This week we go back in time and revists a lost After The Final Pour from August of 2022 and sample Monkish Brewing Company's "Bomb Atomically".

This week we sample 3 variants from this year's Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout lineup. Thankfully, Clark found the studio.

The three beers we sampled were:  
Goose Island Bourbon County Biscotti Stout
At Goose Island, we believe ideas and inspiration can come from anyone in the Goose family, and our Biscotti Stout is a perfect example that came from our very own HR team. Inspired by the Italian desserts of her childhood, Jill Cerone, People Manager at Goose Island, dreamed up this variant after grabbing a box of chocolate-dipped biscotti from her cabinet. Working with the brewing team, Jill brought the flavor to life with notes of anise, marzipan, cocoa, and buttered toffee. The biscotti enhances flavors already found in our Bourbon County Stout and adds strong notes of nostalgia from your Italian grandma’s kitchen. One sip and you’ll be reminded of pizzelle cookies, Easter Pane di Pasqua and, of course, almond biscotti. 

Goose Island Bourbon County Two-Year Barleywine Reserve 
For this Reserve, we worked with our friends at Old Fitzgerald to obtain three exceptional sets of barrels of varying ages from the distillery's Old Fitzgerald’s Bottled-In-Bond Decanter Series. This Reserve offers us a rare opportunity to highlight the distinct characteristics of our rich Barleywine aged in 14-year, 16-year and 17-year-old barrels of an amazing bourbon pedigree. Bringing back our classic English-style Barleywine for the first time since 2018, we knew this was going to be something special. Our Two-Year Barleywine Reserve evokes the rich intricacies from that of Old Fitzgerald’s Bottled-In-Bond Series for a velvety taste of rich malt, entwined with notes of toffee, cherry, vanilla, fig, and almond.

Goose Island Bourbon County 30th Anniversary Reserve Stout 
​We created a special 30th Anniversary Stout to pay homage to the serendipitous union between Gregory Hall and Booker Noe that then led to subsequent years, variants, and traditions - from Black Friday lines to bottle shares and more. Going back to the inception of Bourbon County Stout, the 30th Anniversary Stout is aged from a blend of Jim Beam barrels from their Small Batch Bourbon Collection barrels. Each of the remarkable bourbon barrels offer characteristics unique to each bourbon's distinct nuances. They are then blended together for a complex and balanced expression that celebrates the heritage and legacy of both brands. And, as history would have it, Jim Beam launched their first-ever Small Batch Bourbon Collection 30 years ago. This 30th Anniversary Reserve Stout is a culmination signifying the historical, groundbreaking shifts in both the bourbon and beer industries from two visionaries all those years ago. Both the concept of small batch bourbons and bourbon barrel-aged beers have changed our respective drinking communities forever, and the 30th Anniversary Stout is a celebration of all the people that have enjoyed, worked on, and been a part of the Bourbon County Stout brand over the years. Expect notes of dark chocolate, vanilla, cherry, and almond. We’re excited to raise a glass to this extraordinary 30-year-old history and craftsmanship.

This week we try Rabid Brewing's double barrel aged "Manticore".

"A beautifully smooth, endlessly attractive, and utterly timeless Russian Imperial Stout. A chimera of brewing deftness and a hefty dose of oatmeal, this crating pushes the tradition of stout making into The Halls of Immortals. This one goes to eleven. Double barrel aged in bourbon and pecan whiskey barrels."
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www.rabidbrewing.com/

This week Brandon and Tony recap their experience at the Festival of Barrel Aged Beers 2022.
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Remember to support the Illinois Craft Beer Guild
www.illinoisbeer.org/
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