Left to right: Bourbon County Brand Vanilla Stout 2010, Bourbon County Brand Stout 2009, Nightstalker from early 2010, and Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout 2010.
Goose Island of Chicago have been making a lot of beer news with their extreme beers, most recent being Bourbon County Brand Vanilla Stout and Rare Bourbon County Brand Stout. Goose Island is one of the pioneers of barrel aged beers, if not the pioneer and they have seen a steady growth in demand and reputation since 2006 2005, when they first bottled their classic Bourbon County Brand Stout that was brewed in the honor of their 1000th batch back in 1992. Here's a fun chart on the history of this beer.
2010 saw the bottling of Nightstalker,the base beer for Bourbon County Brand Stout the dry-hopped version of the base beer for Bourbon County Brand Stout, the release of Intelligentsia Black Cat Espresso infused Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout, the release of Vanilla infused Bourbon County Brand Vanilla Stout, and the release of Rare Bourbon County Brand Stout that was aged for 2 years in Pappy Van Winkle 23 years barrels. It is expected that we will be seeing some other versions as well including an Orange version, a Brett version, a Dry hopped version and a Rye barrel version.
While Nightstalker was incredibly good and a successful release too, the Coffee version was a real killer and it in fact climbed to the number 3 spot on Beeradvocate top-100 within weeks of it release. Consequently the Vanilla and Rare versions were very hyped and highly sought after, and were obviously tougher to get!
Anyway, the Rare was too rich for my blood at ~$45/22 oz., and because I loved the regular BCS and Coffee versions, and because I was lucky enough to acquire the Vanilla, I decided to hold a tasting of Nightstalker, regular BCS, Coffee BCS and Vanilla BCS. My trading buddy deserves to be thanked here too since it was because of him that I had more than a bottle of each, Vanilla and Coffee, and some awesome extras!
2010 saw the bottling of Nightstalker,
While Nightstalker was incredibly good and a successful release too, the Coffee version was a real killer and it in fact climbed to the number 3 spot on Beeradvocate top-100 within weeks of it release. Consequently the Vanilla and Rare versions were very hyped and highly sought after, and were obviously tougher to get!
Anyway, the Rare was too rich for my blood at ~$45/22 oz., and because I loved the regular BCS and Coffee versions, and because I was lucky enough to acquire the Vanilla, I decided to hold a tasting of Nightstalker, regular BCS, Coffee BCS and Vanilla BCS. My trading buddy deserves to be thanked here too since it was because of him that I had more than a bottle of each, Vanilla and Coffee, and some awesome extras!
Spoils of the trade
I had already tried multiple times, and reviewed, the regular BCS (review here), that (in my opinion) has a lot of coffee, chocolate and bourbon character. Compared to Nightstalker, it's obviously sweeter and richer with more silky and thicker feel and amplified chocolate-vanilla notes while Nightstalker really stands out in terms of hops and roast. BCS is great example of barrel aging done right, that propels a very good stout to a phenomenal level!
The Vanilla version seemed more acidic and thinner than the regular BCS with obviously more pronounced sweeter Vanilla notes, but with chocolate pushed to background. Still it's very good, but the Coffee version seems to have gone way downhill! When it was fresh, it was one of the best beers I had had and I couldn't decide whether I liked it over KBS! However, it seemed way thinner and acidic to the point of being irritating at this tasting. In fact, Goose Island seemed to acknowledge this when they brewed a different batch for the festival of barrel aged beers. Detailed reviews follow:
Nightstalker
Imperial Stout
11.7% ABV
60 IBUs
22 oz, bottled 02.19.2010, sampled in December 2010.
Looks pitch black with a medium dark brown head that settled into a thin, but persistent, collar and left some lacing. Some legs are visible upon swirling the beer. The aroma is dominated by dark malts, roast, and hops! Nightstalker is known to be incredibly hoppy and it lives to to its reputation!
The Vanilla version seemed more acidic and thinner than the regular BCS with obviously more pronounced sweeter Vanilla notes, but with chocolate pushed to background. Still it's very good, but the Coffee version seems to have gone way downhill! When it was fresh, it was one of the best beers I had had and I couldn't decide whether I liked it over KBS! However, it seemed way thinner and acidic to the point of being irritating at this tasting. In fact, Goose Island seemed to acknowledge this when they brewed a different batch for the festival of barrel aged beers. Detailed reviews follow:
Nightstalker
Imperial Stout
11.7% ABV
60 IBUs
22 oz, bottled 02.19.2010, sampled in December 2010.
Looks pitch black with a medium dark brown head that settled into a thin, but persistent, collar and left some lacing. Some legs are visible upon swirling the beer. The aroma is dominated by dark malts, roast, and hops! Nightstalker is known to be incredibly hoppy and it lives to to its reputation!
The taste is not shy on bitterness either, coming from hops and roast, both. Feels silky and chocolaty, and a little boozy, with a big, bitter, roasty finish. The mouthfeel is thick, but thicker would have been even better. Overall, a strong, robust, but still smooth beer. Loved it.
Bourbon County Brand Vanilla Stout
Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Vanilla Stout
13.0% ABV
60 IBUs
22 oz, bottled on 11.05.2010, sampled in December 2010.
Noticeably low on head, head retention, and lacing than Nightstalker, it looks pitch black and oily. The usual suspects are present but the coffee-chocolate notes are clearly shadowed by sweet alcohol and warm Vanilla.
The chocolate doesn't shine at all in the taste; the taste according to me was very acidic and astringent, even unlike the regular BCS. Odd. I expected Vanilla to add to the complexity of BCS but this seemed like a very different beer, considering that we had BCS next to us for comparison. The roast is stronger too, that I don't mind, but the overwhelming acidity is a minus. On top of that, the mouthfeel seemed thinner too.
Overall a good beer but nothing worth going crazy over.Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout
Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Coffee Stout
13% ABV
60 IBUs
22 oz, bottled in Spring 2010, sampled in December 2010.
Looks the same as its counterparts: pitch black, thick, and oily with little head. Smells of alcohol, chocolate, coffee. A good aroma but not as delicious as I remembered it to be!
First sip was very underwhelming considering that the expectations from this beer were high since I have had it fresh. Tastes thin and acidic, and one dimensional. There really is not much to write but for the sake of review, it should be mentioned that this beer is still quite complex with notes of coffee and chocolate being the most prominent ones.
The body is thinner than what one would expect in a beer of this kind, but drinkability is still very good, and superior to BCS in my opinion, that gets too "hot" once it's warm.
Still, between Nightstalker, BCS, BCBVS and itself, it was the least favorite at the tasting.Edit: Bourbon County was first bottled in 2005 and Nightstalker is not its base beer, but the dry-hopped version of the base beer. Thanks familynight for pointing it out and providing the link to the BCBS history chart.
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