RSS

Tag Archives: Goose Island

Bourbon County Brand Stout variants announced

Black Friday is getting a little bit blacker this year with Goose Island’s announcement that this year’s Bourbon County Brand Stout (BCBS) release will include seven variants of the highly-coveted brew. The glut of variants come courtesy of some lost barrels that were recently found and an abundance of great brewing ideas.

As is expected, the anchor of the BCBS line is its original stout aged in fresh Heaven Hill bourbon barrels. The brewery’s website promises that this year’s edition will be good as ever and possibly a touch heavier in alcohol content.

Like the original, this year’s barleywine has been moved to fresh bourbon barrels. Because of this move, imbibers can expect higher alcohol content as well.

Intelligentsia’s Black Cat Espresso was used in the coffee variant this year marking a hearkening back to the first year BCBS was offered with a coffee variant.

Brewmaster Jared Jankoski says on Goose Island’s website that this year’s national variant, “Is from a concept that has bouncing around in my head for a couple years, combining some of my favorite flavors – blueberry and almond.”

Jankoski goes on to say that the almonds add a marzapan-like character that compliments the blueberry notes beautifully.

One of the most sought-after variants of Bourbon County Brand is the Proprietors. This year’s version is a blend of flavors that features bananas, cassia bark and roasted almonds.

The two new variants that will surely be the hottest bottles on Black Friday include what Goose Island is calling Bourbon County Brand Reserve Stout. This special edition consists of the BCBS base aged in freshly emptied 11 year old Knob Creek barrels.

The second extra variant comes courtesy of some long-lost barleywine barrels. Once found it was discovered that the barrels had been lost for two years and had aged superbly. Wanting to make the beer even more special, it was transferred to 35 year-old Heaven Hill barrels where it remained for an astounding 20 months.

With variants like this year’s the annual BCBS release on Black Friday is sure to be even more popular than in the past. My suggestion, if you want all to variants, start saving your pennies now and plan to line up very early in the morning on the day after Thanksgiving.

Black Friday brings 2014 release of Goose Island’s Bourbon County Brand Stout

25 Nov

For many, the day after Thanksgiving — referred to as Black Friday — is a day of getting up before the rising sun, standing in lines for hours to grab great prices on electronics and other gifts meant to reside under a Christmas tree. But, for beer lovers in the United States it means something different. Black Friday marks the annual release of Goose Island Brewing Company’s coveted Bourbon County Brand Stout (BCBS).

Once a year the brewing experts at Goose Island pull out all the stops and release several varieties of this brew that has been rated as one of the top 20 beers in the world. This year, the brewery has gone over the top in several cities including Jacksonville, Fla. to host a release event that will live on in the memory of those lucky enough to attend. This year’s event will feature partnerships with local artisans Edgewood Bakery and Brew Five Points, in addition to custom Goose Island gifts to the first 200 beer fans in line.

Continuously pushing boundaries and flavor profiles of the lauded beer collection, this year’s BCBS varietals include: Coffee, in partnership with Intelligentsia, Vanilla Rye, Barleywine and Original. First crafted in 1992, Goose Island’s BCBS has paved the way for the art of aging beer in bourbon barrels, and is widely considered the standard of excellence for this specialty craft beer category.

This is the fifth year Goose Island is releasing Bourbon County Brands on Black Friday. In 2013, at the release event in Chicago, more than 500 people lined up to experience the Bourbon County phenomena firsthand. In 2014, with special Black Friday events in additional cities featuring unique collaborations with local artisans from coffee roasters to donut makers, the company expects an even greater turnout.

In Jacksonville, Beer:30 at 1271 King St. in Riverside will host the festivities.

Goose Island hops things up in new seasonal IPA

02 Oct

Goose Island Rambler IPA. Image courtesy of Goose Island Brewing Company.

The folks at Goose Island have an interesting new seasonal release on the shelves now dubbed Rambler IPA. Available now through December, the brew celebrates the aroma and taste of hops through usage of Mt. Hood and Amarillo hops. But, perhaps the most interesting feature of this brew is that it is a red IPA.

The hops used in this Seasonal Release trace their story to the town of Bonners Ferry, Idaho and Elk Mountain Farms. For the past two years, Elk Mountain Farms has been planting, growing and harvesting hops of exceptional quality for Goose Island beers. Bonners Ferry sits on the 48th parallel—the same parallel on which Europe’s best hop growing regions are found—and is situated in the ideal climate and soil condition for hop cultivation.

Look for medium body and carbonation in this unique and tasty IPA. Flavors range from hops spiciness to a rich malty backbone.

The Jax Beer Guy has partnered with the UBER car service in Jacksonville. Because of this partnership, you can receive a $20 credit for your first ride by simply using the promo code “JaxBeerGuy” when you register for UBER on your smartphone.

Click HERE to sign up now!

Goose Island to roll out nationally with both draft and bottled brews

12 Feb

Back in 1988 John Hall set out on a mission to not only educate consumers, but to challenge them as well. Back then, the big brewery’s brands were practically the only beers available. And in the neighborhoods of Chicago, Ill. those brands were embedded deeply into the psyche of beer-drinkers. Hall decided to do something about that. After several trips across Europe, where he enjoyed visiting many brewpubs, Hall decided to open his own brewpub. Goose Island Brewpub was opened its doors on May 13, 1988.

In the years since, Goose Island brews have become the stuff of legends. Thirsty Chicago beer-lovers soon discovered the little brewpub and in just seven years, the demand had grown to such a point that Hall began looking for a larger brewing facility. In 1995 he found a suitable place and began brewing and bottling his beers for the greater Chicagoland area. But, once again, demand outpaced production and Hall once again began a search for more production space. Where he finally settled was a location just an out-of-park home run from the cathedral of many Chicagoans, Wrigley Field.

Over the years, Goose Island has made its mark on the beer industry. Not only was Goose Island one of the pioneers of the craft beer industry, the booming brewery introduced beer-drinkers to styles that set their taste buds and hearts on fire. The brewery’s legendary Bourbon County Stout recently won accolades as one of the 20 most influential beers of all time as the result of a poll of beer experts conducted by website First We Feasts. The brew consistently scores among the very top brews on beer rating websites like Rate Beer and Beer Advocate. The barrels used to create the first batch of the stout are said to have been Elijah Craig 18 Year Old Single barrel bourbon, the oldest Single Barrel Bourbon in the world at 18 years. Other accounts say that they were 25-year old Pappy Van Winkle bourbon barrels.

In 2011, it was announced that Goose Island would sell its operations and brands to Anheuser-Busch. Shortly after the announcement, AB declared its intent to take the brand national. Just last week another announcement was made concerning the roll-out.

“As a native Chicago line of brands, the national launch will bring one of the Windy City’s most acclaimed creations to consumers across the country,” said Andy Goeler, Goose Island CEO and president. “Throughout the craft segment, Goose Island’s beers are recognized, respected and loved, maintaining a passionate and knowledgeable fan base over many decades.”

The four brews to go national will be:

312 Urban Wheat Ale
Honker’s Ale, an English-style bitter.
India Pale Ale (IPA)

And a seasonal rotating brew that will include:

Mild Winter (In 2013: February, November – December) an American mild ale.
Summertime (In 2013: March – August) a kölsch brewed in the traditional German fashion.
Harvest Ale (In 2013: September – October) a copper-colored extra special bitter (ESB) made with Cascade hops and the richest Midwestern malts.

According to a press release from AB, the beers will be brewed at the company’s Fort Collins, Colo. and Baldwinsville, N.Y. breweries. All the beers will be available on draught. Additionally, all will be available in bottles later this spring.

Watch for these highly acclaimed beers to appear at your favorite bars as well as on the shelves of your beer purveyor soon.