Goose Island's 2022 Bourbon County Stout Release on Black Friday

It's that time of year again, as we’re approaching Black Friday on Nov. 25th, with the official release of Goose Island Beer Co.’s Bourbon County Stout (BCS) and this year's seven variants. This year marks the 30th Anniversary of the BCS line-up and the brewery is celebrating in style.

“You know you’re a part of something special when each year crafting Bourbon County Stout is more fulfilling than the last, especially since starting out we never thought we’d make it again. Yet, 30 years later, it's clear we've created something truly remarkable. Three decades have now passed and our Bourbon County Stout is a fixture within Goose Island’s DNA due to the continued craftsmanship, innovation and, of course, the community who love and cherish this truly original beer and the tradition behind it. Cheers to everyone involved throughout the years – from brewers to fans and everyone in between, who continue to make this beer exceptional.” - Todd Ahsmann, President, Goose Island Beer Co.

Goose Island will release its namesake Bourbon County Stout along with exclusive variants:

1. Goose Island Bourbon County Stout 

2. Goose Island Bourbon County Two-Year Barleywine Reserve

3. Goose Island Bourbon County 30th Anniversary Reserve Stout

4. Goose Island Bourbon County Biscotti Stout

5. Goose Island Bourbon County Coffee Stout

6. Goose Island Bourbon County Sir Isaac’s Stout

7. Goose Island Bourbon County Proprietor’s Stout

Goose Island Bourbon County Stout (14.3% ABV): This year, the Imperial Stout is aged and blended from freshly emptied bourbon barrels from Heaven Hill, Four Roses, Wild Turkey, and Buffalo Trace distilleries. Expect flavors of vanilla, dark chocolate, toffee, molasses, almond, and dried fruit.

Goose Island Bourbon County Two-Year Barleywine Reserve (17% ABV): For this Reserve, Goose Island worked with their friends at Old Fitzgerald to obtain three sets of barrels of varying ages from the distillery's Old Fitzgerald’s Bottled-In-Bond Decanter Series. This Reserve offers a rare opportunity to highlight the distinct characteristics of their rich Barleywine aged in 14-year, 16-year and 17-year-old barrels of a bourbon pedigree. Their Two-Year Barleywine Reserve evokes the rich intricacies from that of Old Fitzgerald’s Bottled-In-Bond Series. Expect a velvety taste of rich malt, entwined with notes of toffee, cherry, vanilla, fig, and almond. 

Goose Island Bourbon County 30th Anniversary Reserve Stout (14.4% ABV): Goose Island created a special 30th Anniversary Stout to pay homage to the serendipitous union between Gregory Hall and Booker Noe that then led to subsequent years, variants, and traditions - from Black Friday lines to bottle shares and more. Going back to the inception of Bourbon County Stout, the 30th Anniversary Stout is aged from a blend of Jim Beam barrels from their Small Batch Bourbon Collection barrels including Basil Hayden, Booker’s, Baker’s and Knob Creek. Each of the bourbon barrels offer characteristics to each bourbon's nuances. They are then blended together for a complex and balanced expression that celebrates the heritage and legacy of both brands. And, as history would have it, Jim Beam launched their first-ever Small Batch Bourbon Collection 30 years ago. This 30th Anniversary Reserve Stout is a culmination signifying the historical, groundbreaking shifts in both the bourbon and beer industries from two visionaries all those years ago. Expect notes of dark chocolate, vanilla, cherry, and almond. 

Goose Island Bourbon County Biscotti Stout (14.3% ABV): At Goose Island, ideas and inspiration can come from anyone in the Goose family, and their Biscotti Stout is a example that came from Goose Island's own HR team. Inspired by the Italian desserts of her childhood, Jill Cerone, People Manager at Goose Island, dreamed up this variant after grabbing a box of chocolate-dipped biscotti from her cabinet. Working with the brewing team, Jill brought the flavor to life with notes of anise, marzipan, cocoa, and buttered toffee. The biscotti enhances flavors found in their Bourbon County Stout and adds strong notes of nostalgia from your Italian grandma’s kitchen. One sip and you’ll be reminded of pizzelle cookies, Easter Pane di Pasqua and, of course, almond biscotti. 

Goose Island Bourbon County Coffee Stout (13.2% ABV):  For the first time since 2017, Goose Island has brought back a coffee variant this year in partnership with Intelligentsia Coffee. Intelligentsia relies on Burundi for some of the cleanest, sweetest coffees in the world that complement the quality and tasting notes of Bourbon County Stout. The specific coffee blend combined with the Imperial Stout is called Turihamwe, which means “together”, and is a tribute to all the hands that go into making it. The result of this “togetherness” is another coffee variant featuring rich chocolate, coffee, and caramel flavors.

Goose Island Bourbon County Sir Isaac’s Stout (13.9% ABV): For years, brewers at Goose Island have brainstormed ways to incorporate figs in Bourbon County Stout, but faced a daunting task due to their subtle flavor. After fresh thinking from members of the Goose Island E-commerce team, Melissa Alleguez and Ryan Hubona crafted a recipe inspired by Melissa’s childhood memories of stealing fig cookies out of her grandma’s cookie jar during her summers on Lake Michigan. And thus, the fig cookie and graham cracker-inspired Sir Isaac’s Stout was created. Highlighting the dried fried profiles extracted from the bourbon in the barrels, the brewers used Black Mission figs (10,000 pounds of them, to be specific) to create this variant resulting in characteristics of dried fruit, honey, molasses, and citrus, all reminiscent of the classic fig cookie sold on shelves today.

Goose Island Bourbon County Proprietor’s Stout (13.4% ABV): The 2022 Proprietor’s Bourbon County Brand Stout is inspired by a love for cocktails and the hospitality industry here in Chicago. This recipe was dreamed up after two of Goose Island brewers, Jason Krasowski and Paul Cade, spent a night out on the town trying some of the best cocktails the city has to offer. The result is a brewer’s take on a jungle bird cocktail that combines banana, coconut, lime, and a new ingredient for the Bourbon County Stout family – pineapple. The flavors are innovative and fresh, but also share common expressions found in both bourbon and our Original Bourbon County Stout but bring out flavors unlike any other Proprietor's before.