Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout Vanilla Rye (2014)

Brewed By: Goose Island Beer Company in Chicago, Illinois

Purchased: 22oz bottle from Binny's in Chicago, IL; 2014 (bottled on 10/31/2014, #1118)

Style/ABV: Barrel-Aged American Stout, 13.6% (13.8% per their website)

Reported IBUs: 35

Bourbon County Vanilla in Rye Barrels? Yes, please. 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 2014 Vanilla Rye is brewed with 2-row, Bonlander Munich, Chocolate, Caramel-60, Roasted Barley, and Debittered Black Malts; features Columbus hops; and is aged in Rye Whiskey Barrels on Mexican and Madagascar vanilla beans. The bottle says this clocks in at 13.6%, the website says 13.8%. Unlike regular BCBS, this has an IBU count of 35. Not sure why, don't care, whatevs. 

The bottle reads: "We first bottled this beer at the countless requests of festival-goers who first tasted it. However, when that last bottle of vanilla BCBS was grabbed off the shelves four years ago, you needed more. We heard you in the brewery, at festivals, and wherever there was an open ear. Well, you weren't alone. To be honest, we needed more too. We couldn't be happier to make this beer again and, most of all, drink it with you once more. Cheers -- Brett Porter." 

Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout Vanilla Rye (2014)

This is black, opaque, oily stuff. There are unfiltered chunks of what I assume is vanilla floating around, and the beer leaves glossy alcohol legs and some brown, residual lacing on the glass. It looks the same as every other Bourbon County, with those extra oils...for your skin...in case you decide to pour it on the escort's face or whatever.

On the aroma: intense sweetness, bourbon, waffle cones, vanilla wafers, vanilla beans, and some marshmallow-y notes. This is super raw with the vanilla, and in no way is the vanilla present in the beer artificial. The base beer is surprisingly present in the aroma, with lots of the fruity notes distinct to the 2014 vintage (I need to review regular 2014 BCBS...soon). There's a lot of sugar in here, but the whiskey and rye cuts through a lot of the fat. This is like the strongman of Vanilla beers, thick but muscular.

This is quite impressive to taste, with monster vanilla notes crushing it from the onset and never really letting up. Sure, the bourbon and alcohol make a helpful appearance, and the rye barrel adds tons of complexity. And the base beer shows up with all its nuances. But this is, true to its name, a vanilla show. This has rich vanilla, bourbon, vanilla beans, vanilla wafers/cones, complex sugars that taste like brown sugar, creme brulee, burnt sugars, and toasted marshmallow. The palate duration is insane as this drops vanilla in the front, mids, and back. The back end develops into this rich, creamy, and smooth vanilla note. The alcohol and rye show up in the mids, and the base beer is ever present with hints of complex fruit-sugars, rich chocolate, intense cocoa, truffles, and fudge. The rye barrel continues to be an interesting wrinkle, providing the perfect contrasting spice to the vanilla. 

Obviously this is a sweet, full-bodied beer. Palate depth is insane, with duration that lasts for minutes. This isn't the most complex beer, while also being complex in that the base beer is present, there are shades of vanilla, and the barrel, rye, and spirit do shine. So, despite the sugar and vanilla, you do get some nice nuances. At 13.6%, this is pretty boozy with some welcomed bourbon, rye, and alcohol notes. The alcohol cuts through the sweetness...which is always a sure sign that this beer is a million calories. Calories are flavor though, and up front is intense vanilla beans, vanilla sweetness, wafers; the mids roll into rye, alcohol, bourbon, vanilla, complex sugars, the base beer, brulee, hints of coconut; the back end drops lingering vanilla, and lots of lingering fruit notes. Good shit.

Rating: Divine Brew (5.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Divine Brew on this. If you are in the mood for an aggressive, sweet beer...you can drink this. I think, out of all the Bourbon County variants, this one is going to age the best. As the vanilla drops off, it should meld into the base beer. 

I need to sidebar/tangent here. I think that this beer would not impress me so much if (1) it wasn't aged in rye barrels, (2) it was released any other year. Regarding the first point, this is a beer that works because of the complexity that the rye barrels bring to the beer. This beer needs the rye spice to balance out some of the one-dimensional vanilla notes. Also, regarding point number two, this year's base beer is a little more fruity than past vintages. I actually think the 2014 Bourbon County Stout is stellar, but it doesn't have the coconut/vanilla character that the 2013 and 2012 had due to the addition of some of those fruit notes. For that reason, the Vanilla Rye feels like a great addition to this year's lineup. Furthermore, regular Bourbon County doesn't touch the Rye Barrel...which is so sad. 

Random Thought: If Goose Island does release next year's Bourbon County in 650ml bottles, they should age some of it in rye barrels. Just do it, you InBev shills.