burnt brew with dry finish. The high ABV was well hidden.
Tried
from Bottle
at
Pien Shop & Bar
on 16 Apr 2026
at 16:57
7.6/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7.5
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
12oz bottle. Still, black pour. Boozy, roasty aroma, sweet chocolaty. Taste starts with the alcohol heat, sweet, roasty, brown sugar, chocolate. Always a treat.
Tried
from Bottle
on 06 Apr 2026
at 07:37
9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8.5
Flavor 9.5
Texture 9
Overall 9.5
Bottle 10fl.oz. @ home - [ Virtual Tasting 💻👀 ] - fonefan & Brugmansia House. 🏡🇩🇰 🍀 ☁️☂️ [ As Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout 2025 ]. ABV: 14.8%. [20260404]. 8-/4/9-/4-/18-
Tried
from Bottle
on 04 Apr 2026
at 17:39
7.5/10
—
Appearance 7
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 7
Overall 8
Brown bottle (US Pint and 0.9 fl oz's), why can't they say how much is in there? Anyway it's just as lovely as every other years version I've tried. Rich, decadent and a joy to sip and savour. 2nd April 2026 at my daughters in Laguna Hills, bought from Costco of all places!
Tried
from Bottle
on 02 Apr 2026
at 20:20
8.8/10
—
Appearance 9
Aroma 9
Flavor 8.5
Texture 9
Overall 8.5
Fles 29,5cl thuis. Roasted malts, vanille, eik, caramel, redelijk boozy, bourbon, fudge, licht plakkerig, pure chocolade, wat liquorice, marsepein, bittertonen, zoeten. (13-3-2026).
Tried
from Bottle
from
De Poort van Kleef
on 13 Mar 2026
at 22:58
9.1/10
—
Appearance 9
Aroma 9.5
Flavor 9.5
Texture 9
Overall 8.5
500ml bottle, 2024 vintage. Roasted malt aroma with notes of chocolate, brown sugar, vanilla, bourbon and oak. Pours deep brown with a thin mocha brown head that has little retention and no lacing. Starts with rich roasted malt, brown sugar and oak flavors as well as having a rich, full body and silky smooth mouthfeel. Finishes incredibly smooth with chocolate, bourbon and vanilla flavors. Truly elite imperial stout.
Tried
from Bottle
from
J&K Liquor
on 08 Mar 2026
at 05:23
8/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8
2005 bottle acquired in an awesome trade with Htsprint1. Thanks so much Noah! Shared with Eyedrinkale and Egajdzis on 8/27/2005.
Pours a thick, viscous deep black, opaque, heavy looking substance, with a small, thick tan head, that is not long retained, little bit of legs on the glass. Sediment on the bottom of the bottle. Aroma of coconuts, sweet molasses and rich toffee. Oaky and just very strong. Touches of charred wood smoke is very dry in the nose and gives some balance to the sweet coconut, chocolate fudge, vanilla and light alcohol. Being very underwhelmed by most Imperial Stouts I have tried lately, especially the barrel-aged ones, I’ve got to say, I was incredibly impressed and refreshed by this one. Granted this isnt a terribly refreshing beer, but it was just nice to see a unique imperial stout that dosent bludgeon you with hops or alcohol. Even the roast is fairly restrained here, relatively speaking. What you do get a lot of, is coconut, sweet vanilla beans and chocolate fudge, though a bit drier than all that sounds. Rich, thick mouthfeel is borderline syrupy, and significantly malty sweet, but for me, it works. Very viscous and oily, with a very low carbonation. It goes down easy, on my palate, though. The bourbon is somehow flavorul, moreso than it is drying or sharp. Sweet chocolate-vanilla sticks with you, as some late hops grows as it warms. Bourbony flavors are always present but don’t really bother me, even at the end of the glass. Very full body. Love to get more of this stuff.
Rerate Or rather, resample, I’m not changing my marks because this beer is maturing very nicely. At about a year old now, the bourbon is still under control, even moreso now, with a creamy/chocolatey texture without gobs of harsh roast or hops. Smokiness and ashiness are controlled and used to balance, not overwhelm. Awesome.
Pours a thick, viscous deep black, opaque, heavy looking substance, with a small, thick tan head, that is not long retained, little bit of legs on the glass. Sediment on the bottom of the bottle. Aroma of coconuts, sweet molasses and rich toffee. Oaky and just very strong. Touches of charred wood smoke is very dry in the nose and gives some balance to the sweet coconut, chocolate fudge, vanilla and light alcohol. Being very underwhelmed by most Imperial Stouts I have tried lately, especially the barrel-aged ones, I’ve got to say, I was incredibly impressed and refreshed by this one. Granted this isnt a terribly refreshing beer, but it was just nice to see a unique imperial stout that dosent bludgeon you with hops or alcohol. Even the roast is fairly restrained here, relatively speaking. What you do get a lot of, is coconut, sweet vanilla beans and chocolate fudge, though a bit drier than all that sounds. Rich, thick mouthfeel is borderline syrupy, and significantly malty sweet, but for me, it works. Very viscous and oily, with a very low carbonation. It goes down easy, on my palate, though. The bourbon is somehow flavorul, moreso than it is drying or sharp. Sweet chocolate-vanilla sticks with you, as some late hops grows as it warms. Bourbony flavors are always present but don’t really bother me, even at the end of the glass. Very full body. Love to get more of this stuff.
Rerate Or rather, resample, I’m not changing my marks because this beer is maturing very nicely. At about a year old now, the bourbon is still under control, even moreso now, with a creamy/chocolatey texture without gobs of harsh roast or hops. Smokiness and ashiness are controlled and used to balance, not overwhelm. Awesome.
Tried
from Bottle
on 02 Mar 2026
at 00:21
9/10
Tried
from Bottle
on 01 Mar 2026
at 23:18
8.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 9
27 February 2026. BCBS Tasting @ Stacks (Sint-Kruis). Cheers to Ward for hosting the event! Many thanks to Louis for generously sharing the bottles!
Cloudy black, no head. Intense bourbon, medicine, tobacco, espresso, teriyaki, black olive, pecan, liqueur-filled pralines, vanilla bean, oak. Sweet date, raisin & prune wrapped in a dark-chocolatey, pecan-nutty and dark fudge-like malt body with subtle umami teriyaki, some smoke and bitter coffee. Peppery hops in the finish, lingering bitter coffee, fondant, oaky vanilla and warming bourbon alcohol. Full body, thin, oily texture, soft carbonation. Has evidently aged (thinned by alcohol; umami, somewhat medicinal flavours) but this has only added layers of complexity to an already rounded base beer. Excellent!
Cloudy black, no head. Intense bourbon, medicine, tobacco, espresso, teriyaki, black olive, pecan, liqueur-filled pralines, vanilla bean, oak. Sweet date, raisin & prune wrapped in a dark-chocolatey, pecan-nutty and dark fudge-like malt body with subtle umami teriyaki, some smoke and bitter coffee. Peppery hops in the finish, lingering bitter coffee, fondant, oaky vanilla and warming bourbon alcohol. Full body, thin, oily texture, soft carbonation. Has evidently aged (thinned by alcohol; umami, somewhat medicinal flavours) but this has only added layers of complexity to an already rounded base beer. Excellent!
Tried
on 27 Feb 2026
at 16:29