Goose Island Beer Company Big John

Big John

 

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

  Stout - Pastry / Flavoured - Imperial Rotating Out of Production
Score
7.81
ABV: 11.5% IBU: 60 Ticks: 80
Inspired by the epic skyline of Chicago, Goose Island’s brewers set out to craft Big John; a tall, bold slugger of a stout that stands out vividly against the little soft beers out there. Epic amounts of roasted malt and an addition of cacao nibs give Big John a massive chocolate flavor and aroma. With a body as substantial and black as the building to which it pays homage, Big John is sure to inspire a sense of awe with every sip.
 

Sign up to add a tick or review

Join Us


     Show


8.8/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 9 Texture 10 Overall 9
65 cl. bottle sampled @ RBWG 2012 – thx to Klaas – dark as an endless abyss with no head – smells like plum syrup, bourbon, roasted malt, liquorish & booze – taste is dark fruits with lots of plum & some raisins, syrupy, roasted malts, thick sludgy coffee, touch molasses, melted chocolate, bourbon & alcoholic finish this is quite alcoholic in a nice way, sludgy, liquorishy with low carb, small monster this one (bottled on 02/25/2011)
Tried from Bottle on 18 Jan 2012 at 11:53

8/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 8
Sampled @ RBBWG Antwerpen. Courtesy of Klaas. Pitch black, opaque color. Smell malts, coffee, alcohol, liquorice. Taste is really almost the same. I get malts, coffee, alcohol and some liquorice again. Medium body, medium carbo.
Tried on 16 Jan 2012 at 06:53

7.5/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 8
No head; black beer with red-ruby highlights. Chocolate, rumcake and even alcohol and fusels in the nose. Roasted, sweet, with a touch of saltiness, like roastcrust on meat. And then, some hint of (dark) spirit; fusels again to the fore. Very full-bodied, alcoholladen and -warming; rich as few. Goose Island might have become AB/Inbev; as long as they make this kind of stuff, they remain a great brewery to me.
Tried on 15 Jan 2012 at 01:21

8.3/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 9 Flavor 8 Texture 10 Overall 8
Imported from my RateBeer account as Goose Island Big John Imperial Stout (by Goose Island Beer Company (AB-InBev)):
Aroma: 9/10, Appearance: 3/5, Taste: 8/10, Palate: 5/5, Overall: 16/20, MyTotalScore: 4.1/5

14/I/2012 1Pt. 6Fl. Oz. bottle @ RBBWG 2012 - BB: III/25/11 (2012-41) Thanks to Klaas for bringing the bottle!

Clear deep purple to dark brown beer, no head. Aroma: lots of raisins, other dried fruits, bourbon, caramel. Mf: soft carbon, full body, creamy texture. Taste: sweet caramel, bourbon, vanilla, rhum, alcohol, mocha, a prickling feeling on the tongue after swallowing. Aftertaste: peppery, mocha, caramel, sweet alcohol, coffee.
Tried from Bottle on 14 Jan 2012 at 09:06

8.9/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 9 Flavor 9 Texture 10 Overall 8.5
Bottle, kindly shared by gunnar. ABV 11.5%. Pitch black colour, moderate brown head. Nice roasty aroma, notes of coffee and cocoa, hints of leather. Fairly sweet and malty flavour, strong roasty coffee and cocoa notes. Lovely! Has "much of everything", but is not too extreme. Well balanced.
Tried from Bottle on 08 Nov 2011 at 13:06

8.2/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 8 Texture 10 Overall 9
Sampled from a 22 oz brown bottle this beer poured thick, black and oily with a small tan head that faded quickly and left no lacing. The aroma was sweetish cocoa, vanilla and licorice. The flavor was sweetish cocoa, vanilla, brown sugar, coffee, nut, licorice and port wine. Nicely complex as the flavors roll over the tongue. The finish was long with cocoa, vanilla, port and brown sugar lingering. Full bodied. Intense and complex. Excellent.
Tried from Bottle on 05 Nov 2011 at 18:22

6.5/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 6
Bottled at Stockholm Beer Festival. Black, no head. Aroma of rain hitting hot dry asphalt. Full bodied with soft mouthfeel. Sweet and salty, pungent flavour if Finnish tar pastilles. Long bitter finish. While the tar flavour is truly pleasant it remains the only one in there.
Tried from Bottle on 14 Oct 2011 at 04:52

7.8/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 8
Pours deep mahogany into a snifter. Mocha head recedes to hint rim. Sour dark chocolate aromas. Hot dark chocolate and espresso upfront turning to dank resin in the lasting finish
Tried on 09 Oct 2011 at 20:31

7.2/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 6 Texture 8 Overall 8
Bomber from Half Time. Pours brown/black with no head. Aromas of bourbon/vanilla (????) and chocolate. Full bodied. Heat is definitely noticeable. Quite. Flavor is chocolate with a lot of dark smooth burnt malt. It sour seems bourbonified.
Tried on 13 Sep 2011 at 11:53

8/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 8
Bottle via a trade (marked as 03/25/11 1712). Pours with a thick black body and a lasting tan head. Aromas are big, cocoa, vanilla, alcohol, chocolate, estery and brown sugar. Medium roast, decently sweet. Flavors are on the sweeter side of things, big, alcohol, vanilla, earthy and fudge. Medium bubbles, thick and warming. Quite tasty!
Tried from Bottle on 29 Aug 2011 at 12:55