A stout is a dark beer that dates back to 1677. It is nearly black and has a rich, complex flavor that is a swirl of toasted dark malt spiked with a dash of bitterness. Depending on the recipe, a stout can have a wide range of flavors, encompassing chocolate, coffee, caramel, and even fruits.
To make a stout, a brewer heats dark roasted malted barley in water and adds hops. The brewer then transfers the liquid to a fermenting container where they add yeast, which feeds on the sugars, creating carbon dioxide and that all important alcohol. The next step is to add flavoring agents, such as spices and coffee, that give the stout its distinctive taste. After the brewing is complete, barrel-aged stouts are transferred to bourbon barrels where they pick up notes of oak along with any other spirits that were previously stored in the barrels to complete the process.
While you can enjoy stout beer year round, typically, it is most abundant and appreciated by aficionados during the fall and winter seasons. Since autumn is fast approaching, the Goose Island Beer Co. has just announced the six variants in its 2023 Bourbon County Brand Stout Family.
- 2023 Bourbon County Brand Original Stout
- 2023 Bourbon County Brand Eagle Rare 2-Year Reserve Stout
- 2023 Bourbon County Brand Angel’s Envy 2-Year Cask Finish Stout
- 2023 Bourbon County Brand Bananas Foster Stout
- 2023 Bourbon County Brand Backyard Stout
- 2023 Bourbon County Brand Proprietor’s Stout
“Our number one priority with the barrel program every year is to make the best Bourbon County Brand Stout,” Mike Siegel, Senior Manager Innovation, Goose Island Beer Co., stated. “After that, we challenge ourselves as a team to craft exciting variants to that original stout.”
Siegel also expressed the importance of remaining an industry leader with adventurous and delicious flavor profiles that fall within the category of barrel-aged stouts. While each brew is an individual expression, the company has a whole family of beers that are meant to be enjoyed in tandem with each other. To date, Goose Island Beer has released nearly 70 variants that the company has made over the years.
John Zadlo, Senior Brand Manager, Goose Island Beer Co. echoed Siegel’s sentiments, saying, “Every one of these incredible stouts in our 2023 Bourbon County Brand Stout line-up is a testament to what we at Goose Island have built over the years, as well as what is yet to come. Looking back at our legacy as innovators in craft beer, we are excited to have the opportunity to share our evolution with you this year. Continuously determined to explore the full range of both barrel and variant expressions, we tirelessly strive to push the boundaries of what beer can be.”
Goose Island Beer’s 2023 Bourbon County Stout variants
2023 Bourbon County Brand Original Stout
This Bourbon County Brand Stout was first brewed to celebrate Goose Island’s 1,000th batch of beer in 1992. It was initially disqualified from the Great American Beer Fest because, at the time, there was no category for bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout. It is a deep-flavored brew with fudge, vanilla, and caramelized sugar that has been barrel-aged for an average of 12 months.
2023 Bourbon County Brand Eagle Rare 2-Year Reserve Stout
This stout is aged for two years in 10-year-old American oak barrels sourced from Eagle Rare in Kentucky. It is an incredibly complex and boldly rich stout with robust oak, toasted almond, and warming vanilla flavors.
2023 Bourbon County Brand Angel’s Envy 2-Year Cask Finish Stout
This newest addition is Goose Island’s first-ever “Cask Finish” stout. The brew is aged for a year in freshly emptied barrels that once held Angel’s Envy Kentucky straight bourbon. It is then moved to a second set of Ruby Port wine barrels where it matures for a second year. The stout has distinct cherry, spice, and cocoa elements that provide an exhilarating finish.
Owen Martin, Master Distiller, Angel’s Envy, said, “What’s exciting about the Angel’s Envy BCS collaboration is the beer is finished in a way that replicates how we finish our award-winning bourbon, in port wine barrels. We believe that the secondary finishing process, when done with intention, opens up exciting, new opportunities to enhance and elevate bourbon — or in this case, stout — to unexpected places.”
2023 Bourbon County Brand Bananas Foster Stout
Just like it sounds, this stout contains bananas, toasted almonds, brown sugar, and cinnamon. To get a distinct full flavor, the brewers used three different types of almonds in the recipe.
Quinn Fuechsl, Commercial Innovation Manager, Goose Island Beer Co., talked about the inspiration for this favorite, which was first released to Chicago drinkers in 2017 as Bourbon County Brand Proprietor’s Stout. “I’m a big fan of chocolate-covered bananas. My favorite pie is banana cream, and bananas are a staple on my breakfast menus. Yet, I rarely ever saw them used in stouts, so I thought it would be an ideal ingredient to add to a Proprietor’s variant.”
2023 Bourbon County Brand Backyard Stout
In 2013, Mike Siegel picked mulberries off trees that were just steps away from the Goose Island Barrel House in Chicago, and he crafted a recipe called “Backyard Rye.” It received a perfect score of 100 on Beer Advocate. Siegel used that recipe as a starting point and blended in boysenberries and marionberries to create the 2023 Bourbon County Brand Backyard Stout. Besides the fruity blend, this stout has traces of chocolate and vanilla.
2023 Bourbon County Brand Proprietor’s Stout
This stout is brewed for winter enjoyment. It has the comforting tastes of warming spice, vanilla, and fruit. Drinking this offering feels like home, making it ideal to have on hand for the holidays.
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