Black Friday has become a craft beer lover’s holiday, with countless breweries releasing bold, limited release beers. Goose Island Brewing essentially started that trend with its Bourbon County Brand Stout. The Black Friday release of this decadent beer became an event in Chicago at places like Binny’s Beverage Depot more than a decade ago, and other breweries have followed suit.
This year, the Bourbon County slate includes six variants. Milwaukee Magazine was lucky enough to participate in a preview of these flavorful beers at a tasting event at Goose Island’s Salt Shed Pub (1221 W. Blackhawk St., Chicago).
The 2024 lineup is a good one, and here’s what I thought about each one in order of favorites. Keep an eye out for the four of these that will make it to Milwaukee on Black Friday (Bourbon County Brand Rare Stout and Proprietor’s Barleywine are only available in the Chicago area).
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
Bourbon County Brand Rare Stout
Description: Imperial rye stout aged for a year in King of Kentucky bourbon barrels, and then transferred into another set of King of Kentucky barrels for another year.
Takeaway: The bad news first, Rare is going to be very hard to find. It’ll be available to those fortunate enough to have a ticket to Goose Island’s Rare Day on November 16, and on Black Friday at Goose Island’s Chicago locations. The good news is that Rare is an exceptional barrel-aged beer. It’s a big 18% ABV sipper, but the alcohol burn is tempered by a smooth marshmallow and chocolate sweetness. King of Kentucky bourbon is highly sought after, and these rare barrels did exemplary work.
Bourbon County Brand Original Stout
Description: Imperial stout aged for 16 months in barrels from Buffalo Trace, Heaven Hill, Four Roses and Wild Turkey.
Takeaway: Original rarely misses the mark, and this year is no exception. The 2024 version has a little more chocolate flavor than I remember in the past, but that’s a good thing. Chocolate sweetness is balanced with a fair amount of dried fruit and almond flavor, and just a hint of tobacco. The inventive variants get a lot of publicity, but Original is one of the best of the bunch every year.
Bourbon County Brand Macaroon Stout
Description: Imperial stout aged for a year in bourbon barrels before the addition of cocoa nibs, toasted coconut and candied ginger.
Takeaway: The aroma here is Mounds bar and the chocolate and coconut flavors follow suit. On paper, the ginger looks like a bit of a curveball, but in reality it was very subtle and added just a hint of ginger spice. Getting just the right amount of ginger was an initial concern for the brewers, and they got it right.
Bourbon County Brand Bardstown Cask Finish Stout
Description: Imperial stout aged in rye whiskey barrels from Bardstown Bourbon Company and then transferred to oak and cherry wood barrels used to finish Bardstown’s rye.
Takeaway: There’s a fair amount of boozy heat to this one, reflected in its 16% ABV. The flavor is dark chocolate, rye spice and a little bit of cherry and dried fruit. It’s already very good, but I’m guessing it’ll become even better after some time mellowing in the cellar.
Bourbon County Brand Vanilla Rye Stout
Description: Imperial rye stout aged for one year in rye whiskey barrels and finished with the addition of Madagascar vanilla beans.
Takeaway: Hello, vanilla! The aroma and flavor are dominated by vanilla, which isn’t a bad thing. There’s a bit of spice from the rye, which is a nice touch. If you really, really like vanilla then drink this right away. But I’m guessing it’ll age pretty well as the vanilla flavor drops off a touch. Don’t be fooled by this beer’s place near the bottom of the list. It’s very good, but it’s a tough crowd to stand out in.
Bourbon County Brand Proprietor’s Barleywine Ale
Description: Barrel-aged barleywine made with tamarind, lime, guajillo chile and piloncillo sugar.
Takeaway: There’s a polarizing variant every year, and I’m guessing this will be the one for 2024. Don’t expect a lot of traditional toffee or caramel flavor generally associated with a barleywine. The tamarind gives this variant a decidedly fruity flavor and the chiles provide a lingering spicy heat. If you like your barleywines on the experimental side, then Prop is for you.
