A possible new Bourbon County Brand Stout variant from Goose Island Beer Co. is a collaboration with two other companies.
The Chicago-based brewery has filed a label with the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) for Bourbon County Brand Special #4, a bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout conditioned on two different adjuncts from two companies that will be packaged in 500ml bottles: bourbon barrel-aged maple syrup from Bissell Maple Farm and coffee from Intelligentsia Coffee.
The new beer is a variant of the Chicago-based brewery’s Bourbon County Brand Stout 2020, an imperial stout brewed with two-row, Black, Caramel, Chocolate, Munich 10 and Roasted Barley malts and is hopped with Millennium hops before being aged in bourbon barrels.
This newest addition brings the total number of variant labels filed for this year’s Bourbon County Brand Stout to eight:
- Bourbon County Stout 2020 — an imperial stout brewed with two-row, Black, Caramel, Chocolate, Munich 10 and Roasted Barley malts and is hopped with Millennium hops before being aged in bourbon barrels — 500ml bottles
- Bourbon County Old Forester President’s Choice Bourbon 2020 — Imperial stout aged in barrels that previously held 2019 Old Forester Birthday bourbon — keg
- Bourbon County Old Forester Birthday Bourbon 2020 — Imperial stout aged in barrels that previously held 2019 Old Forester Birthday bourbon — 500ml bottles and kegs
- Bourbon County Anniversary Brand Stout Eagle Rare 2020 — Imperial stout aged for two years in bourbon barrels that previously held Eagle Rare bourbon — 500ml bottles
- Bourbon County Anniversary Brand Stout Weller 2020 — Imperial stout aged for two years in 12-year-old bourbon barrels that previously held Weller bourbon — 500ml bottles
- Bourbon County Anniversary Brand Stout Blanton’s 2020 — Imperial stout aged for 18 months in bourbon barrels that previously held Blanton’s bourbon — kegs
- 2020 Reserve Bourbon County Brand Stout Old Forester 1910 — Imperial stout aged for two years in bourbon barrels that previously held Old Forester 1910 bourbon — keg
- Bourbon County Brand Special #4 — Imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels conditioned on bourbon barrel-aged maple syrup from Bissell Maple Farm and coffee from Intelligentsia Coffee — 500ml bottles
Although release details for this year’s releases have not been confirmed, all but two of the eight bottled BCBS variants last year were available nationwide starting on the day after Thanksgiving, which fell on Nov. 29. Those exceptions were Proprietor’s Bourbon County Brand Stout, which has always been exclusively available in Chicago since its debut in 2013; and Bourbon County Double Barrel Stout 2019, which the brewery indicated would not have “a traditional retail release” that included an online lottery.
In addition, it should be noted that Goose Island filed labels for three additional variants in kegs last year that were never released to the public:
- Bourbon County Brand Irish-Style Coffee Stout — an imperial stout aged in Irish whiskey barrels with coffee and lactose added
- Bourbon County Brand Dry-Hopped Stout 2019 — an imperial dry-hopped stout aged in bourbon barrels
- Bourbon County Oyster Stout 2019 — an imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels with oyster shells added
When reached by email, a spokesperson for Goose Island responded with this statement:
We know our fans anxiously await the release of the official Bourbon County Stout lineup. And we love seeing the excitement! The reality is every year we have dozens of variant submissions from our brewers. You may expect to see more TTB labels listed, but trust us, you’ll know when we announce the official lineup.
