Bourbon County Brand Bananas Foster Stout
 

Review Date 11/30/2024 By John Staradumsky

  Style: Imperial Stout   Brewery: Goose Island   Country: USA   State: Illinois   $ Per OZ: $1.60 (B)  

ABV: 13.9%

It’s Black Friday! Time to go shopping! OK, I do most of my Black Friday shopping online, except for beer. To be fair, I do some of that online as well, but I do love to get up early on Black Friday and head off to the packy to see what beers are released. Time was, you could get lots of interesting releases this day. Not this year. In fact, there weren’t even a lot of Bourbon County brand stouts from Goose Island. As in, there was only one here in Georgia.

Now, I had already picked up a few cases of holiday brews (for the whopping price of $207) the Sunday before, so I wasn’t looking for a lot of beer on Black Friday. I ended up with about a case and a half today for another $110. Beer sure is getting pricey.

Back to the Goose Island. I understand there are only three releases this year, the standard Bourbon County Stout, a Macaroon variant, and a Vanilla Rye Stout variant. The Vanilla Rye Stout is the only version to be sold in Georgia, the other two exceeding 14% alcohol by volume. That is the limit for beer in Georgia, which is ridiculous because you can buy wine and spirits far in excess of that.

I did get a few bottles of the Vanilla Rye Stout, though I am not here to speak of them today. I will drink one soon (hopefully), and I will allow the other to age a bit. That being the case, I wanted a Bourbon County Stout, and so Black Friday evening I popped a bottle of the 2023 Bourbon County Brand Bananas Foster Stout I picked up last year,

Goose Island says:

Welcoming back another member of the family this year, Bourbon County Bananas Foster Stout makes its debut on the national stage. This recipe was first released in 2017 as Bourbon County Brand Proprietor’s Stout only to Chicago drinkers. Beloved by many, this release is especially near and dear to our innovation brewer Quinn Fuechsl’s heart.

At the time when we first released this beer, the brewery hadn’t experimented with bananas much. However, Quinn had a good feeling that the fruit, along with almond and cassia bark, would be perfect ingredients in a bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout — indeed, he was right. Sure to bring a bit of flair to your palate, this decadent pour is well-balanced with deep caramelization, aromas of fresh baked banana bread and warm notes of cinnamon and almond.

Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Bananas Foster Stout has an alcohol content of 13.9% by volume, so it just snuck in under the Georgia cap. I paid $26.99 for my bottle at Total Wine last year, and honestly that is seven bucks more than it should be. At least. This is $1.60 per ounce and while not the most I have ever paid for beer, it’s close. The best by date on the label is 27AUG28. I am betting It could go longer.

Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Bananas Foster Stout pours to a jet black color with a wispy thin head and a nose of boozy bourbon, bananas, and chocolate. Taking a sip, the beer is full bodied and rich, immediately hinting at bananas and cinnamon. Boozy bourbon notes quickly emerge along with chocolate and caramel, then the fruity banana. The beer finishes warming and boozy again with the bourbon and more of the cassia bark cinnamon notes. I might like vanilla for the ice cream of the classic dessert, and perhaps rum barrel aging might again be closer to that than bourbon is. Still, this is quite delicious, and I am really enjoying it with a year of age on it. The bourbon notes here are sublime, and while I do not get the almond (it’s such a delicate flavor and I fear lost in the midst of the stronger flavors), the banana does pop nicely against the dark malt and booze.

A delicious sipping beer I would love to enjoy again, and as I believe some retailers locally still have it from last year, I may just get to do that. Four and a half stars on its own merits, less a half star for the overpricing.

 Glad I tried it?  T

Would I rebuy it??