Have you ever read an article and wished it were an article from The Onion?

The other day I read an article about Miller working on a bourbon-flavored beer. Supposedly it's to compete with offerings such as Budweiser Black Crown as well  as hard liquor, but I think they also see beers such as Goose Island's Bourbon County Brand Stout and are trying to pick up some of the barrel aging market without dealing with the expenses of purchasing and storing barrels of beer to age.

Also, remember Goose Island is now owned by AB-InBev. I'm not a huge fan of AB-InBev, but so far it's worked out fairly well for Goose Island. It's brought Goose Island beer to all 50 states. Goose Island flagship beers such as their IPA and 312 Urban Wheat have moved out to Fort Collins, CO instead of Chicago. In exchange, the Goose Island brewers get to concentrate on providing specialty beers such as Lolita and Bourbon County Brand Stout.

Five variants of Bourbon County were released in 2013, including a barleywine and a coffee stout. However, because of Texas labeling approval delays (from what I hear anyway), only the original Bourbon County made it down here.

Bourbon aroma fills the air as I pour the deep brown liquid into the glass. A small chocolate-colored head forms. A closer examination finds chocolate and toffee mingling in with the bourbon aroma. Smooth bourbon flavor up front that blends with roasted malt, chocolate, a bit of wood from the barrel, and a slight dark fruit taste. This is absolutely delicious and worth the hype.

The Bourbon County beers usually come out on Black Friday. Instead of lining up for after-Thanksgiving "deals", line up at a store selling Bourbon County for some delicious beer. If you miss Black Friday like I did, stores were being replenished with BCBS in December as well. I have another bottle that I'm hanging onto in order to see how it tastes with some additional age on it.