Okay, enough slacking. Let's get down to some real beer sampling. I'm still catching up with myself - a quick evaluation shows that I have about half a dozen beers sampled in my beer notebook that I haven't yet blogged, so I'm trying to hit it each day and drink beers I've already had for a bit. It'll be tough though - some good friends are visiting from Atlanta and well, you gotta take the beer tour (it'll be their first time in Portland). So, we'll see how far I get before I'm back-logged again. The good news is that MyYearInBeer will be on the brewery tour and I will faithfully report back my findings. Enough talk, let's drink.
Our next beer comes from Chicago - let's look past the recent governor troubles to the Goose Island Beer Company. I don't know too much about this brewery and the only beer I've seen of theirs in person, is the Bourbon County Stout. I found mine here in Portland at Belmont Station. A quick look at their website reveals a full line-up of beers and when I make it back to Chicago - I'm definitely going to give 'em a shot. For now, let's see about this stout....
It pours the darkest beer I've ever seen, literally. It's a black hole of beer. I stand at the event horizon wondering how they can get malt to do that....
The aroma is intense. There is big oak & alcohol tones. A mild vanilla sweetness is also present.
It is a big beer. Big Beer. Full body, oak and vanilla sweetness are present from the beginning and expand in the body. It finishes rich with chocolate and smoke. It's definitely a sipper that warms you right up. Indeed, my ears felt warm as I enjoyed the beer. Remarkably, it's not too sticky, instead finishing fairly clean - it doesn't wear you out with it's heaviness. At least not right away. There is a nice arc to the beer: Intense alcohol to sweet to rich to smoky.
The aftertaste is intense chocolate that lingers with a nice smokiness on the breath.
From the website: 11% with 60 IBU's - look for it in 12oz bottles annually around December.
Cheers!
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