Bourbon County Stout, Goose Island’s annual release of limited-edition barrel-aged stout variants, will turn 30 this November.
To celebrate, the Anheuser-Busch InBev-owned craft brewery is releasing Bourbon County 30th Anniversary Reserve Stout (14.4% ABV), paying homage to the partnership of Goose Island co-founder Greg Hall and Jim Beam distiller Booker Noe that created the first Bourbon County stout. The offering is aged in a collection of Jim Beam’s Small Batch Bourbon Collection barrels and blended to create a “complex and balanced expression that celebrates the heritage and legacy of both brands,” according to a press release.
Hall and Beam partnered to create the first bourbon barrel-aged beer in 1992 – long before Goose Island was acquired by A-B in 2011 – and began to package the collaboration stout in 2005. The duo began experimenting with variants in 2009, and the next year began the tradition of releasing offerings post-Thanksgiving on “Black Friday.”
“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,” Todd Ahsmann, Goose Island president, said in the release. “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.”
This year, the annual release lands on November 25. The 2022 Goose Island Bourbon County Stout – a 14.4% ABV imperial stout – was aged and blended in bourbon barrels from Heaven Hill, Four Roses, Wild Turkey and Buffalo Trace distilleries, and has flavors of vanilla, dark chocolate, toffee, molasses, almond and dried fruit.
“It’s incredible to think about how a chance encounter between Booker Noe and Greg Hall 30 years ago was the catalyst for the first-ever bourbon barrel-aged beer,” Jon Marks, Jim Beam senior director, global small batch, added. “It’s clear to us that because both men were true visionaries, valuing new ideas and authenticity, something truly great was created. We are proud to see the full Small Batch Bourbon Collection come together in this year’s Bourbon County Stout, which is a fitting tribute to the incredible legacies that began 30 years ago.”
Goose Island will also release a two-year barleywine reserve this year – a 17% ABV bottle aged in 14-, 16- and 17-year-old barrels from Heaven Hill Distillery’s Old Fitzgerald Bottled-in-Bond Decanter Series.
“Bringing back our classic English-style Barleywine for the first time since 2018, we knew this was going to be something special,” Goose Island said in the release. “Our Two-Year Barleywine Reserve evokes the rich intricacies from that of Old Fitzgerald’s Bottled-In-Bond Series for a velvety taste of rich malt, entwined with notes of toffee, cherry, vanilla, fig, and almond.”
Three other variants will be released this year, as well as a Proprietor’s release. The ABV of each release has yet to be determined:
Bourbon County Biscotti Stout
With notes of anise, marzipan, cocoa and buttered toffee, this release was created in collaboration with Jill Cerone, people manager at Goose Island, and inspired by “the Italian desserts of her childhood.”
“Being Italian-American and having geeked out over 2020 Proprietor’s Stout, I knew that it was the perfect flavor combination for another Italian-inspired variant,” Cerone said in the release. “I worked with the brewing team here to hone in and balance the flavors so you really get the toasted almonds and fudgy chocolate with a touch of anise seed. I’m incredibly honored to be sharing something that’s so special to me.”
Bourbon County Coffee Stout
The first coffee variant since 2017, this beer was made in partnership with Chicago-headquartered Intelligentsia Coffee – the same neighboring brand Goose Island created its first coffee variant with in 2010. The stout uses a Turihamwe coffee blend from the East African country Burundi, and boasts notes of rich chocolate, coffee and caramel.
Turihamwe – meaning “together” – was grown by a cooperative of women farmers in Burundi, according to James McLaughlin, Intelligentsia president and CEO. The inclusion of the women’s coffee blend is “a phenomenal recognition of the hard work of these growers,” he said in the release.
“One of Intelligentsia’s favorite collaborations over the years has been working with the
team at Goose Island on the Bourbon County Coffee Stout,” McLaughlin continued. “This collaboration is sure to delight coffee drinkers and beer lovers everywhere.”
Bourbon County Sir Isaac’s Stout
Inspired by fig cookies and graham crackers, brewers used 10,000 pounds of Black Mission figs to create this variant, which has notes of dried fruit, honey, molasses and citrus. The beer was made in collaboration with Melissa Alleguez and Ryan Hubona, members of Goose Island’s e-commerce team, and is inspired by Alleguez’s “childhood memories of stealing fig cookies out of her grandma’s cookie jar,” according to the release.
Bourbon County Sir Isaac’s Stout, as well as the Bourbon County Biscotti Stout, mark the first time “people outside of the operations side of the brewery” have collaborated on a series variant, according to Mike Siegel, senior innovation manager, in the release.
Bourbon County Proprietor’s Stout
Goose Island brewers Jason Karsowski and Paul Cade were inspired to make this variant by the cocktails of Chicago, and “will bring Chicagoans down to the tropics this Bourbon County Stout season – a welcome escape from the Chicago cold,” Goose Island said.
“The recipe stemmed from trying some of the best cocktails of the city, namely one called ‘jungle bird,’ which led to a combination of banana, coconut, lime, and pineapple for our special take on the drink,” Cade said in the release.
This is the first time pineapple has been used in a Bourbon County Stout variant.
“We challenged ourselves to create a recipe that nods to a night full of friendship and laughter in Chicago and also uses innovative flavors,” Krakowski added.