Vertical 2020

Damn. Super dark, thick, boozy, dark chocolate, and roasted malt. Nice job this year, Goose Island!

8 year vertical

2018 was better. Very thin and boozy, caramel on the aftertaste. Missing the rich, roastiness and relaxed by warmth.

This one has not held up as well as others. Mouthfeel is a bit thin and while there’s barrel left on it, there’s a hint of bitterness as well. Hoping it gets better as it warms.

With Phil in Colorado during steak night.

Bourbon County Vertical 2023

Not my favorite year, but crazy depth of flavor and very boozy.

Bourbon County Vertical 2022

Bourbon County Vertical 2021

Tons of dark chocolate, malt, and bourbon goodness. Decadent and rich.

Vertical 2020

Bourbon County Vertical 2024

Vertical 2020 - world class beer

Still tastes amazing after all these years. Wow!

Held up extremely well still very boozy, great flavor and unlike 2015+ BCS, not thin.

Amazing. Tastes almost like the regular from those days, but smoother. Wish I bought the last one on the shelf too!

The nose was a little iffy, smelling a little sour. Thankfully that’s not the case and the flavor is incredible. At first, you get the cherry flavor and sweetness, followed by a subtle hint of the pistachios, and then the cacao nibs, malt and barrel come on full force. This is excellent!

This is very good. Lots of bourbon, sweetness from the vanilla and chocolate, a hint of tartness from the cherries, thickness and sweetness from the molasses. Will have to get more of these.

Still tastes great. Starting to detect a hint of age, but not in a bad way.

Still tastes as I remember it. Sad they haven’t made this again.

Holding up really well.

Still so good.

Holding up nicely so far. Still strong whiskey and fig flavors, with malt on the finish.

Really interesting. Bold malty flavor, softened by the brandy and made slightly sharp by the whiskey. Sweetness from the figs and dates.

Still lots of mildly bitter cherry. Not my favorite BC, but still good.

Has definitely changed a little in the last year. Cherry is still forward, but not overpowering and not too sweet. The dark chocolate and malt come in powerfully after the cherry and linger through the finish, with a little hint of the cherry on the back.

The cherry flavors kind of resemble similar notes to aged BCBS, but with a bit more sweetness and a touch of tartness. While not my favorite variant, it’s pretty solid.

Starting to lose a little something. Presented a little more bitterness than I remember. Probably best fresh.

Lots of chocolate and cherries. Very dark. Interesting. The chocolate lingers on the back of the tongue.

Light mouthfeel, not heavy. Dark roasty malty flavor with some chocolate bitterness on the finish. Very interesting.

Very bourbon forward and has a nice sweetness. Very different from any other Black Ops I’ve had.

This is very good. Lots of bourbon, sweetness from the vanilla and chocolate, a hint of tartness from the cherries, thickness and sweetness from the molasses. Will have to get more of these.

Held up better than the base beer typically does for 5 years. Slight sense of age, but still great.

Lots of dark chocolate and roasty malt with a hint of sweetness from the maple and booziness from the barrel.

Founders knocked it out of the park with this one. Loads of chocolate, very rich, no bitterness. Only a few sips in, but looking forward to seeing how it changes with some warmth.

So much coffee. Not sure this has changed much in 3 years. The cinnamon just ends up adding a butter finish.

Did a side by side with 2019 Café de Olla and 2020 Special #4. In the end, they’re both fantastic, but the Café de Olla wins. Thankfully, the cassia bark aka cinnamon has calmed down in the Café de Olla.

Coffee in this is tasting really nice. I still hope they go back to a coffee only BA stout, but this is good. The base also shines through with a lot of dark chocolate and malt.

This seems like it has changed a bit since being fresh. Overwhelming amount of rich, dark chocolate and malt with just a hint of the coffee, orange and cinnamon.

Lots of coffee up from that gives way to the acidity of the orange peel and spice of the cassia bark. The finish is dark roasted malt, that leads into dark chocolate and heat. Still prefer 2015/6 coffee over any subsequent release so far.