Goose Island Bourbon County Properietor's '16
What the brewers say
“Each year this release will differ from the previous year. 2016 Variant—with chipotle peppers, cocoa nibs, and aged in bourbon barrels that previously stored maple syrup.”
What our panel thought
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.”
