Goose Island Beer Co. Announces 2023 Bourbon County Stout Variants

Goose Island Beer Co.'s 2023 Bourbon County Brand Stout Family has been accounced.

They are releasing six variants this year: 

• 2023 Bourbon County Brand Original Stout

  • Aged in a mix of freshly emptied bourbon barrels from Buffalo Trace, Heaven Hill, Four Roses and Wild Turkey distilleries. Barrel aged for an average of 12 months, Bourbon County Original Stout boasts deeply developed flavors of fudge, vanilla, and caramelized sugar with a rich mouthfeel.

    
    

• 2023 Bourbon County Brand Eagle Rare 2-Year Reserve Stout 

  • Aged for two years in Eagle Rare 10-year-old barrels, Bourbon County Eagle Rare Reserve Stout is a stout that celebrates the essence of American brewing.

    
    

• 2023 Bourbon County Brand Angel’s Envy 2-Year Cask Finish Stout

  • Introducing the newest addition to the Bourbon County family: Goose Island’s first-ever “Cask Finish” stout. Inspired by the artistry of their friends at Angel’s Envy, the beer starts in freshly emptied barrels that once held Angel’s Envy Kentucky straight bourbon. After aging in those for a year, the beer was transferred to a second set of Ruby Port wine barrels where it patiently matured for another year. This finishing process refined and amplified the flavors of cherry, spice, and cocoa within this aged stout. 

    
    

• 2023 Bourbon County Brand Bananas Foster Stout

  • Welcoming back another member of the family this year, 2023 Bourbon County Brand Bananas Foster Stout makes its debut on the national stage. This recipe was first released in 2017 as Bourbon County Brand Proprietor’s Stout only to Chicago drinkers. At the time when Goose Island first released this beer, the brewery hadn’t experimented with bananas much. This pour is well-balanced with deep caramelization, aromas of fresh baked banana bread and warm notes of cinnamon and almond.

    
    

• 2023 Bourbon County Brand Backyard Stout

  • Goose’s brewers dove into the Bourbon County vault and pulled out an old recipe. In 2013, the brewery released “Backyard Rye” and senior innovation manager Mike Siegel found himself hand picking mulberries off trees just steps away from the Goose Island Barrel House in Chicago. Inspired by that initial release and by his own childhood memories of picking fruit in his own backyard, Mike set to work on this year’s 2023 Bourbon County Brand Backyard Stout. This barrel-aged stout is first aged in bourbon barrels for at least one year, and then finished and blended with mulberries, boysenberries and marionberries. Each addition of berry contributes its own flavor profile, with some adding sweetness and others providing acidity and complexity. This imperial stout is a balanced and nuanced play on fresh fruit, vanilla, and chocolate.

    
    

• 2023 Bourbon County Brand Proprietor’s Stout

  • Proprietor’s Stout is an homage to the craft beer community in Chicago. The Goose team was inspired by the warming flavors of a classic dessert: rice pudding. Using a combination of cassia bark, brown sugar, raisins and toasted rice, the final recipe is a taste of home cooking. This stout provides a blanket of toasted rice, vanilla custard, dried fruit, and baking spices.