Last year around this time, hundreds of gallons of Goose Island’s Bourbon County Brand Stout were being distilled at Rhine Hall to make bierschnaps. The spirit originated in Bavaria, where small brewers who owned a still would often distill leftover beer. Despite increasing interest, it’s never really become popular in the U.S. (though several local distilleries, including Koval, Chicago Distilling Company, and CH Distillery, have made spirits from beer). Turning unwanted beer into spirits is a no-brainer; the first step to making whiskey is essentially to make beer, minus the hops. But taking a beer as sought-after as Bourbon County Stout and making it into something else seems a little counterintuitive.
“It’s really fun to see how big of a correlation there is between the beer and the distilled version of it,” Solberg says. In addition to the two Goose Island beers, the distillery has made a bierschnaps with a saison from Church Street Brewing in Evanston, and according to Solberg, the difference between the spirits is notable. “They’re very distinct, to the exact flavor profile of the actual beer.”
