Style: Barrel-Aged Flavored Stout

ABV: 13.4 IBU: 60.0

93/100

Aroma:	12
Appearance:	3
Flavor:	18
Mouthfeel:	4

Goose Island Bourbon County Coffee 2016

What the brewers say

“Each year this excellent coffee stout is made with a different bean variety. With the change in coffee comes a change in the flavor profile, making each release truly unique from the previous year’s.”

What our panel thought

Aroma: “The oak and roast from the malt play well with the coffee character. The coffee varietal gives off notes of cherry, plum, and raisin. Notes of jalapeño, vanilla, caramel, and bourbon, with maybe a touch of tobacco.”

Flavor: “Rich chocolate and coffee throughout, with the aforementioned dark-fruit esters. The well-blended oak character brings vanillin and just enough tannin to provide a little extra balance. Burnt toast, mild roast, and chocolate malt make for great malt backing. A rich flavor bomb.”

Overall: “This is a tasty example of imperial stout, with balanced oak, charred wood, alcohol heat, and a burnt bread malt character. If you’re in the mood for a massive coffee, barrel-aged stout, this is a great choice. It’ll keep you honest with the alcohol, but won’t disappoint on the flavor side of things. The beer finishes dry for as big as it is, encouraging sip after sip.”

What our editors thought

Review printed in: Sweet, Roasty, and Delicious (February-March 2017) (View All Issues)

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Jackie O's Brewery Decorating Pieces of Time

“Caramel, toffee, raisin, and vanilla in the aroma complemented by hints of stone fruit and leather. Syrupy and sweet flavor with vanilla, caramel, toffee, and prunes creating a nice, layered complexity. Velvety mouthfeel.”

Goose Island Bourbon County Stout 2016

__Aroma:__ “A nice blend of sweetness on the nose, with some plum and prune, light apple, and chocolate. A touch of vanilla, bourbon, and oak, with some alcohol warmth. Moderate chocolate, dark caramel, blackstrap molasses, and a touch of black licorice.” __Flavor:__ “Moderate chocolate up front, with light cinnamon spices and big vanilla. Some rich chocolate sweetness in there, caramel, with vanilla, oak, leather, and bourbon—the sweetness provides a scaffold. Fruity notes of dark cherry, plum, prune, and raisin that support the bourbon. This beer has a nice chewy body with a moderate alcohol burn and light acidity.” __Overall:__ “The chewy body and pronounced flavors worked great. The fruit ester notes are strong, but there’s also a touch of unconverted starchy notes. The barrel definitely comes through. Good complexity—it’s smooth and keeps all the different flavors under control.”

Goose Island Bourbon County Properietor's '16

__Aroma:__ “Big smoke, like that of a rauch stout, with roasted malt and coffee, and coffee roasted in a smoker. It smells like you’re standing next to a Hatch chile roaster. Nice chocolate sweetness and some fruity esters of stone and dried fruit.” __Flavor:__ “The rich, smoky flavor gives the chocolate and roast malts a smoky twist, and then the pepper flavor comes in, along with a rich, caramel sweetness that buffers the moderate chile warmth. It’s slightly cloying, but the flavors are all in balance. A bit of bacon, BBQ, tobacco, and hot chiles. But as strong as the flavors were, they didn’t overwhelm the beer’s overall stout nature.” __Overall:__ “Scarily drinkable. The aroma is the weakest part of this beer—it was so full of chipotle it was hard to find anything else. It’s nice and creamy, with chocolate and pepper on the finish. A little on the sweet side, but the heat from the chipotle firms it up.”

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