1001 Beers: Bourbon County Stout

Beer Number 93: Goose Island Bourbon County Stout

This 1001 post got a little messier than other post I have done... Nothing about the beer though. That was hot, complex, and delicious... Maybe I should have waited longer to drink this one...

I don't know what made me want Orange Chicken but it started to sound, and smell better and better along the way... Now I am hungry once again...



I'm not going to bore you with the details of how I made this one... Maybe one day, but I'm not really in the mood. I just wanted to show off some pictures. If you want to make it though, here is where I found the recipe. Clicky!!!

After one hundred days in the barrels, the big stout finally emerged, spiked with the lovely vanilla perfume only an old bourbon cask can provide. Despite its appeal, it remained a once-a-year winter specialty for the pub, but was expanded into a packaged product in 2004. Bourbon County Stout became a defining beer for Goose Island and helped spawn a whole new category of bourbon-barrel-aged beers.

So, as you can see, this is a fairly new bottle. I wish I would have held onto it a bit longer... like 2 or 3 years longer, but now that it is off the list, I can just find it stock it. I mean, why not?

So, again... Fresh, This beer was Very HOT! Like on the nose, the alcohol burn... everything. Bourbon on the nose. A little malt does come through, but your nostrils are on fire. So when you are drinking it, Again, bourbon is the over arching theme. A roasted malt character comes through with a little bit of caramel and chocolate on a malty body. Again, I wish I let it age. I hear there is some awesome vanilla flavors in there as well.

908 Bottles Of Beer To Go!

Cheers!

1001 Beers: India Pale Ale

Beer Number 48: Goose Island India Pale Ale

I have not had many beers from Goose Island. Today, I actually had one randomly while getting a slice of Pizza at the mall, Mild Winter. Before today, I think I've only had Matilda and Bourbon County Stout and that was at a bottle share. I think it is funny how both of those beers are part of this series. It looks like I have to go out and get them for myself this time. I remember liking them, so I am not too worried about it.



This bottle of India Pale Ale was bottled on March 1 2013 so that sounds pretty damn fresh to me. I kind of wish I drank it right after I picked it up a week ago, but I doubt it has diminished that much, if at all. For all of you Craft vs Crafty guys out there, SUCK IT! Goose was making great beer before the acquisition, and as long as they continue to make great beer now, I feel it changes nothing.

The IPA reflects the Goose gestalt perfectly: a great example of a beer that's only as complicated as it needs to be. Just a single malt, mashed with a simple infusion, brewed similarly to the English examples that inspired it. It's a testament to the amazing nature of well-made malt that such a simple recipe could result in this kind of depth. Aroma is provided by four hops: Styrian, Golding, Fuggles, and Cascade, then the brew is dry hopped with Centennial for a bright and fresh hop aroma. The yeast is an English strain that brewed more than 200 batches before being recultured. As a result, it developed its own unique character and is the workhorse for Goose Island's ale production.

The beer fits with the English Notion that beer is for drinking, not sipping. "We wanted more of an English-style IPA," says Greg Hall. "We are not anti-hop," as some online beer raters have claimed. "It's about making a balanced, drinkable beer."

A white, rocky head formed on top of a golden, malty bed. The nose was grassy and a bit piney. It drank fairly creamy, I must say with a pleasant bitterness and a small amount of juicy fruit flavors. Some spice lingered around as well. This was honestly exactly what they said it is. A very good IPA made for drinking, everyday.

953 Bottles Of Beer To Go!

Cheers!