Sips & Sites & Bites

The calendar may say summer, but for serious beer fans, there’s another season just around the corner … Bourbon County season. Every year, Goose Island’s lineup arrives with the sort of anticipation usually reserved for playoff schedules, holiday releases and that one friend who somehow knows where to find the good stuff.

The 2026 Bourbon County Brand family is particularly interested in one thing: the barrel. Not just as a place where beer happens to spend some time, but as an ingredient that can shape, transform and occasionally completely redefine what’s inside the bottle. This year’s collection explores seven different barrel types across six expressions, giving each beer its own take on what oak, char, toast and the spirit that once called the barrel home can bring to the party.

Of course, it all starts with the original. Bourbon County Brand Stout has been around since 1992, when Goose Island created what would become the bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout category… even if the beer apparently had to wait for the beer world to catch up. More than three decades later, the annual release remains one of the biggest events on the barrel-aged beer calendar.

So, what’s in store for 2026? Here’s the short version of the lineup, because you have beer to hunt down…

2026 Bourbon County Brand Original Stout

14.2% ABV | National release

The one that started it all is back, aged for an average of 13 months in freshly emptied Buffalo Trace, Heaven Hill, Four Roses and Wild Turkey bourbon barrels. Expect fudge, vanilla, cherry, cocoa, toasted almond and caramelized sugar, all wrapped in the rich, decadent body that has made Bourbon County a yearly tradition.

2026 Bourbon County Brand Tiramisu Cask Finish Stout

National release | 16.9-ounce bottle and draft

Dessert and barrel aging get together for a coffee-fueled reunion. This stout starts in bourbon barrels before moving into rum barrels, where espresso, cocoa nibs and vanilla join the party. The result leans into fudge, delicate pastry and rich espresso, essentially asking the question… what if tiramisu had a barrel-aged beer problem?

2026 Bourbon County Brand Apple Crisp Stout

National release | 16.9-ounce bottle and draft

This one takes its inspiration from the comforting classic that makes a kitchen smell like somebody knows exactly what they’re doing. Apple, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, oats and sugar bring fresh-baked oat crumble, caramel and crisp apple notes, while the bourbon barrel adds its own toasted character. It’s basically autumn in a bottle, just arriving a little early.

2026 Bourbon County Brand Proprietor’s Stout

Pineapple Upside Down Cake | Chicago market only

The Chicago-only Proprietor’s Stout takes a tropical turn in 2026, drawing inspiration from pineapple upside down cake. Bourbon barrel-aged stout is finished with pineapple, Montmorency cherry and panela sugar, creating flavors of vanilla-soaked cake, caramelized fruit and toasted oak. It’s sweet, layered and very much a beer with a hometown address.

2026 Bourbon County Brand Triple Oak Barleywine

National release | 16.9-ounce bottle

For those who like their beer big, rich and complicated… Goose Island takes a detour from stout country. This English-style barleywine starts its journey in Kentucky straight bourbon barrels before moving into a trio of oak casks: French, Chinkapin and Hungarian. The result brings burnt caramel, stone fruit and delicate baking spice, with each type of oak adding another layer to the story.

2026 Bourbon County Brand Toasted Barrel Rye Stout

National release | 16.9-ounce bottle

This one puts the barrel front and center. A rye stout first aged in Elijah Craig Kentucky straight rye whiskey barrels is then finished in toasted barrels, bringing together rye spice with notes of crème brûlée, toasted hazelnut, vanilla and sweet oak. It’s a study in what happens when whiskey, wood and beer all get a chance to influence one another.

The common thread running through the 2026 lineup is simple enough … the barrel matters. A lot. Goose Island has spent more than 30 years proving that bourbon barrel-aged beer can be more than a novelty, and this year’s collection takes that idea a step further by treating the wood itself as part of the recipe.

So, yes, Bourbon County season is coming. And while Black Friday may be the official starting line, the real fun begins much earlier, when beer fans start comparing notes, plotting bottle shares and wondering how many bottles they can reasonably explain to their significant other as “research.”