Special Notes: Grade A vanilla beans from Madagascar. The vanilla stout makes its return to the Bourbon County Brand release after several years off the roster.
Hops: Millenium
Malts: 2-Row, Black Malt, Caramel, Chocolate, Munich, Roast Barley
Thought I was done with these on the sill, but surprise, surprise!
There’s only one thing better than scoring a specialty release beer on the day it hits stores: Getting one of the rare variants three days after it reaches shelves! Thanks to my good buddy, Brian, and a well-placed day off from my day job, I managed to snag the Goose Island Beer Company Bourbon County Brand Vanilla Stout from Ridgefield Wine & Spirits in Ridgefield, CT.
Got my bottle and headed back home! (Credit: Martin Stezano/Beers on Windowsills)
I was driving around town after running some errands, when I got the word from Brian. I immediately drove to get some coffee—a little Nitro from Donut Crazy in Westport—and then made the roughly 30-minute drive to Ridgefield. Although the cashier temporarily put a fright in me by saying the system showed they didn’t have any left, she quickly asked the manager and he came out from the back with a bottle for me. I snagged the second-to-last one!
I will be reposting this once I taste it—probably some time in early 2019—but I was too proud of my find to not share it with you guys. Like the other Bourbon County Brand Stouts, this one is aged in bourbon barrels that are at least four years old. However, Goose Island’s brewers decided to add Grade A vanilla beans from Madagascar to the mix. The vanilla variant has been gone from the Bourbon County Brand release lineup for a number of years, but it’s back for 2018… and on my Windowsill.
Check me out on Instagram. Like and follow my account for more great Bourbon County Brand finds!
Be vewwy, vewwy quiet. We’we hunting Bourbon County Brand stouts on the Windowsill today!
As a certified beer nerd, I have to do my best to get all those hard-to-find-brews, so… Yes. I hunted around town to bring home some Bourbon County Brand Stouts and its variants. This year, I was able to snag the 2018 Bourbon County Brand Stout, as well as the Bourbon County Brand Wheatwine and Bourbon County Brand Midnight Orange Stout flavors from Goose Island Beer Company. Although I haven’t tasted them, and won’t for a while, but I’m happy to add them to my collection. For this photo, I threw in the 2017 Bourbon County Brand Stout, which I bought last year, and the 2016 Bourbon County Brand Stout, which my good buddy Tom gifted me last year. You like?
Now, this release is not without controversy in the craft beer community. You see, back in 2011, the Chicago-based brewery was purchased… by Anheuser-Busch InBev. Yep… Big Beer. For many craft enthusiasts, this was the end of the Goose. No Big Beer will touch their lips, and so, no matter how good a Goose beer is, the Goose is dead to them. I respect that, but for me? If you take the time and care to make a beer like this, you’re still making craft. It’s craft supported by a giant corporation—the enemy of small batch and craft breweries everywhere—but it’s still a work of art. I still believe this beer is great, and I’ll continue to try to snag some every year… Big Beer or not.
What do you guys think? Should BCB lovers be ousted from the craft beer community? Or is it OK to lust after this quality stout every Black Friday? While you mull it over, check out some more information about the releases I’ve been able to score so far.
2016 Bourbon County Brand Stout
Goose Island Beer Company: 2016 Bourbon County Brand Stout. (Credit: Martin Stezano/Beers on Windowsills)
Style: Imperial Stout Aged in Bourbon Barrels
Special Notes: Aged in Heaven Hill Bourbon barrels that are at least 4 years old.
Hops: Millennium
Malts: 2-Row, Black Malt, Caramel, Chocolate, Munich 10, Roasted Barley
Goose Island Beer Company: 2018 Bourbon County Brand Midnight Orange Stout (Credit: Martin Stezano/Beers on Windowsills)
Style: Imperial Stout Aged in Bourbon Barrels
Special Notes: Spanish orange zest and chocolate added. It’s the first time fruit zest has been part of the recipe. Aged in Heaven Hill Bourbon barrels that are at least 4 years old.
Goose Island Beer Company: 2018 Bourbon County Brand Wheatwine Ale (Credit: Martin Stezano/Beers on Windowsills)
Style: Wheatwine Aged in Bourbon Barrels
Special Notes: The Wheatwine Ale is making its debut in 2018 as the first of the Bourbon County Brand brews to deviate from the imperial stout recipe since the Barleywine debuted back in 2013. Aged in Heaven Hill Bourbon barrels that are at least 4 years old.
Hops: Pilgrim
Malts: 2-Row, White Wheat
ABV: 15.4%
IBU: 60
Availability: Even more limited… Why are you still reading?
Goose Island Beer Company: 2018 Bourbon County Brand Vanilla Stout (Credit: Martin Stezano/Beers on Windowsills)
Style: Imperial Stout Aged in Bourbon Barrels
Special Notes: Grade A vanilla beans from Madagascar. The vanilla stout makes its return to the Bourbon County Brand release after several years off the roster.
Hops: Millenium
Malts: 2-Row, Black Malt, Caramel, Chocolate, Munich, Roast Barley
Special Ingredients: Biscotti, Hazelnut, Chili Peppers
ABV: 11.5%
IBU: N/A
Availability: Rotating
Who needs a break? A break from beer? Not me!
The “Break” series is one of Evil Twin Brewing’s ongoing series. From donuts to biscotti to maple bourbon to raspberry, the series has some of the best experimental stouts I’ve ever had. For me, the “Jesus” series still wins out, but I also haven’t had a Break that I’ve disliked. Definitely love what Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergsø is doing with his recipes!
The Imperial Biscotti Chili Hazelnut Break is a big time stout that packs a ton of punch, with incredible flavors of roasted Italian hazelnut, vanilla and even a hint of chili pepper. Got all that? Can I get a hell yeah? I loved this brew. From the upfront sweetness and creaminess to the nice little heat from the chilies on the finish, it was on point. Also, it was 11.5%, so you know I really did need a break after I had it. Pair it with some Nutella crepes for desert!
Check out Beers on Windowsills for more great craft beer!
Are you pining for a good, light stout? Well here you go!
Pine Island Brewing, located in Pine Island, NY, opened its taps in October of 2015. Former CPA, and avid homebrewer, Mike Kraai is behind the relatively new brewery’s recipes. One very cool thing of note about the tap room… it’s located in a renovated firehouse. It’s definitely on my list of breweries to visit when I head up to the Hudson Valley area.
The Oatmeal Crème Stout is Pine Island’s winter seasonal. It’s creamy and smooth from beginning to end, as an oatmeal stout should be. Very malty too, as it’s brewed with Maris Otter, Black Malt, Flaked Oats and added Lactose. I tend to like my stouts a lot heftier than this one—it’s only 5%—but the Oatmeal Crème had some solid flavor. Very tasty!
Thanks to @bklyndena718 for picking this one up for the Windowsill!
It’s Halloween times 2! Did you get some good candy tonight?
Why pumpkins and candy on Halloween? We’re going back to those crazy Celts again for this one. It seems they loved carving faces into veggies as part of their harvest celebrations. Also in need for light, they started putting candles inside, too. Spooky and useful! These were eventually named Jack O’Lanterns by the Irish, who had a legend about a farmer named Jack who had made a bargain with the devil. When those immigrants arrived in America and found the land to be full of pumpkins, it was the natural choice for carving.
Now, let’s talk about the Warlock. I’ve had a lot of pumpkin beers in my day—typically ales—but this was my very first pumpkin stout. It was brewed to “enchant your palate,” and as a counterpoint to Southern Tier Brewing Company’s Imperial Pumking. It’s part of the breweries “Blackwater Series,” a more experimental series of brews that includes some of STBC’s most famous beers. The Warlock is huge on roasted malts with really good pumpkin and pumpkin spice notes that i loved. Also, that glass fit the entire 750 ml… so I only had one beer!
Check out Beers on Windowsills on Instagram for more great craft beer!
I’m a big fan of expressionist art. The style is defined as one in which the artist seeks to “express emotional experience rather than impressions of the external words.” Think of ‘The Scream’ by Edvard Munch. Expressionism might not be for everyone, but I love it. It would seem that the folks at Tree House Brewing Company do too, because they use it to name their incredibly kickass new brew.
The Expressionism is an imperial stout brewed with chocolate, roasted and brown malts. It’s actually the second installment of a new line of dark beers being put out this fall and winter by Nate and the Tree House Crew. That malt backbone is serious, but doesn’t overpower the notes of cocoa powder, dark candy sugar, caramel and dark fruit. I really loved this. Perfect brew for Stout Season.
Check out Beers on Windowsills for more awesome Tree House beers!
We’re definitely not sleeping on the Windowsill today!
Robert Frost (1874-1963) was one America’s greatest poets. In 1922, after spending all night writing a poem named ‘New Hampshire,’ he took a few moments and wrote one of his most famous works of all time. That poem, ‘Stopping by Woods on A Snowy Evening,’ is about a traveler who stops to admire the snow while making his way through the woods. It contains this famous stanza: “The woods are lovely, dark and deep / But I have promises to keep / And miles to go before I sleep / And miles to go before I sleep.” Appropriate for Stout Season, I think!
Like those woods in the poem, the Miles To Go Before I Sleep is oh so lovely with its dark, deep color. It’s brewed with lots of roasted malts, lactose, peanut butter and chocolate. It’s robust, sweet and malty—one of the best stouts I have ever had. Tree House Brewing Company’s Nate Lanier says he brewed this imperial milk stout for his wife, Lauren, because she loves peanut butter cups, and he loves her, and “she deserves the world.” What a guy! I want their marriage to last forever, because everything he brews in her honor is incredibly delicious!
Before you sleep, head over to Instagram for more great craft beer on Windowsills!
It’s not the sabbath, but we’ve still got Iron man on the Windowsill today!
For today’s SingleCut Beersmiths rock n’ roll inspiration, I give you the following lyrics, from Black Sabbath’s Iron Man…. “Heavy boots of lead / Fills his victims full of dread. Running as fast as they can / Iron man lives again.” As you can see, that’s what today’s beer is named after, and I think it’s pretty appropriate for this barrel-aged version of the Heavy Boots of Lead, an imperial stout that, if you’re not ready for it, might have you running scared.
Luckily, I was ready for this brew because it won the Instagram story poll this weekend. You wanted me to drink it, so I did. This incredible stout from SingleCut is aged in rye whisky barrels for a year. It also has some added Oregon honey for a touch of sweetness. The result is a chocolaty, smooth, creamy stout with just enough whiskey and honey flavor to put it near the top of my list of favorite stouts. It’s so good that, like the Iron man, must have been created in that great magnetic field, indeed!
Head over to Instagram for more great SingleCut brews!
We’re all getting rich and wordy on the Windowsill today… Where’s the pizza?
Leave it to Evil Twin Brewing to concoct what is easily the craziest beer I’ve ever had on the Windowsill. The soon-to-be-Brooklyn bound brewery teamed up with Norway’s Lervig Aktiebryggeri to brew the Big Ass Money Stout 3, which features three essential bits of insanity. First, it has a 17.2% ABV. That’s knock-you-on-your-ass strong. Second, it’s made with a super popular Norwegian snack: a ham and peppers pizza named Grandiosa. Third—and I’ve saved the best for last—it’s made with Norwegian money. Yes. Money. Filthy, dirty, disgusting money. The currency is added after fermentation, essentially like a dry hop. Money! I had to try it.
Why would they do this? Well, for his third collaboration with Lervig, Evil Twin’s head nut, Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergsø wanted to make a truly Norwegian brew. He asked Mike Murphy—an American currently living in Norway and brewing for Lervig—to suggest ingredients that would make this beer uniquely Norwegian. Well, Norway’s roughly 5 million people consume 40 million of those pizzas, making it the country’s de facto national dish, so Mike suggested that. Jeppe wanted something to put the brew over the top, and Mike mentioned that Norway is one of the richest countries in the world. Money became the obvious choice. Has Evil Twin finally gone too far?
Oddly, no. I actually really liked the Big Ass Money Stout 3. If you’re into stouts, this is a good one to try. I think the beefy alcohol level—Jeppe and Mike set out to make the strongest beer in Norway’s history—covered up any residual money and pizza flavors (although, to be fair, I was eating pizza when I drank it). This just tasted like a really sweet and delicious stout. It was also really smooth, which I didn’t expect from such a high-alcohol brew. Evil Twin… you’ve done it again! I just hope Jeppe never brews in Iceland, which is known for a delicacy involving rotten shark meat.
Do you like beer stories like these? Head over to our Instagram for more. Right now!
Let’s talk about the Lechuza. No, not the stout, the animal at the forefront of a pretty creepy Mexican leyenda. Lechuza means owl. The leyenda speaks of a witch named La Lechuza, for the shapeshifting powers that allowed her to turn herself into an owl. There are many origin stories for the leyenda, but one of them says that she is seeking revenge for the death of her child at the hands of a drunk. At the end of the night, she hangs out near bars, looking for the last drunk to walk out so she can take them. They’re never seen alive again. Interesting that the only people reporting this giant owl woman are the dudes closing out the bars, but i digress. She also steals children who are allowed to play alone at night, so be careful kiddies!
Now let’s talk about the La Lechuza S’more Stout. It’s a no-longer-in-production stout from Dallas, Texas’ Four Corners Brewing Company. It’s a dry stout brewed with cinnamon, graham crackers and chocolate malts (hence the S’mores). The aroma hits you with some good cocoa and cinnamon, like Mexican chocolate. Pretty chocolaty on the palate, too, with a little kick from the cinnamon. It’s not sweet, though, and only slightly creamy. Pretty solid brew for sitting around a campfire telling stories of La Lechuza! Check out how the can opens, too!
Check this one out on Instagram! Make sure you like it and follow us for more great beer from around the country.
