Goose Island Expanding Barrel Warehouse Space To Accommodate Bourbon County Stout Demand

By Chuck Sudo in Food on Jan 31, 2014 5:00PM

Goose Island is putting their Anheuser-Busch/InBEV money to good use. The brewery is leasing a 130,000 square foot space in West Town specifically so they can store bourbon barrels and meet the demand for Goose Island’s popular Bourbon County Stout.

Goose Island CEO Andrew Goeler told Crain’s Chicago Business the popularity of the brand and brisk sales of BCS during “Black Friday” events in Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Austin were a determining factor. Goose Island is also using the new warehouse to age Sofie and Juliet, part of its popular “sisters” line of sour, wine-barrel aged beers and is expanding production at its Fulton Street production facility. Even with all that happening, Goeler said it won’t be enough for Goose Island to meet the demand for BCS. Goeler estimated the moves would increase BCS production by 15-20 percent, at most.

Goose Island will start moving barrels into the new warehouse in April, just in time to start aging BCS for future years.