Goose Island Beer Co.
Chicago, Illinois, USA · Est. 1988
Tally's Take
Why this matters
The monumental 2011 acquisition that sparked the modern craft buyout wave, still famous for their Bourbon County Stout.
The Museum
Timeline
- 1988Founded
Goose Island Beer Co. begins brewing in Chicago, Illinois.
- 2011Acquired
The acquisition that started the modern craft buyout wave when AB InBev purchased them in 2011.
The People
Behind the beer
Chicago craft institution that pioneered bourbon barrel-aged stout.
The Beer Library
Beers
Bourbon County Brand Stout
LimitedBarrel-Aged Imperial Stout
First brewed in 1992 for the brewery's thousandth batch, aged in Jim Beam barrels. It effectively invented American barrel-aged stout — a category that now has its own release-day queues.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Bourbon County Brand Vanilla Rye Stout
LimitedBarrel-Aged Imperial Stout
Rye whiskey barrels and whole Madagascar vanilla. Bourbon County variants are now a bigger event than most breweries' entire year, from a brewery AB InBev bought in 2011.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Follow the money
How it changed hands
1 recorded move- 1988Founded
- 2011Acquired
The acquisition that started the modern craft buyout wave when AB InBev purchased them in 2011.
Today the chain tops out at Anheuser-Busch InBev.
Show your working
Sources
- controlConfirmed
Goose Island Beer Co. is controlled by Founder / family.
Anheuser-Busch InBev — SEC filing · U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission · 2026-02
PrimaryHigh reliabilityAccessed 2026-08-05Reviewed 2026-08-05
Only the claims above are sourced. Everything else on this page is the archive's own research and has not yet been tied to a document — which is worth knowing rather than hiding.
Straight answers
Common questions about Goose Island Beer Co.
- Who owns Goose Island Beer Co.?
- Goose Island Beer Co. is owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev. Goose Island Beer Co. is based in Chicago, Illinois, USA.
- Is Goose Island Beer Co. still independent?
- No. Goose Island Beer Co. is owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev and is no longer independent.
- When was Goose Island Beer Co. acquired?
- 2011. The acquisition that started the modern craft buyout wave when AB InBev purchased them in 2011.
- When was Goose Island Beer Co. founded?
- Goose Island Beer Co. was founded in 1988 in Chicago, Illinois, USA.
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