Goose Island Proprietor's Bourbon County Stout (2014)

Brewed By: Goose Island Beer Company in Chicago, Illinois

Purchased: 22oz bottle from Binny's in Chicago, IL; 2014 (bottled on 11/03/2014, #1115)

Style/ABV: Barrel-Aged American Stout, 13.2% 

Reported IBUs: 60

Last year's 2013 Proprietor's was fantastic, so I am truly excited to crack into the 2014 vintage. This beer and brewery hardly needs an introduction, but here we go. 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 Proprietor's Bourbon County Stout is a stout "aged in rye whiskey barrels with cassia bark, cacao nibs, panela, & coconut water." This is a Chicago-only release, and one-off brew. The base beer is brewed with the same stuff as regular Bourbon County (2-Row, Munich, Chocolate, Caramel, Roast Barley, and Debittered Black malts; Willamette hops), but unlike regular Bourbon County, this one is aged in Rye Whiskey Barrels.

The bottle reads: "This special variant is meant to show our immense gratitude to our neighbors here in Chicago - the loyal and adventurous fans whose support helped bring Bourbon County Brand Stout to towering new heights. Whether your first sip is today or was from that first batch in 1992, thank you for lifting us up on your big shoulders and joining us every year to celebrate the original barrel aged stout. Cheers -- Brett Porter." 

Goose Island Proprietor's Bourbon County Stout (2014)

The 2014 Prop pours into an oily, black, opaque body. There are little particles of stuff floating around, and the brown head is short lived. This beer is tepid and murky, like drunk chicks. There are some big glossy alcohol legs to go around.

Last year's Prop had a lot of variance, per reviews. Some people reported lots of coconut, others reported little to no coconut. My bottle of 2014 Prop smells like deep chocolate, fudge, raw halved coconuts, intense rye spice, intense cinnamon spice, and a little bit of alcohol. The rye barrel is endlessly complex, and adds a huge ripple of complexity to Bourbon County. Goose Island needs to throw the regular stuff in rye barrels and release two versions of the base beer. The cinnamon note in the beer is also very organic, and smells like the cassia bark. You do get some hints of french toast in this beer's aroma, along with spiced rum, and that huge underlying base beer that brings those brownies, fudge, complex chocolates, macaroons, and coconut pie. In a word: "dayum." 

This is insanely thick, delivering waves of sugary molasses, raisins, thick fudge, chocolate, cocoa, and brownies up front. The front end features pecans, macaroons, and growing sugar. There's also some coconut. The mids roll into more cocoa, thick chocolate, and big coconut notes. This never goes full Almond Joy, unlike last year's Prop, but instead keeps things anchored to earthy and natural flavors like raw coconut. The back end drops the cinnamon, and the beer leaves hints of spiced chocolate, french toast, and lingering chocolate. Between all of the above, are blasts of the rye. The rye barrel shows up in the front end as a contrast to the sweetness; it shows up in the mids with some rum-like alcohol notes; and it shows up in the back to compliment the cinnamon and play with your cinnamon french toast. 

This is full-bodied, with incredible palate depth and duration. The palate depth is far reaching, coating your mouth like Bourbon County bukakke. The duration is insane too: each sip lasts an upwards of 45 seconds. The beer literally coats your mouth. At 13.2%, this has some booze and feels just right. It's not fusel or hot, but you know you are drinking a big beer. This is also insanely complex. I think I like this better than last year's Prop, if only because of the added ingredients and added complexity. Last year's Prop was sticky, sweet, and good -- but felt a bit like rye and Almond Joys were invading your Bourbon County party. This year's vintage is just well done. One more go around in writing: up front I'm getting lots of chocolate, coconut, rye, raisins, and molasses up front; that rolls into some fruits, berries, rum, rye-alcohol, more coconut; and then the beer finishes with this fantastic cinnamon French toast aspect. The base beer is lurking, the rye is complex and fantastic, and the extra ingredients are popping. I wish this beer was more available, and cheap. 

Rating: Divine Brew (5.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Divine Brew on this. In many ways, I think this is a clear improvement from the 2013 Prop. The 2013 Prop was more straightforward in some respects, but lost points for obfuscating the base beer. Regular Bourbon County is a top-notch Stout, so tinkering with what works is always a risky proposition. The 2014 Prop strikes a perfect balance between the rye barrel, the extra ingredients, and the base beer. This is not a beer that I would pair with food...but if you have extra bottles, why not, right? In that case, go with some french toast. 

Random Thought: Acquiring these beers has only gotten harder and harder...which is, I think, the exact opposite of what Goose Island projected or wanted. I realize that this circlejerk review is just contributing to the hype, but whatever. Stores are now selling single bottles of this beer for over $80, and the retail price isn't cheap either. Also, if you are fortunate enough to pay retail, you're probably standing in line. All of this begs the question: will I seek this beer out next year? Honestly, who knows. 

Gnarly Oak Chocolate Stout

Brewed By: Minhas Craft Brewery in Monroe, Wisconsin  

Purchased: 22oz bomber from an $8 dollar gift set bought at Walgreens in Chicago, IL; 2014 

Style/ABV: Stout, 5.5%

Reported IBUs: 58

Tonight's beer was an obligatory pick-up that I had no intention of buying. I stumbled upon this "Gnarly Oak gift set" that includes three 22oz bombers, and a beer glass (I am a whore for glassware). The damages totaled to 8 dollars. Yes...I paid 8 dollars for three 22oz bombers and a beer glass. I'm sure the beer reflects the costs, but the glass is okay. We'll see? About Minhas: 

Minhas is the oldest continually operating brewery in the Midwest, and the second oldest brewery in the United States. As you can see from the brewery's history page, the brewery has been owned by many different people, and rebranded numerous times. The brewery began in 1845 as the Monroe Brewery when it was opened by Mr. Bissinger. In 1906, the brewery changed its name to the Blumer Brewing Company. And in 1947, the brewery was purchased by Joseph Huber and the brewery became known as the Joseph Huber Brewing Company. In 2005, the Minhas Family purchased the brewery, and in 2006 the brewery changed its name to the Minhas Craft Brewery. For more info, check out the brewery's website. 

I don't think there is a website for the "Gnarly Oak" beers...at least not one I can find. But oh well. The bottle says: "Stouts brewed with cocoa powder. Chocolate Stout is a satisfying rich, dark and creamy Stout just loaded with roasted flavors. We added just a subtle touch of chocolate for a tasty treat. This is a great sipping beer for those cold winter nights." We will see about all that....

Gnarly Oak Chocolate Stout

The beer pours into an opaque, black body. It's not super dark, and you catch some reddish/brown on the beer's edges. The beer kicks up a finger of light tan head. The head doesn't last very long, eventually fading into nothingness. There is some glossy lacing, especially when you swirl the beer.

The aroma here reminds me of English-style Stouts, with big toffee, toast, dried berries, and some light woody/roasty notes. There's a hint of artificial sweetness, ala the JP Casper White Stout. I'm getting cherry, vanilla, cream soda, woody notes, oak, Hershey's Syrup, and cocoa. 

Assuming the glass that came with the gift set was free, this is a $2.67 bottle of beer. That's like 12 cents/oz. This tastes okay...maybe even better than okay. I'm picking up lots of toast, toffee, berries, and big cocoa and wood on the finish. There's some cream soda twang, and a hint of oak, with some Hershey's Syrup kisses, but the cocoa is mostly legit...dabbling with S'Mores and ash and light campfire.

I'm surprised by how much I don't hate this beer. You don't get any of the 5.5%, but the beer has a medium-full to full-bodied mouthfeel. The beer is well carbonated and drinks okay...I'm assuming there's some leftover sugars in here. The beer is sweet, but it avoids tasting artificial. It's not very complex, even with a handful of distinct flavors that pop up in the taste, but the palate depth is really good. Up front: woody notes, toffee, toast, dark fruits; the middle has big cocoa with some roast, hints of coffee and chocolate, and some vanilla; the back end has some roast, S'Mores, ash, and finishes sweet and mellow.

Rating: Strong Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Average on this. I like this beer's approach for 5.5%. It's crafted well enough. It kind of tastes like a sweeter, chocolaty version of Guinness or any standard Dry Stout. It almost veers into artificial, but it holds it together. The end result is a really solid beer for $2.67. At that price, I cannot not recommend this beer. You could even pair it with dry chocolate cake or ice cream or whatever.

Random Thought: So, here is my theory. I have two more of these Gnarly Oak beers to go...and they all are around 5.5% ABV and 50 IBUs. I'm hoping that the other two beers don't taste identical to this one, only with some minor tweaks. We will see. 

Pipeworks The Jones Dog (Tales From The Oak / Barrel Aged Imperial Jones Dog / aged in Buffalo Trace Barrels)

Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 12oz bottle (Batch #75) bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2013 (bottled ??.??.2012)

Style/ABV: Imperial Stout/Milk Stout, 11.0%
Reported IBUs: ?

Tonight isn't a Thursday, but it has been a while since we've had an Unofficial Pipeworks Thursday™....so let's just pretend tonight is Thursday. And we can also pretend that the Bears don't suck, or that their horrible defense and safety-who-will-not-be-named didn't blow a freebie game against the Green Bay Packers. And that I don't have any feelings about that. And that tonight's beer is going to be amazing. Now that's optimism! About Pipeworks:

Pipeworks has humble roots. The brewery was founded in Chicago in 2011 by Beejay Oslon and Gerrit Lewis. The duo were both homebrewers that met while while working at West Lakeview Liquors. In 2011, they began to raise money for their brewery using the online Internet site, Kickstarter. Olson and Lewis were both educated at De Struise Brewery in Oostvleteren, Belgium. With that knowledge, and the money from their kickstarter, Olson and Lewis created a unique brewery that is smaller in size, and intended to brew smaller batches of beer. The company's motto is "small batches, big beers." And indeed, since the brewery has been around, they've been releasing a lot of one-offs and small batch releases. The goal is to release a new beer every week. You can read more about the brewery at their website HERE.

Tonight's beer was bottled a long, long time ago. The early batch of Jones Dog that I reviewed was batch #65 and came out around 2012, by my estimation. I think that tonight's beer is that same beer, aged in Buffalo Trace Barrels. This beer is part of Pipework's "Tales From The Oak" series, and the back of the bottle states:

"Our Jones Dog Milk Stout, brewed with cacao nibs and vanilla bean, aged in Buffalo Trace Barrels."

Pipeworks The Jones Dog (Barrel Aged #75)

This one punches in at 11.0% and features some nice art work. The Buffalo Trace barrels were sourced from West Lakeview Liquors. This one pours into a dark brown body that looks deceptively darker/blacker than it really is. It is opaque, even in bright light, but you catch some serious brown tones. This one also pours with a finger of rapidly-dissolving, short lived brown head. the head was nice and brown, but has been the victim of dat whiskey burn. There is some nice lacing on this, along with some residuals along the glass, and carbonation is present in the body.

I'm getting two big things on the aroma...big, strong, bourbon-forward aromas and woody oak tannin and some vanilla. I'm also getting some big cocoa aromas, and some dark fruits ala complex boozy plums and figs, and some molasses.

Huh...werd. I like this, although I'm going to say right up front this isn't the most dense barrel-aged Stout nor the most complex. But this is well blended and very easy-going. Up front I'm getting a wash of cocoa, molasses, and dark fruits...that rolls into awesome barrel-aged character, with sweet bourbon, vanilla, oak, woody tannin, some tobacco/leather, and molasses with dark fruits. Once that starts to fade, I'm getting hit with lingering bourbon/vanilla/oak, some coconut, and a little roast and coffee and lingering Milk Stout goodness. I'm happy to see the base beer creepin' towards the back, and the barrel character stands out in the front. This is perfectly carbonated, so if anyone tells you this is under-carbonated they are wrong (or there is bottle variation).

This is sticky and sweet, and way too fucking drinkable for 11.0% ABV. It's a medium to full-bodied beer, but I'm leaning towards medium-bodied. The barrel character isn't too boozy or overwhelming, so it keeps things drinkable. Despite the slightly less dense body, this one still has fantastic palate duration and good palate depth. The complexity is somewhere in the mdidle for a barrel-aged beer. After a wash of cocoa, molasses, and dark fruits up front; you get big barrel character with oak, vanilla, some hints of coconut, oak/wood tannin, bourbon, booze; the back end trails off with lingering sweet bourbon, and some hints of the stout base. The finish is sweet, with sugar, vanilla, and bourbon trailing off on the finish. Overall...I honestly really like this.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average here. I really, really like this...and I don't want to be contrarian just for the sake of being contrarian. But I've been reading reviews for this beer complaining that it's too thin or that the barrel character is too strong? Are people serious about that? Like, I'm curious how many of these people have had a wide range of barrel-aged Stouts, because this beer seems about par the course if not better than par the course. Anyway, I digress. As usual, I say, "fuck the haters." This is fantastic stuff, and I'm glad to see Pipeworks finally rolling these out. Also, I'm glad to see that Pipeworks is sticking these beers in 12oz bottles! Now I can crack one of these open without feeling guilty for drinking a whole 22oz bomber or 750ml bottle. Uh...food pairings here...rich, dry, chocolate cake, vanilla ice cream, and a cigar. 

Random Thought: Seriously though, as a Bears fan, my heart is so broken right now. I look forward to next year...and props to Jay for playing a great game. 

Pipeworks Chai Dog

Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 22oz bottle (Batch #108) bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2013  (bottled 8/14/2013)

Style/ABV: Milk Stout/Sweet Stout, 10.0% 
Reported IBUs: ?

Welcome to another Unofficial Pipeworks Thursday™. If you aren't privy to the happenings, the happenings are that on Thursdays I drink Pipeworks beers. Tonight's beer is courtesy of my lovely girlfriend who went out and snagged me a bottle of this beer. Last night I dusted off the Jones Dog, but tonight is all about the Chai, baby. About Pipeworks:

Pipeworks has humble roots. The brewery was founded in Chicago in 2011 by Beejay Oslon and Gerrit Lewis. The duo were both homebrewers that met while while working at West Lakeview Liquors. In 2011, they began to raise money for their brewery using the online Internet site, Kickstarter. Olson and Lewis were both educated at De Struise Brewery in Oostvleteren, Belgium. With that knowledge, and the money from their kickstarter, Olson and Lewis created a unique brewery that is smaller in size, and intended to brew smaller batches of beer. The company's motto is "small batches, big beers." And indeed, since the brewery has been around, they've been releasing a lot of one-offs and small batch releases. The goal is to release a new beer every week. You can read more about the brewery at their website HERE.

The back of the Chai Dog bottle reads (this is verbatim/copypasta):

"Chai Dog is our Eastern answer to the coffee-centric caffeine concoctions popular here in the West. This silky smooth milk stout is brewed with cacao nibs, green cardamon, vanilla bean, star anise, black peppercorn and cinnamon. This delicious blend of spices creates a balance and complexity will transport you from your local watering hole to an authentic, old tea house in the heart of Mumbai."

Of course, we all know what vanilla, cacao, anise, peppercorns, and cinnamon taste like. Cardamon is an aromatic spice used in Indian cooking, and Chai is a blend of tea and spices. I actually enjoy chai tea quite a bit, so hopefully this beer will kick ass and take names.

Pipeworks Chai Dog

Like the Jones Dog, this beer pours into a black, dark body. I kicked up a finger of bready, dense, brown head...but the head was reluctant to form, and it faded quickly. You can thank all the spices for that, but as far as I can tell this beer doesn't have any carbonation issues. In bright light, you can not only see how dark and Imperial Stout-like this beer looks, but you can see streams of tiny bubbles rising upwards. There's a brown ring of carbonation around the edges, and swirling the beer kicks up some head, leaves some sticky lacing, and reveals some glossy alcohol legs.

The aroma on this beer is powerfully spicy, like a rapey-spicy pumpkin beer. I'm getting massive cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice. This beer smells like two or three other beers I've had: the Sam Adams Merry Mischief Gingerbread Stout, the Stone 12.12.12 Vertical Epic Ale, and the Southern Tier 2XMAS. This beer isn't quite the Christmas/Pumpkin beer I'm describing it to be. I'm also getting a lot of that green cardamon on the nose, which is super pungent and not-quite-curry and not-quite-ginger. If you sit there and smell the beer for a while, you also get some earthy ash/dirt/coffee. I can only guess how this will taste.

Whew...this -- thankfully -- doesn't taste like a Christmas beer. It doesn't really taste like a Milk Stout either. There's a lot going on here...but the large Stout base and the slight booze presence really helps temper the spice. Up front you get rich, dense, spicy chocolate/cacao. I'm getting a lot of cinnamon, some pepper, and a nutmeg/ginger/cardamon thing. This beer is chewy and dense, so the cacao/chocolate/vanilla thing really sludges along. The spices are earthy, and have a straight up Indian-cuisine vibe. The beer is aggressively sweet, and there's some layers of fruit/caramel/sugars in the mix. There's also some hints of earthy ash/roast/coffee, but it's very subtle.

All this beer really needs is the addition of Jalapenos, and bam! It's a fiesta. This beer is fucking weird, man. I don't mean to go all Pie Style up in this shindig, but yeah. I guess this beer does remind me of Chai Tea, so mission accomplished. This beer has a full-bodied mouthfeel, supported by good carbonation and tingly spice. At 10.0%, you do get some booze. The drinkability is probably going to be low for a lot of people courtesy of the spice, booze, and sticky sweet kisses this beer gives you. Palate depth is good, and I guess this is pretty complex...or intriguing? You get dense

You never go full Pie Style.

cacao/chocolate and spice up front; that rolls into more spice, some caramel/sugar/fruit, vanilla, flat out chai tea, and more cacao; the back end is lingering pepper and spice, some booze, earth/coffee/ash, and a sticky-sweet finish.

Rating: Above-Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I like this beer and I like what is going on here, so I'm going to toss this a Light Above-Average. This beer has a strange appeal...I'd almost throw it into the "foodie" category. This is definitely a beer to pair with foods, and those foods are Mexican cuisine (a mole sauce? mmm) or Indian food. As a standalone beer, this is interesting to try and would be worth splitting with a friend or two. I might even seek something like this out in the late Fall or early Winter months. It kind of feels like a Christmas beer, but it really isn't. Having said all that, this is another excellent Stout from Pipeworks. Their Stout program continues to impress...can't wait to see how their barrel-aged stuff tastes. 

Random Thought: A final, final note about this beer...I know earlier in the review I stated that the huge Stout base and big ABV helps temper the spice. Well, the huge spice in this beer helps temper the sweetness. It all kind of gels in harmony. 

Pipeworks Jones Dog

Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 22oz bottle (Batch #65) bought at Fischman Liquors and Tavern in Chicago, IL; 2013  (bottled sometime in 2012?)

Style/ABV: Milk Stout/Sweet Stout, 8.5% 
Reported IBUs: ?

I've been trying to catch up on all the Pipeworks beers I can get my hands on, for no reason other than they are around and I've already had a lot of their stuff. Tonight's beer is especially relevant, because I snagged a bottle of Pipework's Chai Dog...which is this beer + chai. It reasons that I should at least try to try the base beer first, so here we are. About Pipeworks:

Pipeworks has humble roots. The brewery was founded in Chicago in 2011 by Beejay Oslon and Gerrit Lewis. The duo were both homebrewers that met while while working at West Lakeview Liquors. In 2011, they began to raise money for their brewery using the online Internet site, Kickstarter. Olson and Lewis were both educated at De Struise Brewery in Oostvleteren, Belgium. With that knowledge, and the money from their kickstarter, Olson and Lewis created a unique brewery that is smaller in size, and intended to brew smaller batches of beer. The company's motto is "small batches, big beers." And indeed, since the brewery has been around, they've been releasing a lot of one-offs and small batch releases. The goal is to release a new beer every week. You can read more about the brewery at their website HERE.

The back of the Jones Dog bottle reads:

"Jones Dog pays homage to our very own brew dog Jonas. Our chocolate lab has been with us since the birth of Pipeworks and so we honor him with this chocolate milk stout. Brewed with cacao nibs and lactose milk sugar, we hope you'll find this brew as smooth and chocolatey as the Jones Dog himself."

Pipeworks Jones Dog: a happy beer

First off, the bottle art on this beer is awesome. It may be my favorite Pipeworks' label. The beer pours into an oily, black body, and kicks up an inch of thick, bready, dark brown head. The beer looks the part of a Stout but actually looks very nice. In bright light you catch some brown tones on the edges. There's a nice hazy coating of head that is hanging around, and this beer coats your glass like a chocolate cumshot. There are alcohol legs that follow behind the sticky brown lacing that coats the glass....very impressive stuff.

Age and time hasn't done this beer wrong. That said, at 8.5% and with the addition of cacao, this beer certainly pushes the Milk Stout envelope into American Stout territory. I'm not even mad. I'm getting a huge blast of chocolate, cocoa, and cacao on the aroma. You also get a shitload of coffee. There's some espresso, coffee grounds, and fresh coffee dust. I'm also getting some earthy/ashy dirt, some coffee creamer/cream/lactose, some burnt sugars and roast, and hints of molasses and sweetness.

The taste goes in a slightly different direction than the nose, with tingly carbonation moving things along, and hints of emerging fruits like grapes and cherry. I'm curious if the grape/cherry in this is a consequence of age, but it's not a bad thing. In addition to the hints of fruit, I'm getting huge cocoa, chocolate...and Tootsie Rolls. This beer kind of tastes like liquefied Tootsie Rolls, with hints of ash/earth and coffee/espresso. The overall taste veers towards sweet, but somehow it never reaches cloying or sickly levels. It's like magic or something.

Actually, Tootsie Rolls are like the perfect candy...you can eat a whole bag of them without feeling bad. They're sweet and sugary (and artificial) without the saccharine assault. The Jones Dog is medium-bodied, and supported by nice carbonation. It's a solid mouthfeel. Palate depth is good, but the complexity is pretty much Tootsie Rolls, earth/ash/coffee, and some hints of fruit. I will commend this beer for being very drinkable. The 8.5% is nowhere to be seen, at all. It's actually kind of frightening  Additionally, this beer never punishes you with sickly lactose sugar..which is good. I'm getting dark fruits, cherries, and Tootsie rolls up front; that rolls into a wash of fruity sweetness, cacao, and more Tootsie Rolls; that fades into ash/earth/coffee, espresso, hints of roast, a hint of lactose, and a nice sticky finish that's a touch dry.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

This is surprisingly enjoyable for a Milk Stout, so I'm gonna toss it a Decent Above-Average. You definitely get the advertised cacao in this, and the build of this Stout reminds me more of the Pipeworks Abduction series than it does a stereotypical Milk Stout. But again, that's not a bad thing. This beer is cheap, it's available...and it doesn't accost you with lactose, which I can tip my tip to. I'm about to pair this beer with a burger. The earthy/chocolate thing will go well with ice cream, raunchy cheeses and carbohydrates (french fries), or desserts....

Random Thought: I'm thinking about knocking out the Chai Dog tomorrow night, but we'll see. The other downside to Milk Stouts is that they can wreak havoc on your plumbing. Something something joke about Pipeworks.