Feature Beer Friday! - Goose Island 2013 Bourbon County Coffee Stout

Last week featured the regular Bourbon County Stout in anticipation of today's release of the Goose Island 2014 Bourbon County Stout, so today I'm going to take it up a notch. This is the same basic beer, but with coffee added. With the popularity of the original stout Goose Island took the opportunity to expand the "Bourbon County" portfolio with the Coffee, Barleywine, and Proprietor's versions. They have also done different variations in the past including vanilla, rye, cherry rye, and the rare versions.  

The coffee variant should make it to Baton Rouge, but it will likely be tough to find. Goose Island uses a different local coffee each year to create this brew, and it's usually in the same abv and IBU range as the original version. Which leaves the most important question... does the coffee improve or detract from the regular version? 

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Brenton Day (The Ale Runner), Chuck Pierce (Me And My Big Mouth), and Buddy Ethridge (Baton Rouge Adventures in Beer).

Serving: Poured from a 12 oz. bottle.

Appearance: Dark, rich, and beautiful.

Aroma: Rich coffee, which dominates the vanilla, oak, and malt flavors expected from a bourbon barrel beer. Brenton said it was like sticking your face in a coffee bag.

Taste: The rich coffee flavor is up front, but then gives way to the malt sweetness and barrel aspects of the beer. It really has a nice complexity that blends all of the flavors together well.  

Mouthfeel: Still rich, and the end of the sip finally gets to some chocolate notes from the roasted malt.

Overall: Phenomenal. The coffee takes this beer up a notch from the original version featured last week. All of us scored this one 2-3 points higher, making it the highest scoring beer featured to date.

If you see some, buy all you can, then call me to share!

Overall Rating: 97.5
My Rating: 96

Feature Beer Friday! - Goose Island 2013 Bourbon County Stout

I've been saving this review until just now, because as a lot of you know may know, next Friday will be the release of the Goose Island 2014 Bourbon County Stout. I still have a few mixed feeling regarding Goose Island being taken over by AB-InBev, but for the most part it seems to have been a positive thing for both the brewery and consumers like me. Before the takeover Goose Island wasn't available in Louisiana and it would have taken some luck or trading to get some Bourbon County Stout. It's still not easy to find (it will likely sell out on black Friday) but at least it's possible. We also see their barrel aged sours and other great beers regularly and the quality doesn't seem to have dropped off at all. 

For the uninitiated, Bourbon County Stout is the grandfather of barrel-aged imperial stouts. It was one of my first tastes of craft beer back with friends at the Wrigleyville Goose Island location years ago, and it stuck with me. All batches tend to vary a bit in the abv, but the 2013 version was a ridiculous 14.9%... and yes you read that right. They age it for 8-10 months in first-use bourbon barrels, so there is nothing between the bourbon and the bourbon county stout. 

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Brenton Day (The Ale Runner), Chuck Pierce (Me And My Big Mouth), and Buddy Ethridge (Baton Rouge Adventures in Beer).

Serving: Poured from a 12 oz. bottle.

Appearance: Dark black with a tan head. Brenton said that it looked "perfect" and I can't really disagree.

Aroma: Dark, rich, and sexy. There are fantastic notes of bourbon, oak, and vanilla to compliment the roasted malt flavors of the stout.

Taste: Rich vanilla with a slight medicinal note at the front that quickly gives way to the roasted stout and bourbon flavors. That slight off flavor is probably coming from the strong alcohol content of the beer, but it was gone as fast as it was there.  

Mouthfeel: Smooth, and the little tinge of off flavor didn't linger at all. Thick and rich, I could drink more of this than would be safe.

Overall: There's a reason this one is so sought after, it's a great beer. It has everything you would want in a barrel aged stout, and sets the bar high for all other attempts out there.

Try to find some next Friday, it'll be way more fun than fighting the crowds at Wal-Mart or Best Buy! And if you miss out on the bottles, we will almost certainly see a few kegs throughout town.

Overall Rating: 94.75
My Rating: 93

Reviews: Abita Imperator Black IPA and Bourbon Street Stout

Not too long ago a box showed up at my place with a couple of Abita Brewing Company's newest bombers, their Bourbon Street Stout and their Imperator. These are both part of Abita's push to have a larger lineup of 22 oz. bottles, and I'm a huge fan of the idea. Abita has a long history of putting out quality select series beers, so seeing some of them make it to shelves in bottle form is a great thing for them and for the consumers. 

First off, the Imperator, this is the fifth in Abita's lineup of "big beers"  following the Abbey Ale, Andygator, SOS, and Strawgator. Imperator is a black IPA, listed on their site as 8% abv and 90 IBU. I remember enjoying this one when it was on draft as a select option, so hopefully the bottle release is just as good.

My first thought was that the color was spot on, a dark tone but not as rich and thick as a stout would be. The beer poured with a frothy head, more white than tan, and it lingered a good while. 

The aroma was roasty as expected, but lacking the real hop bite I would want in a black IPA. The characteristics to look for in the style are a roasted malt backbone with a hop-forward nose and taste, but this one really has more of a malt-forward presence. I'm not saying the hops didn't exist, but I would have liked them to be more pronounced. 

The taste was more of the same, this beer is a good start but it would really benefit from even more hops. I remember the draft version being a lot hoppier than this bottle, but there was no date listed that I saw, so I guess I might have been sent a bottle that had been sitting for a while. I hope that's the case, because it would explain the lack of hop profile expected out of the style.

Next, the Bourbon Street Stout, Abita's first release in their new Bourbon Street Series. This one was also a select not too long ago, and I loved it on draft. I would go so far as to say that the draft version that I tried was a top 10 Louisiana brewed beer, maybe even top 5. They cold crash it for 6 weeks after fermentation is complete, then transfer 100% to bourbon barrels for 8 weeks. I think that's on the shorter end of barrel aging, but in all honesty it's probably plenty long enough to get the right flavors. The beer clocks in at 10% abv and 20 IBU.

Like the Imperator, this had a great looking pour, dark and rich with more of a tan head. That's what you want a stout to look like, nothing to complain about so far!

While the Imperator lost some luster on the nose, the Bourbon Street Stout is fantastic. The barrel aging really gives a complex array of flavors, oak, vanilla, some roasted tones, and plenty of malty sweetness to balance out the alcohol notes. 

The taste follows through on this one strong, a complex delicious beer and a good example of a bourbon barrel aged stout. I don't know where it would rank in the pantheon of great bourbon barrel imperial stouts, certainly behind Goose Island Bourbon County Stout and Founder's KBS, two others that can be occasionally found locally, but both of those are going to be a lot harder to get your hands on than the Abita Bourbon Street Stout. I think a blind tasting might be in order sometime soon!

For now though, I'd say pass on the Imperator unless you know you're getting a fresh bottle, and if you see the Bourbon Street Stout, grab a few. I plan on finding a few more to add to the cellar myself.

Coming Soon: Saint Arnold Bishop's Barrel No. 1

Just saw this on Saint Arnold's facebook site and also on Beerpulse.com, but it appears Saint Arnold's barrel aging project is ready to release the first offering on November 5th, a bourbon barrel aged imperial stout that will be known as Bishop's Barrel No. 1.  Kudos to them for instituting a barrel aging program and really trying to put out some great beers beyond their main lineup.  I'll admit that a bourbon barrel imperial stout isn't really groundbreaking, but it's also a proven winning combination.  Their second Bishop's Barrel offering has already been announced as an old ale in chardonnay barrels with cherries... now that sounds interesting, and delicious.  This first release will only be available in bars and restaurants, not retail, but I'd bet that places like Avenue Pub and The Cove will be on the list to get a few.  Read the full press release below!

Press Release:
(Houston, TX) – Saint Arnold Brewing Co. (www.saintarnold.com), the oldest craft brewery in Texas is preparing to launch the Bishop’s Barrel series next week. Saint Arnold Bishop’s Barrel, which will only be available in bars and restaurants, will feature small batches of a variety of barrel aged beers under the Saint Arnold Bishop’s Barrel label. As is the case with Saint Arnold’s highly regarded Divine Reserve series, each batch of Bishop’s Barrel will be distinguished by the number on the neck label.

Saint Arnold Bishop’s Barrel No. 1 is a Russian Imperial Stout aged for nearly 10 months in used oak bourbon barrels that the brewery acquired from Kentucky’s Woodford Reserve distillery. Saint Arnold emptied 48 barrels, which produced 948 cases of 12-ounce bottles. Bishop’s Barrel No. 1 will ship to bars and restaurants throughout Texas and Louisiana on Monday, November 5, 2012.

“We filled our first barrel in 2005, mainly for our own enjoyment,” said Saint Arnold founder/brewer Brock Wagner. “We slowly expanded our barrel program to a few barrels here and there before beginning our barrel program in earnest at the end of last year. The barrels essentially become one more ingredient in the beer recipe adding both the character of the beverage previously stored in the barrel as well as flavors extracted from the wood.”
Bishop’s Barrel No. 1 is a pleasant sipping beer with the bourbon both present but not overpowering. It pours a black color with a nose that is all bourbon and chocolate. The taste starts with a mix of spice with the bourbon and chocolate emerging and lingering through the finish. The warmer it gets, the better Bishop’s Barrel No. 1 tastes. The brewery recommends serving between 55 and 60 degrees.

Since moving into its downtown brewery more than three years ago, Saint Arnold has planned to expand its barrel aging. The brewery features a 2,000 square foot barrel room housing over 200 barrels acquired from California wineries and Kentucky distilleries. Saint Arnold uses the barrels one time before they are retired. They make lovely tables or flower pots after that.
Aging is currently underway for three future Bishop’s Barrel offerings, including Bishop’s Barrel No. 2, which will be an Old Ale in Chardonnay barrels with cherries. It has been aging for nearly a year and is scheduled for release in February 2013. The barrels came from a winery founded in 1981 by Wagner’s cousin.

“Our brewers are enjoying the challenge of deciding what to put into a barrel next,” said Wagner.

Barrel aging beer is a very small niche in the overall craft brewing industry, but it has gained in popularity as tastes evolve and appreciation for craft beer varieties has grown. The Great American Beer Festival has four categories devoted to wood- and barrel-aged beers that attracted more than 300 entries in 2011.