I've Been Waiting 8 Months for Tonight's Dessert

Posted by: Tyler Rippeteau

Aug. 13, 2011

Eight or nine months ago I was lucky enough to get a fantastic gift from my former bar's Goose Island rep - a half a case of Bourbon County Brand Stout - one of my all time favorite beers and currently ranked as the 64th best beer in the world on Beer Advocate. I gave a few away, put one in as an extra on a beer trade and drank all but one of them, which I was saving for a special occasion.

Shortly after receiving that gift, my wonderful girlfriend surprised me with a bottle of Bourbon County Rare - it is currently rated the 6th best beer in the world.  Then just a few weeks later, my buddy Chris, a former Goose Island employee brought me a bottle of  Bourbon County Brand Vanilla Stout - a very rare beer, which I have only had the pleasure of tasting twice - once the night Chris gave me the bottle (he brought another one for us to share that night) and once at the brewery.  It supposedly will never be made again.

So with three of Goose Island's finest works of art from the pre-InBev days, I figured the first night that we are finally settled into our new home in Colorado would be a special enough occasion to indulge in that bottle of Bourbon County Stout along with the bottles of Rare, Vanilla and the Night Stalker that I've have had for the past few months as well.

Of course, I will review each beer and post some results on the site for you.  Although, I have already reviewed the regular Bourbon County Stout when I put it up against Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout.

Just as an FYI, since I'm sure some of you will ask and it might be tough to see in the picture, all of these beers are 2010 releases and all were bottled last fall, so they're almost a year old.  I am very excited!

The Chicago Beer Project

Posted by: Tyler Rippeteau

July 29, 2011

About a month ago I announced that during my last month in Chicago I would be reviewing 20 Chicago Area beers and posting them here.  Well, in retrospect, that was a bit crazy on my part.  Trying to squeeze in extra shifts at work, seeing all the people I wanted to see before moving cross country and all of the business of packing things up left little time for writing.

I still, however, would like to pay homage to my hometown, so I will still be pursuing the Chicago Beer Project, but it will be over a much greater period of time.  I'll sprinkle in Chicago Beer reviews when I can until we get to all 20.  As of this writing, I have notes for 5 or 6 of them, but I'll have to convert those notes into full-fledged reviews.  Expect to see those showing up early next month.

In the meantime, I am working on the details of one more trade to complete The List - I just need to get my hands on a bomber or two of AleSmith's YuleSmith (Summer).  I also plan on recapping the whole experience as I learned a ton about Double IPAs during this project.

For those of you who have been checking back once in a while for updates, I appreciate the patience.  I am currently wandering around Western Colorado (Montrose tonight, Durango tomorrow) before settling into my new home in Boulder in about two weeks.  I will be updating more regularly then.

Introducing the Chicago Beer Project

Posted by: Tyler Rippeteau

June 25, 2011

With review #17 on The List completed, the first project here at 20 Beers in 20 Nights will need to go on a bit of a hiatus.  While there are only three beers to go, they will all require some waiting.  AleSmith’s YuleSmith is due out any day now, Founders Devil Dancer is due out in July and Dogfish Head’s 120 Minute IPA, well, that might not even get released this year just came out. 

So that is where we stand with Project #1.  In the meantime, the woman and I have finally picked a date in mid-July for the big move out to Colorado and while we are still here I wanted to make sure to get a Chicago-related list under my belt.  So, for Project #2 I am going to make an effort to review 20 Chicago beers before mid-July.  This project will be known from here on out as The Chicago Beer Project (CBP).  The CBP will require some hustle on my part, but I think I can make it happen before the end of July and at the very least I’ll be able to bring a few bottles out to Colorado and finish up the process once I’m out there. 

The big question at hand is what beers will the Chicago Beer Project include?  Of course, I am not simply going to review the first 20 Chicago Area beers I get my hands on.  My goal for the CBP is to create a list of 20 Chicago Area beers that every beer-loving Chicagoan and every Chicago beer-tourist should make a point to try.  Narrowing a list like this down will neither be easy nor without controversy, but in the end I expect to have a well-rounded variety of styles, breweries and beers represented.  Plus, I think the controversy will make it a little more fun.

So what is a “Chicago Area Beer”?  Well, this is a tough question to answer, but given that there are several outstanding breweries in the suburbs that help influence the beer culture within the City itself it would be unreasonable to rule them out. 

In order for a beer to be considered a Chicago Area Beer for the purposes of this list it must be brewed and readily available within what is known as the Chicago Metropolitan Statistical Area (or CMSA).  Additionally, the company which brews the beer must be based in the CMSA and if it is brewed in one of the non-Illinois counties that are a part of the CMSA, it must be distributed in Illinois.  Basically, it has to be brewed by Chicago Area people for Chicago Area people.

This brings us to the awkward question of what to do with Goose Island products.  While Goose was certainly this city’s pioneer in the craft beer world, the company is no longer owned by anyone in Chicago, in Illinois or even in the United States.  In late March of this year, the Chicago-based brewing company announced that it would sell out to Anheuser-Busch InBev.  For that reason alone, I will not be including any Goose Island beers on the Chicago Beer Project’s list.  I have already had dozens of people arguing me on this point (although, dozens have agreed with me as well) telling me that leaving them out makes this list incomplete.  I understand and respect that opinion, but here is my reasoning behind my choice:

What it boils down to is that the purpose of this project is to do a small amount of promotion for Chicago’s craft beer culture.  Goose Island’s new parent company has spent decades working to wipe out any and all competition by any means necessary, legal or illegal, moral or immoral.  Don’t believe me?  Here’s a link to “Beer Wars”, it’s an excellent place to begin learning about what Anheuser-Busch is really all about. 

My firm belief is that A-B will not discontinue these practices anytime soon simply because they own a craft brewery.  They will continue to make every effort to make life miserable for the little guys and the little guys are exactly who I am attempting to promote with this project.  Therefore, promoting Goose Island is completely counter to my goal here and it will not be done.

Anyhow, the more important matter at hand is not which beers I will be excluding, but which beers I will be including on the list.  So far, I have ten of my own, and I am still looking for nominations for the other ten.  Keep in mind that I want to try to avoid seasonals and limited releases in order to make sure people who wish to attempt to try them all have a chance to do so.

My list so far in no particular order:

1.      Panama Limited Red – Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery

2.      Anti-Hero IPA – Revolution Brewing Company

3.      Mathias Imperial IPA – Haymarket Pub & Brewery

4.      Gumballhead – Three Floyds Brewing Company

5.      Resistance IPA – Two Brothers Brewing Company

6.      Daisy Cutter Pale Ale – Half Acre Beer Company

7.      Pullman Brown Ale – Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery

8.      Eugene American Porter – Revolution Brewing

9.      Iron Works Alt – Metropolitan Brewing

10.  Dysfunctionale – Piece Brewery & Pizzaria

Let me know what you would like to see on the list.  I already have a spreadsheet going with a tally of all the beers that the good folks over at r/beer and Beer Advocate have nominated, but please go ahead, add yours to the list.

I Think My Roommate Caught Hipster

Posted by: Stonecipher

Apr. 27, 2011

So a couple weeks ago my roommate and I were at Estelle's in Wicker Park (a Chicago neighborhood).  I've always liked it there.  They have a great beer selection (including Ska), a pretty friendly and attentive staff and an odd, but friendly crowd.  It's a fun bar and I was happy to be there.

My roommate, on the other hand, was miserable.  He could not stop complaining about all the hipsters.  To be fair, he was right, they were everywhere, and the PBRs flying over the bar at a dizzying pace were proof of their presence.  He just wouldn't let it go though, and even on the way home he was complaining about them.

Two days later, however, I come home, open the fridge and I find this:

 

At first I thought it was a joke, but when I asked him about it, he just said "Well, after that night at Estelle's I just got a craving for PBR".  And that's that.  I'm not sure if he picked up on the irony or not, but either way, I guess my roommate is a hipster now.

The Half Time Show: Goose Island Bourbon County Stout vs. Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout

Posted by: Stonecipher

Apr. 9, 2011

It has been exactly two and a half months since we began our quest here at 20 Beers in 20 Nights and we have officially reached the halfway point on The List.  For those of you who are just here for the Bourbon County Stout vs. the Kentucky Breakfast Stout, our goal here is to produce an in-depth review of each of the Top 20 Most Reviewed Double/Imperial IPAs on Beer Advocate.  However, since we have reached halftime on the list so to speak, I figured we could diverge from the norm and put on a bit of a halftime show before resuming Part II of The List.  Also, if you care to skip the intro here, you can just scroll down to the reviews (as opposed to complaining that the intro is too long winded), if you appreciate a little buildup, however, read on.

I was fortunate enough to have two of the most highly acclaimed (and sought after) American Double/Imperial Stouts at the same time, so I decided to do a little head-to-head, blind taste test to see who would come out on top.

The two beers in question?  Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout (BCBS) and Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout (KBS).  At the moment, KBS is the 2^nd most reviewed American Imperial Stout on Beer Advocate and BCBS is the 3^rd.  Here are the specs on both:

Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout:

ABV: 13%

IBUs: 60

Brewery Location: Chicago, Illinois

Style: American Double/Imperial Stout

Average Beer Advocate Rating: A/4.36 – Outstanding

My Beer Advocate Rating: A+/4.83 – World Class

Current Number of Reviews/Rank in the Top 20 on Beer Advocate: 1,524/3rd

Brewery Description: Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout

Bottled On: NA

Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout:

ABV: 11.2%

IBUs: 70

Brewery Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan

Style: American Double/Imperial Stout

Average Beer Advocate Rating: A+/4.54 – World Class

My Beer Advocate Rating: A/4.3 – Outstanding

Current Number of Reviews/Rank in the Top 20 on Beer Advocate: 1,931/2nd

Brewery Description: Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout

Bottled On: NA

In order to keep this taste test as scientific and blind as possible I recruited my girlfriend to help out.  As I sat in the dining room, she poured both bottles into a couple of glasses and walked them out to me.  She also poured some for herself and did her own reviews of each, which I will be posting sometime in the near future, but she knew which beer was which whereas I did not.

Unfortunately for science, I figured it out right away.  I do not get to taste Bourbon County Stout very often, but I have had it enough, and it is enough of a memorable flavor, that I was able to pick it out almost immediately.  The KBS on the other, hand I had only tried twice before this and it was not quite as familiar.  With that said, my girlfriend refused to verify whether I was actually right about which beer was which until I had finished reviewing both. 

The point of all of this is that when I reviewed the beers, I reviewed them as Beer A and Beer B rather than BCBS and KBS.  So, in order to maintain the integrity of the initial reviews, the only words I am adding are the names of the beers in the subheadings. 

BEER A (Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout):

APPEARANCE:  (3.5 out of 5) This is a jet black beer.  No light is coming though this one at all, even when held up to the light.  As far as head goes, there is almost none, save a few wisps here and there and some bubbles popping up from the bottom of the glass.  No lacing.

SMELL:  (5 out of 5) Beer A is one of the best smelling beers I have ever had the pleasure of putting my nose to and one sniff makes me fairly certain that this is the more familiar of the two beers to me, the Bourbon County Stout.  A wide variety of smells make the scent of this one an experience in and of itself.  The nose is a warning that there is no doubt that this is a highly alcoholic beer.  The sweet smell of bourbon dominates, with oaky and vanilla notes, but a hint of coffee and chocolate round it out.  This is an exceptional smelling beer. 

TASTE:  (5 out of 5) The flavor almost precisely matches the nose, more so than any other beer I can ever recall.  A strong taste of sugary, vanilla bourbon meets the palate right off the bat before it slowly mellows and fades away.  Throughout each sip I also noticed some notes of chocolate and even some dark fruit before a kick of coffee cleaned it all away at the end leaving a mild coffee aftertaste.  The alcohol is strong and the 60 IBUs are just there for balance, only a touch of bitterness gets through all the other intense flavors.

MOUTHFEEL:  (4 out of 5) After sipping and tasting I am almost certain that Beer A is Bourbon County Stout and the mouthfeel only serves to help confirm my suspicions.  Beer A is smooth and oily with a comforting and warming feel, as if you were actually sipping bourbon.

OVERALL:  (5 out of 5) This is a ridiculously good beer.  Exceptional is a perfect world to describe it, but unique would be a nice complimentary word.  This is certainly a world-class brew that will fill any Imperial Stout fan’s heart with joy and should be a must-try for every serious beer drinker in America.

BEER B (Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout):

APPEARANCE:  (3.5 out of 5) Beer B is bubblier than Beer A, but still not much head developed other than a few wisps of foam on the top.  Like Beer A, this was stark black as well and light stood no chance against this thick brew.  Again, mirroring the first beer, there was no lacing at all.

SMELL:  (4 out of 5) This was a much less intense smelling beer than the first one.  A mellow and scaled back coffee flavor dominated it with a smoky, yet sweet bourbon flavor lurking in the background.  Notes of chocolate and vanilla were also detectable.

TASTE:  (4.5 out of 5) Coffee rules the palate in this one, but vanilla and bourbon are much stronger than the background flavors in Beer A.  The alcohol is toned down a bit as well.  Overall, Beer B seems to be a much more balanced beer, but not quite as exciting.  It also has a strong coffee and slightly bitter aftertaste as well.  I did not get the coffee on the end the first time I reviewed this beer, but it is just as good.

MOUTHFEEL:  (4 out of 5) Beer B is a much bubblier and more sparkling beer than most imperial stouts I have had in the past.  It is certainly still a mouthcoating and oily beer, but with a little more fizz than usual for such a thick and dark beer.

OVERALL:  (4.5 out of 5) I am just now realizing that I already inadvertently revealed that I knew which beer was which when I said “the first time I reviewed this beer”.  Anyhow, continuing with that thought, the first time I tried the KBS, I thought it would rival Bourbon County for me, but side by side, it comes up just a touch short.  Just like Pliny the Elder, I believe that this is a nearly technically perfect beer, and it may be the best Bourbon Stout I’ve had, but the Bourbon County, a.k.a. Beer A, is still my favorite.