Goose Island Proprietor's Bourbon County is one crazy (good?) beer

Chicago, get ready for one of the most bananas Bourbon County Brand Stout (BCBS) that Goose Island has ever produced.

Why it matters: BCBS revolutionized craft brewing when it was introduced in 1992, and even though the brewery is now owned by giant Anheuser-Busch, it remains one of the most coveted and refined beers of its kind.

What to know: Saturday's Prop Day — the release party for the brewery's legendary bourbon-barrel aged stout — features seven variants, none more interesting than the local-only Proprietor's blend.

• The 2022 edition tiki-cocktail-inspired stout features banana, coconut, lime and — for the first time ever for the brand — pineapple.

The intrigue: It's a Rorschach test of flavor. In a recent tasting, the panel couldn't agree on which flavor is dominant among the coconut, banana or pineapple, Frank says.

• But it recalled a Mounds candy bar with a smooth thread of banana.

Details: The other Bourbon County stout variants — available nationwide on Black Friday — include the return of a coffee edition for the first time since 2017 and a 30th anniversary reserve aged in four Jim Beam brand barrels with bottles offering different blends.

• The lineup "keeps one foot forward while ... giving a little tribute to the past," Goose Island president Todd Ahsmann tells us.

🍺 John's tasting notes: The reserve is a special journey in bourbon barrels, but the Sir Isaac's Stout featuring figs and graham cracker flavoring is the most intriguing — a display in both big flavor and restraint to keep it from becoming too sweet.

• Featuring 10,000 pounds of Black Mission figs, it is aptly named an "adult Newton" after the cookie it evokes.