Back when I first got into beer (and by that I mean good craft beer and not Natural Light), I kept hearing stories about Bourbon County Brand Stout from Goose Island.
It was the holy grail of beers: a near-perfect stout aged in bourbon barrels. Some people said it tasted like magic. Some claimed it would give you superpowers. Others told me that the 18% alcohol in each bottle would probably knock me on my ass.
The problem with BCBS (as it is lovingly called) was that it was nearly impossible to find. That has become easier in the past few years after Goose Island was purchased by InBev (the owners of Budweiser), but it still isn't easy. I finally found a bottle at a hipster beer store in New York City in 2011, and let me tell you: the folks who told me it was an amazing beer were correct. It was the best beer I'd ever had: sweet, strong and with that delicious bourbon flavor. I still haven't had a beer that tops it. And yes, one bottle gave me a very strong buzz.
In 2015, Goose Island will be sending me on a wild goose chase (pun absolutely intended) once again with the release of the new Rare Bourbon County Brand Stout. This is the same BCBS as before, except some of it has been aged in barrels from Heaven Hill Distilleries that were used to age bourbon for over 30 years. 30 years!
Goose Island filled up those barrels with Bourbon County Stout and then aged them for an additional 2 years.
I suspect these bottles are going to be nearly impossible to find. If anyone finds one in their area and wants to send it to me, I'll pay you handsomely.
What do you think?