Goose Island Bourbon County Barleywine

Brewed By: Goose Island Beer Company (owned by AB InBev) in Chicago, Illinois

Purchased: 12oz bottle bought at Galleria Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2013 (bottled 9/17/2013)

Style/ABV: American Barleywine, 12.1% 

Reported IBUs: 60

I skipped the Black Friday Bourbon County fun, so I've been playing ketchup and trying to squirt my red paste on these beers. Wait, what? The market is already getting crazy with bottles of the Backyard Rye and Proprietors selling for like $50+ a bottle. I love beer, homie, but ain't no way. About Goose Island:

Goose Island is a Chicago-based brewery that began as a brewpub on Clybourn, which opened on May 1988. The actual brewery opened on 1995, and is located on the Southwest side of Chicago. The second brewpub, located in Wrigleyville by the Chicago Cubs, was opened in 1999. On March 28, 2011, Goose Island sold 58% of the brewery to Anheuser-Busch. The remaining 42% of the brewery is supposed to be acquired by A-B InBev in the future, and there has been much discussion about the brewery's takeover. On November 16th, founder and CEO, John Hall, announced he would be leaving Goose Island. On January 1st, 2013, Anheuser-Busch "veteran" Andy Goeler will take over Goose Island. Additionally, around the same time as John Hall's departure, resident barrel-program leader John Laffler also announced his departure from Goose Island. There have been many changes regarding Goose Island...so we will see what the future has in store for Goose Island. 

The Bourbon County Barleywine is new for 2013. This English-Style Barleywine is aged in third-use barrels that once housed Kentucky bourbon and then the Bourbon County Stout. Brewed with a Pale, Crystal, Caramel, and Dark Chocolate malt base, this beer is hopped with Pilgrim and Styrian hops. Punching in at a very reasonable 12.1% ABV and 60 IBUs, this beer has the potential to sell for absurd prices and attract townies. Fuck man, I just want to drink tasty, local beer. 

Goose Island Bourbon County Barleywine

If you want to see what an ugly beer looks like...this one pours into a swampy, dark brown/cola black body, and kicks up one to two fingers of dark brown head. The surprise here is that a pinky of foamy head is hanging around, depositing tons of lacing, sticky residual beer, and alcohol legs. Bright light confirms the story. Dark Barleywine is dark.

The aroma here is really throwing me for a loop...it's definitely a Barleywine, with that treacle raisin sweetness, aggressive molasses, and hints of hoppy pine sap. But I'm also getting a ton of bourbon, whiskey, and wood on the aroma, along with some chocolate/brownie/cocoa. There is a heaping fuck-load of anise and black licorice on this beer's aroma, with some Twizzlers to boot...and a dash of tobacco as well. 

Holy shit this is sweet. If you like your Barleywine with a side of diabetus spiked with an insulin injection, then step right up. The first wave of flavor you get off this is treacle and sickly sweet raisins. Just layers upon layers of sugars. Molasses, brown sugar, toffee, caramel...whew. After the rush of sugar, you get a much needed kick of whiskey and bourbon, and then the beer hits you with that Bourbon County goodness. You pick up the essence of the Bourbon County Stout in this. Lots of brownie, chocolate, and fudge. The whole sticky mess is insanely sugary. This makes the Bruery's Bois look like a crushable wheat beer. 

If you like your Barleywines sweet, you've come to the right place. This is walking the line between being decadent and cloying. The sugar blunts the 12.1% ABV, but I'd be scared to drink more than 12oz of this for fear of having the worst sugar-induced hangover. Obviously this is a proper sipper. The mouthfeel is full-bodied and sticky sweet. Palate depth is good, complexity (surprisingly) leaves a bit to be desired. This beer really unfold in two or three layers. Up front is layers of complex sugar, with some earthy tobacco in the mix; that rolls into bourbon and whiskey; you then pick up the "essence" of the Bourbon County Stout, with more bourbon, some brownie, chocolate, vanilla, toasted coconut, etc. And then it's back to Candy Land because fuck, who doesn't love sugar.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Above-Average on this. I'm drinking this fresh, so maybe with some age this will mellow out into something a bit more balanced. I'd rather have a bottle of the Bruery's Bois...and it's easier to find, probably even now, still. So I dunno. I'm not knocking this beer by any means. The depth of the dark sugars is deep, and the raisin complexity is awesome. I suspect this might be really damn good in a year or two, but that's between you and your cellar. I would pair this beer with two or three things. One: a cigar. Two: pecan pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and fruit to act as a chaser. Three: solo. Seriously, drink this for dessert by itself after dinner. This is a hell of a night cap.

Random Thought: What the fuck, New Orleans? Seriously, I didn't expect you to win in Seattle, but I didn't expect you to shit the bed either. After seeing the assertively dominant performance from the Seahawks, I'm inclined to pick them as probable Super Bowl favorites. They look like the 49ers of last year.