Beer Review: Bourbon County Brand Stout (Vintage – 2019)
The Original Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout
Many stouts try to compare or use lingo that suggests a stout was aged in a bourbon barrel but when this one punches a thick bourbon barrel in your nose you start to question all the others before this one.
That quick warm cozy feeling you get when you sip on a snifter of port by a fire is what this stout aged in bourbon barrels will fill you with. Don’t confuse it with the warm fuzzy slippers feeling Homer has you imagining https://youtu.be/0oAZZK3AD6I Although, I too enjoy a snifter of port at Christmas.
Fuzzy slippers on, let’s drag our feet across the carpet for static electricity AND review a favorite
Beer: Bourbon County Brand Stout
Brewery: Goose Island Beer Co.
Style: Stout – Imperial / Double
ABV: 15.2%
IBU: 60
Untappd Description: Originally brewed in honor of the 1000th batch at our original Clybourn brewpub. A liquid as dark and dense as the black hole with thick form the color of a bourbon barrel. The nose is an intense mix of charred oak, chocolate, vanilla, caramel, and smoke. One sip has more flavor than your average case of beer.
On the bottle it is described as “Notes of Vanilla, Toffee, chocolate, burnt sugar and dried fruit” Also the bottle I have says it yields a 14.7% ABV.
It’s like a Christmas morning for stout lovers. I almost hung up on a phone call with my boss to gallop over to the closest spot selling it on Monday. No varietals near me unfortunately but my taste buds are just as pleased with the OG.
I even shared a bit of this with my mom. She is quite adventurous and entertains all my crazy alcohol adventures, surprisingly. I guess the apple didn’t fall far from the tree or hop vine. Her first reaction was shock. She also felt that punch I talked about earlier as she sniffed her beer. One little sip and she lets out a mellow “mmmm”. This is the kind of “mmmm” this is accompanied by a warm hug and sets your mind at ease. Her eyes popped open again as if coming back from a quick hallucination. I can only assume she had a similar fantasy of sipping on it by a fire like I did. She quickly reached her glass out for another pour. I am my mother’s daughter after all. The bottle was emptied very quickly.
The only thing I want to add to the description from Untapped is the coffee aroma and flavor. Maybe it’s the charred oak that makes me think of coffee, my mom agreed. If it’s the oak taste and flavor I am enjoying, why do I loathe it so much in my wine? My mom and I both wonder this and can only agree we must drink more to draw final conclusions and give fair reviews.
After it hits your tongue the deep richness of caramel and vanilla lay on your tongue like a nice warm bath. The chocolate and dried fruit tastes dance on your tongue. It’s crazy that you can taste chocolate and a rich dark chocolate at the same time. That mix makes me feel like I am drinking an adult desert beer but not a confectionary sugar taste or flavor. The vanilla flavor from the barrel is why it so tasty compared to stouts with vanilla added, although there is nothing wrong with those either.
The release and sale of the bourbon barrel aged stout is the “Black Friday” kick off to the holiday season that I really enjoy celebrating. As I’m sure any fellow beer drinker still ready this would easily agree. Happy Thanksgiving!
Drink more beer! Cheers!
-Amy
