Goose Island Bourbon County Stout 2026 Lineup, Ranked and Reviewed

(Photo: Goose Island)

November means Goose Island Bourbon County season, and this year’s lineup puts the barrels front and center. Goose Island president Todd Ahsmann says the 2026 releases are built to show beer lovers what a barrel and its character add to every bottle. That’s reflected by the eclectic variety of casks used in the 2026 lineup: Elijah Craig toasted rye whiskey barrels; Angel’s Envy casks ranging from Chinquapin to Hungarian to French; rum barrels; and a four-distillery base blend. I sampled the lineup ahead of the Black Friday release and am back with my annual rankings.

One note before we dive into the rankings: This year’s lineup also includes the Triple Barrel Stout, a surprise-announcement 18.7%-ABV stout aged three years in three freshly emptied bourbon barrels, among them Old Forester Birthday Bourbon (2024) and Brown-Forman King of Kentucky (2025), both very rare and expensive bourbons. Virtual media didn’t receive samples, and the beer is only available at Goose Island properties, so it isn’t part of this ranking.

Goose Island president Todd Ahsmann had this to say on it: “It’s got a lot of DNA the same as our Rare from a couple years ago, but an additional barrel.” “Rare” was my favorite variant in 2024 (you can find that year’s rankings here), so, despite not tasting Triple Barrel, I feel comfortable recommending you taste it if you find an opportunity.

6. 2026 Bourbon County Brand Original Stout — 14.2% ABV

The Original stays in the smaller 4-pack of 10-ounce bottles that debuted last year. It’s aged an average of 13 months in freshly emptied barrels from Buffalo Trace, Heaven Hill, Four Roses and Wild Turkey.

Nose: Yeasty, malty beer notes mix with dark chocolate, espresso and maple.
Taste: Syrupy viscosity and a playful palate of raisins, chocolate syrup, vanilla, orange peel, coconut and a light acidity.
Finish: Dry, full of cocoa powder, with a dusting of cinnamon and a warm gingerbread note. It ends slightly bitter, with coffee grounds and grapefruit rind.

A very solid Original release; I prefer it to last year’s. It isn’t reinventing the wheel, but it’s well balanced and super solid. It’s also relatively light for a 14.2% bourbon barrel-aged stout and never turns overwhelmingly desserty or rich, which makes it a welcome companion to the more decadent bottles surrounding it if you taste them all together. Last place in this lineup is still a very good stout.

5. 2026 Bourbon County Brand Proprietor’s Stout (Pineapple Upside Down Cake) — 14%

Every year the Proprietor’s belongs to Chicago alone, and this year barrel team member Chase Craig built it around pineapple upside down cake. The bourbon barrel-aged stout is finished with pineapple, Montmorency cherry and panela sugar.

Nose: Fresh, juicy pineapple leaps out of the glass, surrounded by pulpy orange juice, buttery French bread and Blondie brownies.
Taste: Tons of pineapple on the front of the palate, with cacao nibs and coffee taking over at the back end
Finish: Bright, tasty and pineapple-heavy initially, with the roasty back palate carrying through soon after.

It can be hard to rank these experimental ones that use unorthodox flavors, since they sit so far from the traditional profile. The pineapple flavor is juicy and fresh, but the turn from the uber-bright, fruity front palate to the dark, roasty back palate feels just a bit disjointed. It’s still a very good stout, and a fun one for Chicagoans to have to themselves.

4. 2026 Bourbon County Brand Tiramisu Cask Finish Stout — 15.1% ABV

Goose Island took its Original bourbon barrel-aged stout and, for the first time, finished it in rum barrels, where it aged with espresso, cocoa nibs and vanilla.

Nose: Tiramisu is certainly the theme, with cocoa powder and espresso galore mingling for a rich, delectable nose.
Taste: A lovely palate with nice viscosity and notes of mocha, caramel, shortbread and cinnamon.
Finish: A big fondant and frosting note leads, followed by dark chocolate, cherry and espresso. The rum really comes through here, but not in an overwhelming way. It pairs nicely with the coffee notes, almost reading like a rum-based coffee liqueur.

A very good stout. Coffee, chocolate and vanilla have always been natural flavors found in Bourbon County, so the flavor profile sits right in line with the usual lineup and doesn’t push boundaries.

3. 2026 Bourbon County Brand Triple Oak Barleywine — 16.2% ABV

This one takes its cues from Angel’s Envy Triple Oak Bourbon. Goose Island aged an English-style barleywine in freshly emptied bourbon barrels, then moved it into three types of barrels used to finish Angel’s Envy Triple Oak: French, Chinkapin and Hungarian. The brewers say they opted for a barleywine here because its caramelized malts soften the structured tannin of the wood without burying what each oak brings.

Nose: Light and fluffy, full of rich French vanilla, crème brûlée and sugar cookies, plus cocoa powder and toasted almonds.
Taste: The viscosity is decently thick but lighter than I expected at 16.2% ABV. Oak, chocolate, cherry, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Finish: A lovely return to the French vanilla note from the nose, which is joined by coconut macaron and then transitions into semisweet chocolate and significant tannin.

A delicious, well-rounded stout — easily the oakiest of the group, which makes sense given all the types of oak it spent time in. The oak shows up without any single oak taking over, and the vanilla thread running from nose to finish ties it together.

2. 2026 Bourbon County Brand Apple Crisp Stout — 13.9% ABV

Made with three types of cinnamon, including Saigon cassia bark, which the brewery says has the highest oil content and delivers the most Red Hots-style spice. Beyond the cinnamon, it’s also aged with apple puree and juice, nutmeg, clove, oats and panela sugar.

Nose: Beautiful. Baking spice sits at the forefront with cinnamon, nutmeg and a little clove, over light but unmistakable apple pastry.
Taste: Loads of apple and baking spice. The apple is a lovely mix of sweet and tart, and the viscosity coats the mouth in an almost chalky way (complimentary). Browned butter and pastry dough join the baking spice.
Finish: Warming and full of apple, cinnamon, clove and barrel char.

Apple strudel in a glass. This is an absolutely delicious stout and the most easy-drinking in the lineup. No notes.

1. 2026 Bourbon County Brand Toasted Barrel Rye Stout — 16.2% ABV

Our winner starts as a rye stout aged in Elijah Craig rye whiskey barrels, where the grain’s spice builds alongside crème brûlée and hazelnut notes. It’s then transferred into Elijah Craig toasted barrels, where gentle toasting coaxes sweetness from the wood, softens the sharper tannins and rounds out the body.

Nose: Fairly subtle and doesn’t leap out of the glass, but quite baking-spice heavy, with plenty of cinnamon, gingerbread and nutmeg over a light toasted vanilla note.
Taste: Wonderful, thick viscosity. Chocolate pudding, nutmeg, chili powder and raisins.
Finish: Kicks off with gingerbread, oak, espresso and nutmeg, with cherry and chocolate syrup trickling in.

An outstanding stout. It pours incredibly dark, almost pitch black, and the viscosity is phenomenal. The flavor profile packs in loads of spice without losing its decadence, which is a hard balance to strike. It’s the best showcase of what a barrel can do in this year’s lineup, and the best Bourbon County of 2026 — just by a hair, mind you. I spent quite some time tasting this guy side by side with the Apple Crisp to determine the winner. They’re so incredibly different; rich, creamy and viscous vs. light and sippable (relatively speaking). At the end of the day, Toasted Barrel Rye Stout gets the edge — but it’s virtually a tie.