Goose Island Adds Rice Pudding-Inspired Beer and Cask-Finished Stout to Bourbon County Lineup
This year's lineup includes boozy tributes to rice pudding, bananas Foster, and backyard berry-picking.
Courtesy of Goose Island Beer Co.
It's already time to start looking ahead to that hectic time of year when long lines give way to elbowing shoppers hoping to score the perfect present for others, or perhaps even themselves. No, I'm not talking about Black Friday at the big box stores, but I am talking about the day after Thanksgiving at Chicago's Goose Island Beer Co.
Each year the brewery releases its slate of stout beers aged in bourbon barrels, and 2023 is no exception. For the lineup's 31st expression, Goose Island's brewers are releasing six variants, five of which will be available nationally and one that will only be procurable in the Chicago area.
2023 Bourbon County Brand Original Stout
Availability: Nationally in bottles and on draft
Courtesy of Goose Island Beer Co.
According to Goose Island, its flagship beer has notes of "vanilla, cocoa, cherry, caramelized sugar, and almond" and was aged an average of 12 months in "freshly empty barrels" from distilleries including the likes of Buffalo Trace, Heaven Hill, Four Roses, and Wild Turkey.
2023 Bourbon County Brand Eagle Rare 2-Year Reserve Stout
Availability: Nationally in bottles
Courtesy of Goose Island Beer Co.
Aged for two years in barrels specifically from Buffalo Trace's ten-year-old Eagle Rare bourbon, this entry is described as having notes of "robust oak, toasted almond, and warming vanilla."
2023 Bourbon County Brand Angel's Envy 2-Year Cask Finish Stout
Availability: Nationally in bottles
Courtesy of Goose Island Beer Co.
The Bourbon County lineup's first "Cask Finish" stout spend a year in former Angel's Envy bourbon barrels before another year of aging in Ruby Port wine barrels, culminating in a stout with notes of "cherry, spice, and cocoa."
Related: The 25 Best Beer Gifts, According to a Brewmaster
2023 Bourbon County Brand Bananas Foster Stout
Availability: Nationally in bottles and on draft
Courtesy of Goose Island Beer Co.
First released in 2017 as that year's "Proprietor's Stout," this beer with notes of "ripe bananas, toasted almond, brown sugar, and cinnamon " is finally making its national debut. To achieve a profile befitting of its dessert namesake, the beer is brewed with real banana, three different kinds of almonds, cassia bark, and other natural flavors.
2023 Bourbon County Brand Backyard Stout
Availability: Nationally in bottles and on draft
Courtesy of Goose Island Beer Co.
A reboot of 2013's Backyard Rye (which was aged in rye barrels and made with mulberry), this bourbon barrel-aged stout has notes of "chocolate, vanilla & berry fruit." Which "berry fruit?" After a year of aging, the beer was finished with mulberries, boysenberries, and marionberries.
2023 Bourbon County Brand Proprietor's Stout
Availability: Chicago market only, in bottles and on draft
Courtesy of Goose Island Beer Co.
With notes of "toasted rice, dried fruit, vanilla custard, and warming spice," this Chicago-area-only beer was made with actual toasted rice, raisins, cassia bark, and other natural flavors. The intended effect is to invoke the taste of a rich rice pudding.
Beer fans, mark your calendars: The entire 2023 Bourbon County Stout lineup goes on sale Friday, November 24.
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