Goose Island is holding a live beer auction for its 14% ABV Bourbon County Stout

US brewer Goose Island will put the last 12 bottles of its barrel-aged Bourbon County Stout under the hammer in a live Facebook auction, it has been announced.

The auction, set to go live on Wednesday 21st March, will be broadcast live from Melbourne store Beermash, beer drinkers and collectors will be able to bid on the beers online, with the winners announced live throughout the day.

The limited edition Bourbon County Stout, which is aged for around 12 months in Kentucky Bourbon barrels, was first brewed by Goose Island in 1992. It was first released in Australia in November 2017, with just 900 bottles available to consumers.

The 14.1% ABV Imperial Stout has a cult following in the international beer world. Speaking at the time of the launch, Ken Stout, President of Goose Island International, told BrewsNews there is “no other beer quite like it.”

Goose Island’s barrel ageing warehouse isn’t temperature controlled, so that the special brew is “exposed to the full range of temperature fluctuation.

“In the heat of the summer, the pores in the barrel staves expand, and our base beer can then penetrate deeply into the wood. And of course it’s deep in those staves where the bourbon rested at the distillery. So we end up pulling all of these beautiful residual flavours from the barrel, such as vanilla, char notes, hints of wood, and of course, the wonderful aromas and flavours that the bourbon left behind.

“And then, in the depth of winter, when temperatures can reach as low as 20 below (Fahrenheit), those same pores contract and ‘squeeze’ the BCS back into the belly of the barrel. That’s how we get so many different layers of flavours in BCS.”

Bourbon County Stout went on sale for $29 (£15) last November. Now, devoted stout drinkers will fight it out for the final 12 beers.

In an emailed statement, Australian brew master Mick O’Rance said: “Today, while it now seems every craft brewery has adopted a barrel program, the legendary status of the Bourbon County Stout ensures its enduring appeal and place within the beer world.”

“This is going to be a fun and unique way to get your hands on our last few bottles of the world’s best bourbon barrel aged beer,” Goose Island’s Tiffany Waldron added, “All while spending time chatting with Luke and I, plus sharing the story of Pink Boots Society and raising money to support scholarships to empower more women in the beery industry.”

Goose Island, founded in Chicago by John Hall in 1988, was bought by Ab InBev in 2011 for a reported $38 million. It has been part of AB InBev’s US subsidiary Anheuser-Busch’s craft portfolio, the High End, since 2014.