Goose Island’s 2026 Bourbon County Lineup Revealed

CHICAGO — The thick of summer might seem like a curious time to be dreaming of barrel-aged stout, but it’s something of a year-round concern in Chicago.

Just this month, Revolution Brewing put out its Supermassive Cafe Deth, a hefty 14.8-percent stout that teems with Dark Matter coffee beans. And on Tuesday, Goose Island Beer Co. announced its 2026 Bourbon County Brand Stout lineup, a mid-summer reveal that’s become second only to the series’ annual Black Friday release in terms of anticipation among local beer enthusiasts.

Often clocking in at 14 percent ABV or more, Bourbon County releases are built to be shared and experienced. Half of this series’ latest offerings heavily lean into dessert vibes, while others experiment with finishing the beer on charred bourbon casks or a trio of oak varieties. Also on deck this year: the first non-adjunct Bourbon County barleywine release since 2022.

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Here’s what to expect from this year’s Bourbon County lineup:

Original Stout

For the second straight year, Bourbon County Brand Original Stout, which the brewery calls the industry’s first barrel-aged stout, is back in four-packs of 10-ounce bottles. This year’s version is a blend of imperial stouts aged an average of 13 months in freshly emptied barrels from Buffalo Trace, Heaven Hill, Four Roses and Wild Turkey. Tasting notes evoke vanilla, cherry, cocoa, toasted almond and caramelized sugar, according to the brewery.

At the time of publication, Original Stout was the only release to have information on its ABV, which is 14.2 percent.

Proprietor’s Stout: Pineapple Upside Down Cake

The only release exclusive to Chicago, this year’s Proprietor’s edition takes a bourbon barrel-aged stout and finishes it with pineapple, Montmorency cherry and panela sugar to achieve notes of “vanilla-soaked cake with caramelized fruit and toasted oak.”

Goose Island barrel team member Chase Craig is credited with concocting this recipe. Goose Island often takes bigs swings with its Proprietor’s releases that can prove polarizing: Last year was a baklava-inspired stout, while 2024 offered a barleywine inspired by spicy Mexican spoon candy. This one should be no different in its potential as a conversation starter.

Tiramisu Cask Finish Stout

After aging in bourbon barrels, this one takes Goose Island’s Original Stout and finishes it in rum casks with espresso, cocoa nibs and vanilla — expressions that are present in the original but get amplified here. The brewery’s tasting notes promise fudge, delicate pastry and rich espresso. According to its notes, the extra time spent resting in rum casks also imparts a “warm sugarcane richness over the cocoa nibs, espresso and vanilla woven into the beer.”

Apple Crisp Stout

Yes, this variant is made with real apples. To achieve notes of “fresh-baked oat crumble, caramel and crisp apple,” Goose Island added apple, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, oats and panela sugar to its Original Stout. Craig sought to build around his favorite parts of the apple crisp dessert: “the caramelized edges, the toasted spices, and that unmistakable crumble top,” according to the brewery.

Oats help soften the stout’s body, spices complement the barrel’s oak character, panela sugar draws out sweetness and the apples bring out a “gentle brightness” one might not always associate with massive stouts, according to Goose Island.

Triple Oak Barleywine

Goose Island hasn’t released a Bourbon County barleywine since the aforementioned 2024 Proprietor’s, made with Mexican chilies and tamarind. You have to go back a couple years earlier to hit the last time the brewery dropped a non-adjuncted barleywine into the series. This year, Goose Island is going big with an English-style barleywine aged in Angel’s Envy bourbon barrels before being finished in a blend of Chinkapin, French and Hungarian oak casks.

Goose Island said each cask imparts a unique character on the finished product and describes its overall tasting notes as providing burnt caramel, baking spice and stone fruit. According to the brewery, Chinquapin oak lends a subtle sweetness, French oak brings refined spice and Hungarian supplies “elegant tannin and baking spice.”

Toasted Barrel Rye Stout

Goose Island likes to showcase partnerships with specific distillers in some of its annual Bourbon County releases — often releasing a couple such beers each season and in ornate packaging at more premium pricing.

That appears to be the case with the aforementioned barleywine and this rye stout, which was aged in Elijah Craig Kentucky Straight rye whiskey barrels before being finished in toasted barrels also provided by the distillery. The process of toasting a barrel can generate additional sweetness from the wood and smooth out sharper tannic edges, according to the brewery. The finished product is being described as providing notes of creme brûlée, toasted hazelnut and sweet oak. 

Given the rye in the stout’s malt bill, and its generous time spent in rye barrels, rye spice will also be expected to make its presence known.

Bottles of each variant will go on sale Nov. 27. Goose Island will also announce special tappings and other release events closer to that date.

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