Bourbon County Coffee Stout

I like stout, I like coffee, I like bourbon.  The flavors can complement and enhance each other. Unless it's over done.  In my opinion, it is way overdone in this beer to the point of being unenjoyable.

Bourbon County Coffee Stout (14.00% ABV) by Goose Island (Anheuser-Busch) pours as black as an oil slick with a thin swirl of foam.

The aroma is intensely boozy; big bourbon in the nose with a whisper of coffee and dark roasted malts.

The taste is overpoweringly boozy, unpleasantly so.  The bourbon is huge, coffee and dark malts are hinted at but drowned out. The alcohol is so front and center that it overpowers and minimizes all the other flavor characteristics.

The mouthfeel is full and thick with little carbonation.

I really wanted to like Bourbon County Coffee Stout   I'm no stranger to big beers; I generally enjoy them.  But this one is too intense, too massive and too much of a good thing.

Goose Island Bourbon County Stout

Goose Island . . . I don't want to be a fan, I really don't.   A small craft brewery bought by macro-beer giant Anheuser-Busch is a turn off.  The big guys making a play to push out the little guys by posing as craft brewers and taking away business from the true artisans.  But I must admit I like some of their beers.

In other words, it wouldn't be my first choice when selecting a beer.  That opinion aside . . . 

Hubby asked me to pick up some Goose Island Bourbon County stout because he likes stout beers and he'd heard good things about the Bourbon County brand.  The Bourbon County beers are aged in bourbon barrels.

That being said, he's not a big bourbon lover so I wasn't so sure he'd like this beer.  I, however, get the occasional hankerin' for a good bourbon so that was a plus in my book.

I grabbed a four pack of 12-ounce 2012 Bourbon County bottles.  

I poured a bottle into a snifter style glass.  It pours black as the darkest night with little to no head.  Based solely on the aroma, there is no doubt that this is a bourbon barrel aged beer.  The aroma of bourbon is clear and intense.

The first sip . . . WOW!  BOURBON!  Yeah, there's nothing subtle about this beer.  It is strong and powerfully flavored.  Coffee, dark chocolate and dark chocolate flavors all come through but in the end the bourbon is all encompassing.  And there is a definite alcohol burn.  The mouth feel is thin with very little carbonation.




This is a seriously big beer . . . if you are not a fan of bourbon, you'll want to skip this one.  At 15% ABV this is a sip and a single bottle should probably be shared.

Hubby and I are both big beer drinkers . . . big meaning we drink a lot of beer AND we like big beers . . . and neither one of us could finish a full bottle.  That's saying something, I assure you.

Overall, this is a great beer for a bourbon lover.  It was tasty but too overpowering for my liking.  I like to taste beer in my beer . . . maybe with a finger or two of good bourbon on the side.

Visit the Goose Island website for more information on this or their other offerings.  Be sure to check out their Facebook page, as well.