A little over a year ago, I passed on a bottle of Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout Bramble Rye at Total Wine. It was Black Friday and the beer selection was considerable, and the deciding factor was the price. At $25 a bottle, it was just too rich for my blood. As it turned out, I did eventually get some prior years versions of Bourbon County Brand Stout (at Target of all places), but not the Bramble Rye.

Bramble Rye is no longer being made these days, at least not since 2018 when I passed on it. Imagine my surprise, then, when I saw it (the 2018) on the draft list at Taco Mac in Alpharetta. I was there to meet friends and of course ordered up a glass. It was pricey here too, though surprisingly, not as pricey as it had been in the bottle.

Goose Island says:

At Goose Island our brewers take every opportunity to experiment with new ingredients and aging techniques. For this edition of Bourbon County Brand Stout, they aged the classic recipe in rye whiskey barrels with raspberries and blackberries from Michigan. The result is a powerfully rich beer with notes of tart fruit and jam that fade into the warm spice of a fine rye whiskey.

They also say:

STYLE: RYE WHISKEY BARREL-AGED IMPERIAL STOUT WITH RASPBERRIES AND BLACKBERRIES ADDED

HOPS: COLUMBUS

MALTS: 2-ROW, CARAMEL, CHOCOLATE, DEBITTERED BLACK, MUNICH, ROAST BARLEY, RYE

Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout Bramble Rye has an alcohol content of 12.8% by volume with 60 IBUs. I paid $15 for an 11-ounce draft glass ($1.37 an ounce) which is actually less than the bottle price of $25 ($1.48 an ounce). And it’s draft!

My glass of Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout Bramble Rye arrived jet black in color with no head. The nose was dominated by notes of boozy rye whiskey. A sip brought forth a full rich mouthfeel with moderate roast notes, chocolate, and subtle hints of spicy rye. The berry fruit is rather subtle, but it’s there if you look for it. Powerful notes of heady rye whiskey permeate the beer and really come to the fore in the warming alcohol finish.

This is really an amazing beer, and one that I would love to drink more often if the price were more reasonable. I have not had a bad beer in this line, and it is once again proof that small brewers owned by giant brewers can (and do) make fantastic beer. My only quibbles are with the high price and the faint character of the berry here. Certainly, I don’t want it to overpower the base beer and the barrel aging, but a little more here would have been welcome, though perhaps age had mellowed those flavors a bit.

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled

(D)=Draft

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