Bourbon County Brand Vanilla Rye Stout (2024) | Goose Island Beer Co. | Beer Review |

[@TATTKINGELI]

That was a really great review ! My List : 1. Vanilla Rye 2. Base 3. Macaroon Stout Price comparison : 1. $27.99 2. 19.99 3. 24.99

[@averagejoe716]

Thanks, man! I could see that ranking, for sure. Vanilla Rye was more expensive than the Macaroon? Wild. It's the same price here. If we took price into consideration, I'd put the base at the top. The Vanilla Rye was my favorite of the bunch, though. Cheers, dude!

[@StudioGREGORIO]

~~~ I got a 2-3 oz pour at the release party. I enjoyed it more than the other two, but need to give it another go to really review it. Nice review. CHEERS !!! Shared a 2022 30th Anniversary Reserve with friends the other night. Quite possibly the best GIBC I've ever tasted. 2 years rest really melded the flavors beautifully. So F'n saaaamoooooth!!! Happy New Beer !!!! )))))))

[@averagejoe716]

That's awesome, Gregory! Here's a funny story: I just grabbed the 30th Anniversary Reserve when I hung out with Kyle right before Thanksgiving. I popped in his local beer store, and they still had half a dozen on the shelves. I was shocked, so I grabbed one. It was $40, but considering I never saw it here in Buffalo, I had to grab one. Great to hear it's amazing. Might have to crack it open next month for the All Imperial Beer theme month! Thanks, brother! Happy New Year! Cheers!

[@Camtkaebisch]

Enjoyed all the BCBS reviews you did for the 2024 variants! My big issue with the Vanilla Rye to me was it felt like there was a disconnect between the vanilla, the rye, and the base. It didn’t feel like they gelded together well. Each flavor was good but didn’t blend to make a stand out beer for me. Cheers Joe! My list for just these 3: - Macaroon ~ $21.99 (Rating 4.3) - Vanilla Rye ~ $21.99 (Rating 4.2) - Base ~ $10.50 (Rating 4.2)

[@averagejoe716]

Appreciate you chiming in with your thoughts, Cameron! I hear you on the disconnect and lack of cohesiveness. For me, the lack of a rye punch really bothered me. I remember the 2014 being very rye-forward, with the vanilla rounding everything out. This just lacked that rye character I was looking for, which is crazy because it's brewed with rye AND aged in rye whiskey barrels. Maybe like Billy said, I'm the rye police. I can never get enough, haha! Those price points are much more respectable. The base at just over $10 is great, even though this year's offering was somewhat disappointing, I would not complain for that price point. Same with the variants. I feel like if the base was $10-12, and the variants around $20, I wouldn't have such an issue. Cheers, buddy!

[@bobbyweiss0888]

My Budget unfortunately only allows one Variant per Release Year. And this ranks 5th of the six Years I've sampled. I agree that the Rye character is underwhelming; and especially appreciate that you reserve your final verdict until it warms to nearly room temperature - when the true depth of character usually emerges. My undiscriminating Palate picked up notes of Tobacco and Liqourice instead of Prunes and Plums. Keep up the good work!

[@averagejoe716]

Thanks for the comment, Bobby! Sorry to hear that your opinion lined up with mine, as we were both disappointed by the lack of rye, but happy to hear that you at least enjoyed it. I try to drink all of my big beers like this out of my darker beer fridge at 54 F. Even hop-forward beers I take out of the fridge for a bit before I review 'em, too. I don't like beer ice cold -- unless it's a macro lager or something similar after doing yard work -- as it covers up the character too much for to properly review it, IMO. Appreciate the support, man! Hope you and yours had a great holiday season! Cheers!

[@billyrossi4661]

53° dumping rain 🌧

[@averagejoe716]

Woah, it's actually warmer here. 58 F and light rain. Wild. LOL! Cheers, Billy!

[@billyrossi4661]

If no hype Kyle is the vanilla police you are the rye police 😂 cheers 🍻

[@averagejoe716]

He already called me the coconut police, so am I both? COCONUT RYE POLICE! 60 F and cloudy here, Billy. Cheers, buddy!

[@gingeryetiroadbeers]

It seems that everyone I have watched review these beers have been disappointed in them this year. I have not seen the variants around here. I have barely seen the base beer. I think it is because last years beers are still sitting on the shelf around here. Shame the beers weren't better this year. I will probably pick up the macaroon if I see it and skip the rest. cheers!

[@averagejoe716]

Yeah, if there's a lot of places that still have last year's releasing, they probably don't want to buy a lot of the new release in fear of it not selling. This was the best of the bunch, honestly, but very similar in enjoyment to the Macaroon variant. They're both better than the base, but considering the price point, I don't know which one I'd buy if I took price into consideration. If you do grab the Macaroon, I hope you enjoy it! Cheers, man!