It’s that time of year, when Goose Island unveils its Bourbon County Brand Stout lineup. What do this year’s offerings taste like and which variants are not to be missed?

I’m Cody, executive producer of Crafty Brewers: Tales Behind Craft Beer. Thanks to our podcast’s growing success, I was invited to an exclusive preview of this year’s Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout lineup. Here’s everything you need to know.

If you’re new to Crafty Brewers: we have an incredible biweekly video podcast recorded on-location at Chicago area breweries. Brewers share their unique stories and nerd out about what it takes to brew a really great craft beer. It’s also funny! It turns out that brewers are fun to talk to. You should check out the show on YouTube or on your favorite podcast app.

But enough of that! Let’s talk about some of the best craft beer in Chicago, which I sampled at the end of October at the incredible new Goose Island Salt Shed Pub, which you should definitely check out. Before I talk about the individual beers, I need to talk a bit about the science behind them, in order to help you better understand and appreciate what you’re drinking.

The Science of Bourbon County Brand Stout

According to the experts at Goose Island who were presenting their new beers for the first time, there are three major factors that go into making Bourbon County Brand Stout.

First and foremost is Goose Island’s base beer — in this case, an imperial stout. The dark beer contains chocolate and coffee notes coming from the malt, along with some caramel and other notes. As the beer ferments, it picks up notes of banana, licorice and sugar. Goose Island doesn’t release this beer on its own. The original recipe for the base was created by former brewmaster Greg Hall 32 years ago.

The second factor? The barrel. In the case of BCBS, Goose island sources casks from Wild Turkey, Buffalo Trace, Heaven Hill, and Four Roses. Goose Island’s team visits each of these distilleries and works closely to ensure they’re getting fresh barrels. Small amounts of whiskey can still reside in the oak within the barrels. That remaining whiskey will be absorbed into the beer, creating the unique bourbon flavor profiles. 

American oak itself has a compound in it called vanillin, which is the aromatic molecule that gives vanilla its flavor and smell. When you hear about notes of vanilla in a beer, it’s literally just talking about chemical compounds. It’s not the most romantic language, but it’s what’s happening there.

Caramelization is what happens when you char the inside of the barrel.  The caramelization gives off flavors that taste like caramel. Here’s more science: there are lactones that taste like coconut, phenols that taste like cinnamon or other spices. All these elements are contained in American oak, particularly Missouri oak. That’s why these barrels are very, very flavor active.

Once the beer is in the barrel, the third and final factor is time. The brewers at Goose Island taste the beer after three months, six months, eight months, etc. and it’s a different beer each time. They feel like it’s starting to become BCBS after about 8 months, and then they give it more time.

Fun fact: the barrels actually age alongside Chicago’s temperamental (pun intended) weather, so you’ll taste different notes every year depending on what the temperatures have been like in Chicago — which also means that Chicago itself is literally an ingredient in the beer (which I find super cool). Since the barrels don’t sit in a temperature-controlled space, temperature variations throughout the year could lead to more chocolate, fudge, rich vanilla, cherry, almond, blackberry… the sky’s the limit. And that’s also why the Original Stout (the “base” variant) tastes different every year.

So when you’re drinking Bourbon County Brand Stout from year to year, sometimes you’ll get more chocolate notes and sometimes you’ll get more caramel notes. The variations are dependent on what barrels were used, the temperature, and how long the beer aged in the barrel. That makes the beers — and the way they taste — so subjective, which is also what’s so fun about it. This beer is so complex and layered that everyone’s going to taste something different at a certain point. You will also taste different characteristics from barrels from different distilleries, since each of them treats their barrels a little differently. Different characteristics also come from the distillate that was in the barrel. Each whiskey has a different mash bill. Some ferment with different yeasts, giving them a different character. All those factors contribute to the different characteristics on the back end.

Anyway! Now that you know what goes into the beers, I want to  tell you what to expect when they go on sale in November? Full disclaimer: I got to taste these beers for free, but that shouldn’t really affect the way I talk about them. I spend literally hundreds of dollars every year on barrel-aged stouts and going to festivals like FOBAB (where we recorded a live episode!) because I love barrel-aged beers, so any enthusiasm you detect here is genuine, I promise (and spoiler: I’m not going to tell you I loved all of them)! So here we go:

2024 Bourbon County Brand Original Stout (14.7% ABV)

Bottom line up front: I liked this year’s original much better than last year’s. To me, it tasted more sophisticated, with a more complex flavor profile that really just went down smooth and provided an incredible mouthful of flavors. We were told that this year, Goose Island actually let the beer sit for a bit longer than usual in the casks, to the tune of 16 months instead of ~12 months, which they haven’t done since their 2020 batch. The aroma is packed with chocolate (a lot of chocolate!), a lot of dry fruit cherry and even some marshmallow (at least, according to the brewers and a couple other tasters; my amateur smell and taste buds did not detect it).

Even without the marshmallow, though, this year’s release is packed with flavor, with all the aromas translating nicely into tastes. I also got a bit of a nutty flavor in addition to everything else, which is supposedly a bit of character that can be credited to those extra few months in the casks. This is simply a solid beer that you should have in your fridge once it’s available. If you felt like last year’s BCBS fell short, then don’t let that stop you from trying this year’s edition.

2024 Bourbon County Brand Cask Finish Stout (16% ABV)

Literally inject this into my veins. You cannot miss out on this beer. It was either the favorite, or tied for favorite, beer of almost everyone I talked to. This variant was aged in two separate barrels and has a more clean, crisp flavor than the original. It’s a lot less malty, in case you want to impress your friends who complain that barrel-aged beers are too malty. At first, I didn’t detect a massive difference between Original and Cask Finish other than the smooth mouth feel, but after a few sips, I started to appreciate that this beer is simply superior.

An incredible tannin flavor comes through and it just coats the taste buds at the bottom of your mouth more than the back of your tongue like some other variants do. You get notes of dried fruit, almond, and cocoa, but something about the cherry wood also comes through to elevate it. If you can only get your hands on one variant this year, then this might be the one to go for.

I want to expand on the brewing process behind this one a bit to explain why it’s so different. This variant was aged in Bardstown Bourbon Company casks. I’m told that Bardstown is a relative newcomer to the whiskey world but that they’re doing some incredibly innovative and beautiful work in their whiskey portfolio. The first batch of their Origin Series rye whiskey barrels were used for this variant.  The series’ rye whiskey is actually straight Kentucky rye whiskey that then gets transferred into a second set of “zebra barrels,” which are cherry wood staves bookended by oak staves.

That’s apparently pretty unique in itself. But then, the zebra barrels are toasted with infrared light as opposed to the traditional method of using flame to toast and caramelize all those sugars. That method results in all of the beautiful notes of that cherry wood and oak wood without imparting any more tannin. This beer took that same journey: Goose Island took their base stout, aged it in those rye whiskey barrels, and then transferred it to that second set of those zebra barrels with the cherry wood and oak. The result is good. It’s really good.

2024 Bourbon County Brand Rare Stout (18% ABV)

If you’ve been waiting for me to shut up about beers that I’m completely obsessed with, then you’ve come to the right place! This beer tastes BOOZY (I mean, how can it not, at 18%?) and RYE-y, which is definitely not an adjective, but it definitely becomes one after you’ve tasted this beer. A lot more tannin and a lot more whiskey flavor comes through, and you absolutely get the rye character, although some of the bitterness is cut with noticeable notes of dark chocolate. If you’ve drank Ryewine in the past, then you’ll know what I’m talking about: it’s a little bitter and definitely hits the front of your tongue with an earthy tone. I didn’t dislike this beer, but the rye character is very noticeable and I’m not really a “rye guy,” so this wasn’t my favorite variant. If you do enjoy rye character, then you will love this beer.

Notably, the base beer used to create this variant was slightly different from the base beer used to create Original; here, they substituted a few different malts with rye malts (i.e. malted rye, chocolate rye, caramel rye). Then, the rye-forward base beer was aged in barrels from the super rare and highly sought-after King of Kentucky bourbon, which is produced by Brown-Forman (maker of Jack Daniels, Woodford Reserve, and Old Forester). That’s why this beer has a slightly different character than the other variants. And it packs more of a punch!

2024 Bourbon County Brand Vanilla Rye Stout (14% ABV)

This tastes like you’re eating a scoop of ice cream. I mean that in the best possible way. This is clearly this year’s “dessert beer,” similar in sweetness to their past dessert-style variants like their 2020 Caramella Ale. I LOVED it. It is extremely thick and malty, but not syrupy. It almost has a milkshake mouth feel, and the aftertaste is pristine, with literally no boozy aftertaste whatsoever. Another gentleman at the tasting described it as “like your mother’s butter cookies,” and I found that to be a very accurate description. As soon as it hit my lips, I declared it my favorite of the first four beers I’ve discussed, though I later changed my mind and decided the Cask Finish was at the top of my list.

Goose Island has released multiple Vanilla variants over the years, most recently in 2018, but this is the best I’ve had, possibly due to the way they incorporated rye into this year’s version. There are hints of cherry, chocolate, and coconut that add some depth to this variant, but it is definitely a vanilla-first beer. I will definitely be picking one up for a special occasion — and you’ll want to, too, if you have a sweet tooth.

2024 Bourbon County Brand Macaroon Stout (14.6% ABV)

I thoroughly enjoyed the aroma of this variant, which carried a sweeter, “brighter” flavor. The taste delivered on the scent: coconut notes came through very clearly to me, and you can think of this variant as a chocolate dipped macaroon with coconut and a hint of ginger. Honestly, it made me want to go buy a box of macaroons.

Do you ever experience food nostalgia? The olfactory system (your sense of smell) is closely connected to memory. When you smell something like a cookie or a dessert that grandma made, it activates something in your brain that gives you a sense of nostalgia, and this beer does that.

In terms of the ginger, though, apparently people have varying sensitivity to ginger, and mine might be high, because somewhere under the sweetness, I detected enough ginger bitterness to disqualify this variant from being among my favorites. That doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it; none of the flavors are overpowering, which makes it different from how I feel about, say, 2020’s Kentucky Fog variant, which I simply did not enjoy at all — but I know that a lot of people (including my wife) loved Kentucky Fog, so who knows? Maybe this will top your list (or hers)!

2024 Bourbon County Brand Proprietor’s Barleywine (TBD ABV)

Goose Island’s 2016 BCBS Barleywine was, for many years, the best beer I ever had. When I can’t get my hands on a Bourbon County Stout, my go-to winter beer is a Barleywine Ale from another brewery in Chicago. When I’m at a brewery and I order a Barleywine and it’s bad, it crushes me. Goose Island set the bar too high.

My expectations were high, and this beer met them. It is a NICE Barleywine with a SPICY aftertaste. Not too spicy! Just spicy enough. This year’s variant was inspired by tamarind candy, a.k.a. Mexican spoon candy, which I’ve admittedly never had, but now want to try.

There is a lot going on in this beer. Spice House guajillo peppers, which gives it a bit of a kick (against, mostly in the aftertaste), plus vanilla sugar, cold, unrefined sugar cane (which adds a molasses-like sweetness), two types of tamarind, and whole lime puree. For me, the guajillo crushes it. They nailed the balance to bring a truly unique beer. It’s surprising and balanced and gives you a ton of flavor. Definitely check it out.

TL;DR

Oh, you didn’t want to read the previous 2,000 words? Okay, fine. Here’s my summary:

• Original — Better than last year. Layered and smooth. Pick it up.
• Cask Finish — Possibly the best variant. Less malty and incredibly smooth. You MUST try this.
• Rare — Boozy, earthy rye stout. Great if you love rye.
• Vanilla Rye — Tastes like a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or mom’s butter cookies. Exceptional dessert beer.
• Macaroon — Like a chocolate dipped macaroon with coconut and a hint of ginger. Give it a try. Ginger-sensitive results may vary.
• Proprietor’s Barleywine — A spiced, complex Barleywine with a guajillo kick. You MUST try this.

Thank you to Goose Island for inviting Crafty Brewers: Tales Behind Craft Beer to check out this year’s Bourbon County Brand Stout variants. Now check out one of our podcast episodes — I promise, they’re shorter than this post!

Cheers,
Cody