Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
[upon tasting several more samples, I’ve come to think that this beer is a bit too cloying and needs to age for quite some time - still great, though] Only a handful of beers have made me exclaim "holy shit!" upon my first sip, and this beer is one of them - inky black, viscous pour, with the darkest tan lace a beer can hope for - aroma of bourbon, vanilla, cinnamon, figs, plums, oak, a roaring fireplace - a bit hot, which is my only complaint (a little aging should help with that) - alcohol and bourbon up front, along with the oak of the barrels - followed by vinous notes and dark fruit - vanilla and toffee, then some dark-roast coffee and cream - smokey, woody finish - once this mellows out it will be the perfect Imperial Stout IMHO.
shrubber (15804) reviewed Imperial IPA from Goose Island Beer Company 20 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
Bottle. Lemon-mint and pineapple aroma. Orange amber color with small head. Sweet pineapple flavor with an strong hops finish. Moderate body. Fruity but not much else to it.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 4 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5.5
Pour is a dark mahogany with a tan head. Aroma is a very nice malt with a dark fruit or cherry spice to it. Flavor on the other hand can be a bit watery but is still detect carmal malts and fruits. Hops make and appearence as well. over all ok but nothing really stands out to put it over the top.
Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 4 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 4.5
A pretty unpleasant attempt at American Wheat. LIghtly clouded yellow color, fair head. Aroma lemony, very slightly floral. Flavor also lemony, a rising of too much hops in the finish. Some vaguely minty wheat malt, but mainly a weird bitter cooked zucchini-asparagus bread-dough character.
jcr (3164) reviewed Oatmeal Stout from Goose Island Beer Company 20 years ago
Appearance - 3 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 3 | Overall - 15
Roasted malts clearly stand out in the nose. Flavor reveals dark chocolate, coffee, caramel, licorice. Hops stand behind the sweet malts, but are evident in a pleasantly bitter aftertaste. Body is thin to medium.
Clarkvv (16523) reviewed Matilda from Goose Island Beer Company 20 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Had a number of bottles of this over the GABF 05 weekend.
What you get is a solid, bottle conditioned pour, lightly hazy yellow pear skin and gold color, tiny bubbles with an initially large white head that recedes to cover, maybe a bit too quickly, with tons of lacing. Aroma is a knockout. Pure, unadulterated brett. Wouldnt even have guessed it was pitched. It feels so natural and ingrained in to the beer, like it soaked in from the barrel. Right up there with orval. Soft, lilac-like hops add a richness to it, while warm honey tones from the malt round out the experience nicely.
Flavor, while a step down from the precision of the aroma, is nothing shabby. It isn’t able to mimic the spectacularly stupefying balance of substantially rich malt and wonderfully tart and expressive brett, but it does get some punches in. Leafy, spicy hops, tangerines, starfruits and honey dough. Tight bubbles, but it is a bit overattenuated and there is some thinning on the end. Nice touch with the abv at the Orval range, nor is the alcohol apparent. Finishes with a strong dusty yeastiness, with the brett fully falling off in to a splash of soft citrus fruits and a bite of cookie pie crust. A very worth attempt, IMHO and a huge success in the nose, if not quite as much in the flavor. But imitating one of the world’s greatest beers is no easy feet. . . . .
jcr (3164) reviewed Honkers Ale from Goose Island Beer Company 20 years ago
Appearance - 3 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 3 | Overall - 13
Understated hops lean this APA more toward sweet than bitter. Aroma of sweet malts, peach, sweet grapefruit. Flavors of sweet malts with some floral hops and hop bitterness. Medium, somewhat sticky body. Quite drinkable.
jcr (3164) reviewed Nut Brown Ale from Goose Island Beer Company 20 years ago
Appearance - 3 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 16
Satisfying English-style brown ale. Dark brown pour. Sweet malts dominate both in aroma and taste. The aroma is pure malts. The flavor is heavy on sweet malts with notes of nuts and chocolate. Moderate carbonation. Clean mouthfeel. The finish was a bit thinner than I anticipated since the beer started out so strong.
jcr (3164) reviewed IPA from Goose Island Beer Company 20 years ago
Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 3 | Overall - 16
Moderate to heavy aroma of Cascade hops — grapefruit and pine. Also notes of floral hops. Flavor of citrus, bitter grapefruit with a bit of sweet orange and toasted malts. Slight sour aftertaste to go along with the bitter bite. Crisp as an IPA should be. Nicely done.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
I haven’t had Wolaver’s Pale yet so I am not sure how this stacks up in the organic Pale genre. It’s alright as an APA though. Dark golden color with a thin off-white head and minimal lacing. Hoppy and woody aroma. Medium body and dry with spicy hops malt and fruit flavor. The finish is mildly bitter floral hops. Straightforward and exceedingly average overall.