Rrrrrrrrrrumblllle

Versus

So there was a heavyweight bout in my living room last night.  Instead of the usual battle of my daughter pounding the crap out of me, it was Goose Island Bourbon County Stout and Tyranena Hopwhore against my tongue. 

First up was BCS, which is their Nightstalker Imperial Stout with a ton of bourbon flavor.  Goose Island is considered a pioneer in bourbon-barrel aging Stouts, with the first BCS coming out around 1995 to celebrate their 1000th batch at the original brewpub.  Now everyone is doing it, but BCS is probably the biggest, bringing 13%ABV and a huge dark fruit sweetness, although not as hot as I expected it to be.  This sipper is tasty at first , but by the end the sweetness really takes hold and drags you down.  I made it through the early rounds intact.

So after that, I decided to go to the total opposite extreme and drink a Hopwhore, a hop bomb of an Imperial IPA from the Tyranena Brewers Gone Wild series that is surely somewhere north of 9%ABV.  It has a great floral aroma and leaves a nice lacing down the sides of the pint glass. The caramel malt base can't hold up to the citrus hop onslaught and bitter finish, yet it has a nice creamy body that keeps it drinkable.  But it's still hoppy as hell and a huge change from the sweetness of BCS.  I manage to finish it, but my head is spinning from the attack on my palate and liver.

I felt like I had went through a heavyweight bout with these 2 brews, so to top it off I had a Three Floyds Robert the Bruce to cool down. Nice. Then I fell asleep on the couch.  What? It was almost 1AM.

Anyway, my point is that you should challenge yourself occasionally. If not to broaden your beer horizons, then just to abuse your tongue. 

It can take it...in fact it wants you to....