From tiramisu in a rum cask to pineapple upside-down cake in a bottle, this year’s lineup gives bourbon barrel-aged beer plenty to chew on.

There’s a reason the arrival of Goose Island’s Bourbon County Brand Stout lineup has become something of a holiday tradition for beer fans. Every Black Friday, the Chicago brewery rolls out a fresh batch of barrel-aged creations, giving stout lovers something to hunt down while the rest of us are still trying to figure out what to do with leftover turkey.

For 2026, Goose Island is leaning into the relationship between beer and the barrels that shape it. The six-expression lineup explores seven different barrel types, with flavors ranging from apple crisp and tiramisu to a barleywine that takes a little detour from the stout family.

And two of this year’s offerings sound particularly tempting. The Tiramisu Cask Finish Stout takes a familiar dessert combination and gives it a rum-barrel twist, while the Chicago-exclusive Proprietor’s Stout borrows its inspiration from pineapple upside-down cake. In other words, dessert is on the menu, and nobody seems to be counting calories.

The lineup arrives Friday, November 27th, just in time for the annual Black Friday tradition. Here’s what’s pouring.

Tiramisu Cask Finish Stout

The dessert-inspired standout

If you like your stout rich, dark and a little indulgent, the 2026 Tiramisu Cask Finish Stout deserves a spot near the top of your shopping list.

Goose Island starts with its imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels, then finishes it in rum barrels, adding espresso, cocoa nibs and vanilla along the way. It’s the first time the brewery has finished its Original bourbon barrel-aged stout in rum casks, making this more than just another variation on a familiar theme.

The idea is a natural fit. Coffee, chocolate and vanilla already play nicely with the roasted malt and bourbon character of a big stout. The rum barrels add another layer, bringing the potential for warm sugarcane sweetness that complements the coffee and chocolate rather than simply piling on more sweetness.

The official tasting notes point to fudge, delicate pastry and rich espresso. That sounds like a pretty convincing invitation to pull up a chair after dinner.

Our take: This is one of the most appealing concepts in the 2026 collection. The espresso and cocoa should provide enough roasted bitterness to keep the vanilla and pastry-like richness from becoming a sugar bomb, while the rum-cask finish gives it a twist that sets it apart from a conventional bourbon barrel-aged stout.

It’s the kind of beer that’s made for a small pour, a comfortable chair and absolutely no plans to rush anywhere. Coffee and chocolate fans, take note.

Proprietor’s Stout, Inspired by Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

The one that could steal the dessert course

Every year, Goose Island saves one Bourbon County expression exclusively for its hometown of Chicago. Called Proprietor’s Stout, it’s the brewery’s way of giving local beer fans something special, and the 2026 version takes inspiration from a classic dessert that has been turning up at family gatherings for generations.

This year’s beer is all about pineapple upside-down cake.

Brewery barrel team member Chase Craig built the concept around the caramelized sweetness of the cake, adding pineapple, Montmorency cherries and panela sugar to the bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout. Panela, an unrefined cane sugar with a deep, molasses-like character, helps evoke those sticky, browned edges of a cake fresh from the oven.

The pineapple brings a bright tropical note, while the cherries add fruitiness and a little tartness. Vanilla and toasted oak round out the profile, connecting the dessert-inspired ingredients to the bourbon barrels that helped shape the beer.

Our take: This may be the most fun idea in the entire lineup, and it has the ingredients to be more than a novelty. Pineapple and cherry give a dark, roasty stout some welcome fruit character, while the caramelized sugar and vanilla should play beautifully with the barrel influence.

The trick with a dessert stout is balance. Too much sweetness and you might as well order a slice of cake. The combination of bright pineapple, tart cherry and toasted oak offers a promising counterpoint to all that caramel richness.

It sounds like a stout that could deliver the best parts of pineapple upside-down cake without requiring a fork, a plate or an explanation about why you went back for seconds.

There’s one catch for fans outside Illinois: Proprietor’s is a Chicago-area exclusive. If this is the bottle that catches your eye, you’ll need to look locally or make a trip to Goose Island territory.

Apple Crisp Stout

Autumn in a glass

Apple crisp is another familiar dessert getting the Bourbon County treatment, and this one sounds tailor-made for chilly evenings.

The imperial stout is aged in bourbon barrels and brewed with apple, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, oats and panela sugar. The result is intended to evoke the warm fruit, toasted spices and crumbly topping of an apple crisp fresh from the oven.

Goose Island’s tasting notes highlight fresh-baked oat crumble, caramel and apple. The spices are designed to complement the barrel’s natural warmth, while the oats add a softer texture and the apple provides a bit of brightness.

Our take: This is a sensible marriage of seasonal flavors and barrel-aged stout. Apple and baking spices can sometimes drift into potpourri territory, but the roasted malt, caramel and bourbon character should give them a sturdy foundation. The oats are a nice touch, too, suggesting something closer to the buttery crumble topping than an apple-flavored novelty beer.

For anyone who starts thinking about fall the moment the temperature drops below 70 degrees, this one should be easy to appreciate.

Original Stout

The one that started it all

With all the dessert-inspired variations and barrel experiments, it’s worth remembering that Bourbon County began with a pretty straightforward idea: take a rich imperial stout and let bourbon barrels work their magic.

Goose Island’s 2026 Original Stout is aged in barrels from Buffalo Trace, Heaven Hill, Four Roses and Wild Turkey, with an average aging time of about 13 months. It clocks in at 14.2% ABV, so this isn’t exactly a session beer unless your sessions are very short.

The expected flavor profile includes vanilla, cherry, cocoa, toasted almond and caramelized sugar, with the bourbon barrels contributing oak and layers of spirit character.

Our take: Sometimes the original doesn’t need a clever dessert name or a second barrel to make its point. The appeal here is the combination of dark roasted malt, chocolate, caramel and bourbon influence. It’s the benchmark against which the more adventurous variations can be judged, and a good place to start if you’re new to the Bourbon County tradition.

Toasted Barrel Rye Stout

A little more spice, please

This year, Goose Island takes a different route with a stout brewed around rye and the character of rye whiskey barrels.

The beer is aged in rye whiskey barrels before being transferred to Elijah Craig Toasted Rye barrels. That second stage brings another layer of toasted oak character to the mix, with a flavor profile built around crème brûlée, toasted hazelnut and sweet oak.

Rye whiskey is often associated with a spicier profile than bourbon, making it an interesting partner for a rich stout. The toasted barrels add another dimension, potentially bringing caramelized sweetness and roasted notes to balance the grain’s more assertive character.

Our take: This is the bottle for people who want the barrel to do more than add a general note of bourbon. The combination of rye spice, toasted wood and sweet malt sounds like a promising contrast, especially for drinkers who enjoy their whiskey with a little more edge.

It’s also a reminder that barrel-aged stout isn’t just about making beer taste like bourbon. The type of whiskey, the wood and the treatment of the barrel can all make a difference.

Triple Oak Barleywine

A change of pace from stout

Technically, this one isn’t a stout at all, but we’ll let it join the family gathering.

The 2026 Triple Oak Barleywine starts as an English-style barleywine aged in bourbon barrels before moving into casks that previously held Angel’s Envy Triple Oak Bourbon. Those finishing casks represent three oak species: French, Chinkapin and Hungarian.

Each brings something different to the beer. French oak contributes spice, Chinkapin oak adds sweetness, and Hungarian oak brings tannin and baking-spice character. Goose Island’s tasting notes highlight burnt caramel, delicate baking spice and stone fruit.

At 16.2% ABV, this is another substantial pour. Barleywine’s rich malt character and dark-sugar flavors offer a different canvas from the roasted malt of a stout, allowing the influence of the three oak varieties to come through in a different way.

Our take: This is an interesting move for anyone who appreciates the effects of different woods on whiskey. Rather than relying on roasted malt and chocolate to carry the show, the barleywine brings caramelized malt, dried-fruit character and baking spice to the party. It should appeal to both barrel-aged beer fans and whiskey drinkers curious about what happens when those oak influences meet a different style of beer.

One more barrel, three years in the making

The six core expressions aren’t the whole story for Chicago beer hunters. Goose Island is also introducing its first-ever Bourbon County Brand Triple Barrel Stout, a separate, limited release that takes the barrel-aging experiment even further.

This rye stout spends three years moving through three freshly emptied bourbon barrels, picking up additional layers of spirit, oak and character along the way. At a hefty 18.7% ABV, it’s built for slow sipping, with rich milk chocolate, warming vanilla and a deep bourbon presence.

It’s available in 16.9-ounce bottles exclusively at Goose Island’s Chicago Taproom and Salt Shed Pub. Don’t expect to find this one sitting alongside the nationwide releases at your neighborhood beer store.

The concept is a reminder of just how far barrel-aged beer has come since Goose Island first began experimenting with the style. Three years, three barrels and nearly 19% alcohol by volume make this one a serious undertaking, even by Bourbon County standards.

The verdict

The 2026 Bourbon County collection gives fans a little bit of everything, from the familiar bourbon character of Original Stout to the oak-focused Triple Oak Barleywine and the spicy, toasted notes of the Rye Stout.

But the two dessert-inspired releases are the ones that really catch our attention.

The Tiramisu Cask Finish Stout has a particularly appealing combination of espresso, cocoa, vanilla and rum-cask influence. It takes flavors that already work well with a dark stout and adds a new layer without relying on a gimmick.

The Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Proprietor’s Stout might be even more intriguing. Pineapple, cherry, caramelized sugar and toasted oak sound like an excellent way to bring some brightness to a big, dark beer. The fact that it’s only available around Chicago makes it a little harder to track down, but also gives it that special-release appeal.

The full lineup arrives on Black Friday, November 27, in select markets. The Original, Tiramisu, Apple Crisp, Toasted Barrel Rye and Triple Oak Barleywine are the nationally distributed expressions, while Proprietor’s remains a Chicago-area exclusive. The Triple Barrel Stout is also limited to Goose Island’s Chicago properties. Availability can vary by market.