Picture it! It's a crisp fall evening in Chicago in 2022, and I was invited to my first in-person Goose Island's Bourbon County Stout lineup tasting at their barrel house. I attended it once before virtually in 2020, and the experience was pretty damn dope. Black Friday season is rapidly approaching, which means its time to start gearing up for this year’s offerings. Let's get right into it, shall we? As always, Goose Island's BCS lineup has seven offerings, and each variant offers something different in taste. Here is my breakdown of each beer, ranked from highest to lowest based on my preference.

Two-Year Barleywine Reserve: I am labeling this one as my personal favorite. You'll feel every bit of this barleywine because it's 17% ABV. Aged in 14-year, 16-year, and 17-year Old Fitzgerald barrels, you'll taste all of its characteristics. Cherry, vanilla, and toffee offer a smooth mouthfeel and a well-balanced taste. I appreciate the complexity and the fact it is not overwhelmingly sweet or boozy. It is an easy sipper that will hit you later.

30th Anniversary Reserve Stout: This beer is coming in 2nd place in my ranking. This beer is aged from a blend of 4 Jim Beam's barrels, including Knob Creek, Baker's, Booker's, and Basil Hayden. At 14.3% ABV, you will get the chocolate and vanilla notes because of the base; this one also has a hint of almond.

30th Anniversary aged from a blend of 4 different barrels

Bourbon County Stout: The OG of this lineup, I found this one to be more enjoyable than the previous years because it was more roasty and not as sweet as its predecessors, with intense dark chocolate, dried fruit, and vanilla nuances. Aged in 4 barrels from Heaven Hill, Four Roses, Wild Turkey, and Buffalo Trace, it will hit you hard as it comes in 14.3% ABV.

Coffee Stout: GI decided to bring this one back for the first time since 2017 and partnered with Intelligentsia Coffee, using their Turihamwe from the Burundi region in Africa. It has rich dark chocolate, caramel, and a heavy roast flavor profile. Of the entire lineup, coffee stout has the lowest ABV at 13.2%. True coffee drinkers will enjoy the layer of flavor in this one.

Bourbon County Stout, the OG of barrel aged beers

Proprietor's Stout: Being a cocktail connoisseur myself, I am digging the vibe with this one. A cocktail-inspired stout is right up my alley. It was created by the duo that gave us the cola variant last year, brewers Paul Cade and Jason Krasowki. This one is their version of the Jungle Bird cocktail that fuses lime, pineapple, and coconut. There was a debate on if you tasted banana or the pineapple flavor on the first sip. The consensus was split; I voted for pineapple. I also did not get the lime, while others appeared to have picked it up. 13.4% ABV, this is an exciting variant; it's a fun beer.

Creators of this year’s prop Jason Krasowski and Paul Cade

Biscotti Stout: Created by the People Manager at GI, Jill Cerone, who wanted to reflect on her Italian roots and wanted us to experience a freshly baked biscotti dipped in chocolate. I admit I've never once tried biscotti, but now my interest has peaked. I enjoy the flavor profile because it has chocolate anise and roasted almonds nuances. 14.3% ABV, 7k lbs of almonds, 3100 lbs of cocoa nibs, and 450 lbs of Aniseed, this beer is bursting with flavor. The one downside for me is the sweetness. If the sweetness were dialed back, this would hit harder.

Sir Isaac's Stout: This variant is last on my list because it wasn't my jam. It has a heavy dried fruit and molasses profile. 10k lbs of fig went into this beer. Melissa Alleguez and Ryan Hubona of the GI E-commerce team crafted this recipe to give us a taste of what a fig cookie would taste like in a beer. I didn't get as many layers of flavor in this beer as I did with the others.

As the night winded down, we enjoyed being in the presence of each other since the world went to hell in a handbasket two years ago. The nightcaps for the evening were cracking open the bottle of 14-year Old Fitzgerald and tasting the OG BCS from the barrel at one week, four-month, and eight months. Being able to taste it at various stages puts into perspective the old saying, “It gets better with age.” I’m pretty the hunt will be on, however, unlike previous years it looks as if many locations are opting to do pre-sales rather than having people stand in long lines for hours and run the risk of going home sad and broken because they missed out. I am all in for the pre-sales, screw those lines.

Always fun linking up with the squad
Pictured left to right: Mike Zoller of Porch Drinking; Paul Cade, Goose Island; Matt Powers, Craftbeer.com; Nkosi White, Chicago Beer Pass & Chicago Beer Geeks; Jason Krasowski, Goose Island, Brad Chmielewski, Chicago Beer Pass

Let’s get right to the beer, I’m excited that I was invited to Goose Island’s Bourbon County Stout Media night. The full 7 bottle variants and taster glasses made for an epic night. This year’s line up was bolder and more aromatic and took a few of us in attendance by surprise.

An unexpected joy of the Bourbon County experience is following how these beers change over a three day period.

The seven beer lineup came equipped with a resealable top option. The result is that your favorites change over time. During the virtual preview tasting, Goose President Todd Ashmann talks about how they feel there’s a giant audience and a lot of runway to convert drinkers as palates are constantly changing.

I can relate as my palate has changed in the last 36 hours regarding these beers. Let’s talk about a few of my faves.

The Bourbon County Carmella Ale’s Wheatwine’s base is naturally a pretty fruity beer. Brewers have been working on an apple variant of Bourbon County Stout for years now. They tried apple chips, apple juice, and purees. What they landed on was apple juice concentrate for the final product. Larceny Barrels from Heaven Hill are the vehicle to deliver these Fall vibrations. This smells just like an apple cinnamon liqueur. We never see these flavors as the focus of a BCS release and that’s part of the joy.

My all-time favorite Proprietor’s Blend was the 2017 (bananas foster). This Spumoni inspired version deserves a nod, it’s good. About 100 cans of candied cherries were added to the whirlpool along with pistachios and cocoa nibs. The Chicago only variant is from a brewer that submits annually but wasn’t chosen for a few years. The story goes that she was in a panic about what liter of beer to provide for competition this year. She had a dream that she was eating spumoni ice cream on Tapdeck (employee only bar overlooking the brewery), the epiphany led to her recalling the childhood treat for trials.

You don’t just get to throw the Weller label on your beer. Sipping on Anniversary Bourbon County Stout. The fact that distilleries respect these expressions enough to partner with Chicago’s oldest brewery says a lot. One of the most rewarding experiences of this entire calendar year was sipping Weller 12 next Anniversary. It's honestly a bourbon that we didn’t fully appreciate until we had side by side with this beer. Maybe we were caught in the full life cycle of this beer and bourbon that we’ll never see again. Maybe it was a moment to reflect on how Goose Island has always been in our lives to provide classic moments. This doesn’t fit in the ‘BCS Rare’ category, but the full power of their network is on full display with the 2020 offerings.

I'm guessing if the annual Whiskeyfest held in Chicago Master Distillers from Kentucky would arrive and enjoy all our city has to offer. During the visit, they would taste some of these beers and could probably pinpoint which barrels are theirs. It’s a testament to how Goose brewers are crafting the original recipe to highlight the connection between their classic stout and some of the world’s greatest bourbons.

All this talk makes you wonder if there has ever been an experiment with tequila or rum barrels for BCS. The fact is that proximity plays a role in how these beers make it to the public. Submitting beers that have curb appeal is just one part of the equation. Barrels from outside the US have challenges. 50% of those might be great or could be a disaster. Import barrels are often dry and don’t hold beer well.

It was a privilege to party and learn so much with the Goose Island Beer Company and experience what felt like an early Christmas enjoying this preview of the 10th Anniversary of Black Friday.

Anniversary aged in Weller 12 Barrels & Birthday aged in Old Foresters Birthday Bourbon Barrel

2022 Goose Island Bourbon County Stout Lineup

Goose Island Bourbon County Stout 2020