Goose Island Bourbon County Stout - Vanilla Rye Barrel

First brewed for the legendary festival of Wood and Barrel Aged Beer in Chicago, drinkers enjoyed this Bourbon County Variant so much we bottled it the next year (2010). People flocked to stores to get their hands on a bottle and have this one of a kind barrel aged stout. Over the past few years we have heard our fans express their love for this version and we are extremely proud to bring it back in 2014. This years version features a little twist of aging the stout in Rye Whiskey Barrels with a mix of Mexican and Madagascar vanilla beans!

2014 version is 13.6% ABV

4.2

290 reviews

Chicago, United States

Community reviews

4.5 Bottle 0.65@ 2016 release with 13% abv., smashed with fellas. Pours oily black with tiny dissipating creamy brown head. Aroma: roasted grain, intense malt flavor & aroma; chocolate, coffee, toasted toffee, coconut, hint caramel, molasses, vanilla, woody tannins, huge but perfectly blended bourbon. Full bodied, smooth, almost creamy texture, moderste carbonation.

4.3 Bottle opened by Ryan at Logan's house. Pours black, with a small, fizzy, brown head. Decadent vanilla bean aroma, with some brownies, light rye malts, and molasses. Very sweet, with almost perfect balance. Very heavy body, with a thick, creamy, and smooth texture. Simply decadent and delicious. Tons of vanilla and light, tasty booze.

4.0 Oxford tastings Black color, no head. Aroma of vanilla cookies and tobacco. Strong booze, dark caramel flavor, some chocolate, sweet but not syrupy, vanilla, some rye whiskey. Roassted nuts in the final. Excellent.

4.4 650ml bottle @ Alex's. 2014 Vintage Pours an opaque dark brown with a thin brown head. Nose is a delicious bouquet of vanilla with a whiskey kick. Flavour is vanilla and whiskey, it is still somewhat hot, but that vanilla is perfect, it's not overly sweet and mixes well with the chocolate powder character. Delicious through and through!

4.5 650ml bottle at Alex's (thx, Brian!). Vintage 2014. Pours a very dark brown with thr same head. Aroma is lots of vanilla and chocolate. Taste is similar, still boozy (damn!!!). So good!

3.7 Dark brown. Not much head. The aroma has a big whack of vanilla, though I also get some chocolate as well. On the palate, it has a fair bit of sweetness. Some vanilla for sure...I like the vanilla character a lot better on the palate than on the nose. There's good chocolate, some dryness in the finish. In general, a good beer, and on the palate the vanilla is actually enjoyable, which isn't usually the case for me.

4.0 Bottle shared at Matt’s. Big and dark and still with vanilla throughout. Chocolate and booze.

4.2 Bottle shared by KyotoLefty. The aroma matches the flavor: syrupy chocolate and vanilla. Thick syrupy only black pour with an incredibly attractive aroma. Full bodied and thick. The taste is marshmallow, vanilla and chocolate - delicious, this is a truly decadent dessert beer meant to be shared as it is too much for most people.

4.0 Bottle shared at KyotoLefty’s 10,000th rating celebration. 2014 vintage. Big nose of chocolate, lots of vanilla, creme brulee, and dark fruit (thick and juicy). Very dark brown color with translucent edge. Smooth, rich dark fruit and chocolate, big vanilla presence, Heavy body, a bit thick and syrupy, and quite warming (listed at 13.6%). Very heavy and very delicious.

4.2 Bottle, shared at my 10K rating celebration. Nose is vanilla, whisky, chocolate, caramel, marshmallow. huge nose. Black with lace. Lovely sweetness, huge vanilla and chocolate, whisky, though not particularly rye. Over the top vanilla sweetness but delicious in small volumes.

4.2 From a 2014 bottle. Pours black with a thin mocha ring of a head. Nose is big marshmallow, heavy sweet malt, vanilla. Chocolate liqueur and brownie. Mouth is big, rich, and sweet -- lots of dark gooey brownie, toasted marshmallow, and vanilla. Get a bit hot and a bit bitter on the finish, but it’s a minor complaint. Thick feel, though not to the level of Rare b1. Also lacking some of the deeper complexity of Rare b1. But a heck of a barrel aged stout, one of the best ones around.

4.5 Solid gold, dense, smooth and velvety. Vanilla, spicy, wood and pecan. Just a huge sipper, with lingering layers of flavour.

4.4 Bottle at home. Pours black with a small tan head. It lives up to it’s name, massive vanilla and bourbon notes. Cocoa nibs, milk chocolate, mocha, molasses, warming booze, sweet malts, dates. This is thick, very sweet, a bit cloying but so enjoyable. Vanilla is present all throughout, aroma, taste, aftertaste and really carries this beer. It’s a very rich vanilla taste, a bit earthy and boozy. Big sweet, medium roasty bitter. Full body, low carbonation. Great longlasting vanilla sweetness.

4.3 Bottle. Soloing this fucker after finishing my thesis! What a treat thisis. Huge vanilla and bourbon upfront. Not much wood, quite boozy. Rather roasty and some chocolate. Massive bourbon and vanilla in flavour too. Really sweet. Huge body with soft carbonation. Well worth saving!

3.4 Bottle care of Andrew Watson. Pours thick oily black, no head. Nose is very very sweet, fresh oak, vanilla, black treacle, toasted coconut, bourbon wood barrel. Taste all of the above. Cloying but grows on the palate.

4.5 Bottle drank @home to celebrate new year. Vintage 31 oct 2014 (of course). Aroma: nice vanilla, hazelnuts and chocolate cake. Light bourbon aroma. Subtle mint as well Wow. This is quite amazing! App: dark Coca-Cola color with minimal to no head still leaving little lacing. Taste and palate: medium body, medium sweetness but still kinda liquoreux, light acidity and sweet finish. Overall: well, I never had this beer before so can’t compare with a fresh one but what I know is like that, it is really awesome. This smell is just mind blowing. Honestly it feels like eating a liquid cake with liquid hazelnuts and pure vanilla.

4.5 Bottle thanks to Sherrice. Pours pitch black with a slight tan head I’ll on vanilla bean nose and flavor almost one noted. Cocoa nib and Bourbon finish. Clawing sweetness. Very viscous oil like mouthfeel.

4.6 Bottle, shared by a very generous non-RB friend. Even after two years, this is still outrageously good. Big, pronounced vanilla aroma that mixes with the chocolate and bourbon barrel flavors of regular BCBS. This is definitely a "desert" stout -- it’s sweet (although not at all cloying) and the vanilla flavor is very prominent, to the point that it tastes like a chocolate covered marshmallow. Importantly, though, none of the flavors taste artificial, which I’ve found to be the problem with many beers that use vanilla. This just tastes ... gloriously decadent.

4.6 The 2014 version of this famous BCBS variant, at Bart’s Bourbon County tasting in Bruges. I was very curious about this, having missed it a year ago. Loosely structured, pale beige, thin head, quickly dissolving into almost nothing; black robe with mahogany edges. Strong aroma of indeed a lot of vanilla - but feeling natural, as in vanilla beans, rather than vanilla extract; this delightful fragrance oversees a wealth of hot chocolate sauce, wet wood, coffee grounds, mocha ice cream, beef stock, marzipan, glue-like solvents, old port wine, cognac, caramel candy. Dried fig-like sweetishness in the onset, dried banana as well, soft blackcurrant-like sourish undercurrent, black olive-like umami touch but subtle enough, soft carbonation, very subtly tickling the tongue, thick and oily mouthfeel. Deep caramelly and nutty malt bittersweetness in the middle, coating the mouth cavity, deeply chocolatey and bitterly toasted in the end, the bitterness being supported by a spicy hop touch but at the same time challenged by this hugely aromatic vanilla aspect, in itself reinforced by the much more dim vanilla-ish aspect of the oak, drying wood tannins, heating brown rum-like alcohol, becoming a tad wry in the very end. Bold and beautiful, it does not quite top either the basic version (in a 2013 non-infected vintage) or the berry-fruited versions we tasted the same evening, but it certainly stands out as sweeter, more fragrant and more ’desserty’ than the other Bourbon Counties. Glad I finally had it.

4.4 Shared with pals Jess and Matt. Beautiful pour. Lots of dark fruit on the nose and even a hint of licorice. Plums, dates and other ripe things on the tongue though the vanilla was very subtle - after two years something’s gotta give. A bit of booze as well. This was an extremely rich and decadent Christmas cake (but in a good way) kind of beer. Really amazing stuff.

3.9 Bottle pour at Churchkey into a snifter showing thick and oily pitch black with no head. The nose shows very strong vanilla with a somewhat artificial edge but brights to milk chocolate. The palate is thick and oily with barely any carbonation. Light sweetness with flavors of milk chocolate that warm up into milk chocolate with a roasted malt/toasted bitterness on the finish. Vanilla reappears in the background with a strong aftertaste. Strong bourbon spiciness.

4.0 Bottle from MeadMe, shared with friends tonight. Thick black color frothy tan head. Huge vanilla on the nose with roasty chocolate and licorice molasses underneath. Creamy smooth in the mouth. Big roasty stout countered with lightly spicy woodiness and lots of smooth vanilla. That’s a pretty damn tasty beer right there!

4.3 650 ml bottle shared with friends at the Hoppy Pub, Thessaloniki. Black color with small beige brown head. Malty aroma, roasted, chocolate, cocoa, caramel, vanilla, dark dried fruits, wood, alcohol. Sweet and light bitter taste like aroma. Full silky oily body with soft carbonation

4.5 650ml bottle. Huge aroma of marshmallow, vanilla, custard and brownie batter. Spicy chocolate cake taste with lighter vanilla influence. Sweetness is not a problem. Amazing stuff.

4.4 Draught at Harry’s Hofbrau in RC for SF Beer Week. Massive vanilla and slight chocolate. Deep brown with minimal head. Taste is strong vanilla that blends nicely with overt cocoa nibs and slight licorice. So freaking good. My favorite of the tasting that including Rare and Regal.

4.8 Geproefd tijdens proefavond van de bierclub in de Vinotake Waalwijk, uitgeschonken in Struise BD proefglaasje. Schenkt gitzwart olieachtig uit, met een kortstondige donker beige schuimkraag. Zeer aangenaam aroma, met rijke vanille tonen, gecombineerd met zachte notities van koffie, melkchocolade, hout, bourbon, roggebrood molasse, en aardachtige kruidige accenten van kaneel en wederom vanille. Het smaakpallet is ook bijzonder complex, zacht en aangenaam. Uiteraard zeer veel en overweldigende vanille tonen, aangevuld met smaken van koffie, melkchocolade, bourbon en kaneel. De smaak is zoet, maar perfect gebalanceerd met verwarmende alcoholische tonen. Zeer goed verborgen alcohol, zacht fluwelig mondgevoel, en een lange afdronk van verse vanille. Vanille bom, zeer complexe stout, ook de beste Bourbon County tot nu toe voor mij. Met dank aan Thijs voor het meebrengen van deze zeldzame BC.

4.6 #10 de brouw. Gedeeld door de brouwmeester himself Abijen. Mooie zwarte kleur met een goede kraag. Ruikt vol vanille crème, koffie. Smaakt vol vanille, crème, alcohol. Mooie volle afdronk. Volle vanille smaak.

4.7 Zwart bier met een kleine beige bruine schuim kraag. Ruikt zoet, vanille, geroosterd. 1 bak vanille. Smaakt vanille, en een beetje vanille, en ik proef ook vanille ergens. Geroosterd, koffie, mout. Heerlijk dik.

4.6 Mooi zwart, ruikt heeijl barrel aged. Bijna stroopachtig dik, heerlijk. Echt een snoepje!

3.9 Bottle share at The White Horse, Parson’s Green, as ’Goose Island Bourbon County Stout - Vanilla Rye Barrel’. With Paul, Lorna and the brewery founder. Black with a small tan head. Aroma is vanilla-forward, molasses, some sweet coffee. Body is smooth with low carbonation. Taste is vanilla, molasses, spicy eggnog, dry spicy boozy finish. Decent stuff. Does what it says on the tin.