Goose Island - "Bourbon County" wheatwine

It's that time of year again, and Goose Island's vaunted "Bourbon County" line of beers has hit the shelves! This is the brainchild of Goose Island master brewer Greg Hall; according to the brewery website, a chance encounter with the late Booker Noe, distiller at Jim Beam, gave birth to the Bourbon County stout - the world's first beer aged in bourbon barrels. Fast forward twenty years, and the beer has gained a cult following and has spawned several variants, including today's.

This variant is a 15.40% ABV wheatwine, and the first non-stout in the BCS series. But what is a wheatwine? It's a style of strong beer made from wheat malt, not grapes as the name might suggest. It's similar to barleywine in terms of strength, and although I've never had a barrel-aged wheatwine before, I imagine the style might lend itself to barrel aging quite well. Let's give it a shot.

Ok, big boozy aroma right out of the glass, with big notes of caramel. Nice, nice. Lovely color, too. Generates practically no head and has no fizz.

Wow! It tastes just like bourbon on ice. Slightly watered - hence the on ice part - but this beer REALLY picked up those bourbon barrel flavors. Vanillins from the wood impart flavors of oak, caramel, and toffee, and are the dominant flavors by far. There flavor is smooth yet full, although I'm not really picking up much of the bready sweetness that is typical to the wheatwine style. I like that this beer is medium-bodied, too - it's not syrupy or thick.

This is definitely a beer meant for bourbon hounds. It costs roughly $15 for a 22oz bottle, so not super cheap but not overpriced either. The other variants, including a midnight orange stout, retail for about $23, so keep that in mind. But if you're a fan of bourbon and want to try a very boozy bourbon beer, look no further.