Ep 138 - Bourbon County Night: Big, Bold, And Barrel-Aged

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Five Bourbon County pours, one 20% curveball, and a table full of strong opinions. We line up the 2022 Goose Island Bourbon County variants—Original, Coffee, Biscotti, the 30th Anniversary Reserve with Knob Creek’s small-batch family, and the Two-Year Barleywine aged in Old Fitzgerald barrels—then bring out New Holland’s Dragon’s Milk D20 for a wild final act. Along the way, we talk about why some barrel-aged beers feel seamless while others come in hot, how char level and wood type shape flavor, and why great coffee stouts avoid that ashtray note.

You’ll hear how the Original sets a high bar with a blend of Four Roses, Heaven Hill, Wild Turkey, and Buffalo Trace barrels. The Coffee variant shows what happens when clean Burundi beans meet a careful stout base—subtle sweetness, no grit. Biscotti divides the room with anise and almond that finish in bold licorice, a love-it-or-leave-it moment that makes pastry stout so fun to argue about. The 30th Reserve wins hearts with polish and balance across Knob Creek, Bookers, Basil Hayden, and Bakers barrels, earning a Beer of the Year nomination. Then the Old Fitzgerald barleywine brings velvety depth at 17% ABV, trading dryness for rich toffee and fig.

We close with Dragon’s Milk D20, a 20% stout that’s surprisingly drinkable but sharper than the Goose Island lineup—a fascinating study in extreme ABV and barrel character. If you’re searching for Bourbon County reviews, coffee stout recommendations, or Old Fitzgerald barleywine insights, this tasting hits the sweet spot: practical notes, clear scores, and real talk about who should seek these bottles out.

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