Goose Island Bourbon County Coffee 2013

Name:                 GooseIsland Bourbon County Coffee Stout (2013)

Style:                   Imperial stout

Twist:                  Aged in bourbon barrels, with a different coffee added every year

Strength:             13.4%

Well it’s been a few years since I’ve had this beer.  In fact, it’s been about three and a half years: I last had it the first year they released it, March 2010.  I thought it was…okay.  For a beer enthusiast, that pretty much makes me a heretic.  I just thought regular Bourbon County has enough roasted flavor plus whiskey heat on its own that adding another burnt ingredient (roasted coffee) just didn’t make any sense.  Since this year’s release is in a more manageable bottle format (12oz bottles instead of 22oz), I thought I would revisit it.  Also, this year it is made with a bourbon variety of coffee from El Salvador, which happens to be my favorite varietal (it has no relation to bourbon whiskey, FYI).

The appearance of Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout (hereafter BCBCS) is, like all the Bourbon County variants, oil black with almost no foam whatsoever.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: those pictures on Goose’s website of Bourbon County ____ with a huge three-finger head are completely, 100% Photoshop.  You will never get that much foam from anything Bourbon County, no matter how hard you pour it.  

What Goose Island wants you to believe every Bourbon County looks like, with sexy crown of foam.

What every Bourbon County actually looks like, with sad, depressing foam.

Despite the identical appearance, BCBCS’ aroma is markedly different from the standard Bourbon County.  It is also different from the fresh bottle I had back in 2010.  Either they added more coffee this year or this is just a really strong bourbon cultivar, because every whiff screams C-O-F-F-E-E at my nostrils.  There is a faint hint of molasses in the background and almost no whiskey, which greatly surprises me.  Regular Bourbon County practically oozes whiskey flavor when fresh.

The flavor has more of the typical Bourbon County characteristics that have made it so popular….with a giant scoop of coffee blended in.  Seriously, the coffee flavor really pops this year.  It overpowers the underlying base beer’s flavors of molasses and chocolate, which have almost no room here.  I can appreciate some oaky vanilla flavor but not much whiskey.  This beer tastes like marshmallow-flavored coffee.  It’s yummy, but a bit much.  In fact, it is so strongly redolent of coffee that I will not be surprised if I have trouble sleeping tonight.

The texture is classic Bourbon County: thick, somewhat oily and not particularly carbonated.  No surprises here.  The alcohol heat keeps the sweetness in check a bit, as it does with fresh standard Bourbon County.

Feel free to call me a heretic again, but while this year’s is good, I would still pick a smoother batch of the regular fresh; or any batch of the regular with age.  If you like coffee and stouts though, you owe it to yourself to seek this out.

This was written as it was consumed on December 10, 2013.