jgb9348 (11828) reviewed Imperial IPA from Goose Island Beer Company 21 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Hazy amber colour with orange highlights and a soapy off-white head. Aroma of pure whole-leaf hops with some soap and cleanser mixed in. Full-bodied; Bitter flavour up front with hops noticeable and not much else. Aftertaste full-flavoured and bittered-nice all around. Overall, a nice beer to try-many thanks to Mike (BBB63) for it in a trade! A decent IIPA, even though I don't care for them much! I sampled this twelve ounce bottle on 12-March-2004.
Clarkvv (16523) reviewed Oatmeal Stout from Goose Island Beer Company 21 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
2004 Draft @ Wrigleyville Brewpub. Good brownish-purple color with orange and tan hues. Decen mocha-beige head, mildly hazed. Aroma is light of sweet mocha late, some roasted bitterness. Body is only medium, but flavor is consistent and good. Lots of roast, not too sweet, with hints of chocolate, prunes, some vinousness even. Lightly bitter on the end, pleasingly so and very smoothly textured. Almost a session stout.
Clarkvv (16523) reviewed Imperial IPA from Goose Island Beer Company 21 years ago
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 9
2003 or 2004 bottle (not sure). Awesome ruby-amber hazy/glucose like appearance. Simply lovely looking and smelling. Plenty of ripe red fruits, some light citrus, plenty of spicey hops (chinooks for sure). Good off-white head. Flavor is full and spicy. Lightly chewy fruit esters, some nice subtle malting and plenty of bittersweet hops. Reminds me of Hop Wallop, but has more body and tastes fresher. A good amount of acidity on the finish, as expected and just pure hops flavor goodness. Thanks Ed (eddieg) for the trade.
Clarkvv (16523) reviewed Pere Jacques from Goose Island Beer Company 21 years ago
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8.5
Beautiful deep bright cherry red with some dark ambers, golds and oranges. Bottle conditioned, VERY Hazy, but not muddy looking. Small head, light tan, good amount of lacing. Aroma is divine. Fruity (bananas, nowhere as strong as some others noticed), lightly hopped and quite caramelly. Begins medium sweet, lightly carbonated, smooth and lush. Belgian candied sugars, light floral hops (interesting take for this style) and some moderately sweet caramel flavors. Light orange curacao flavors on the finish mix with a touch of dry woodiness (from the hops) and some good clean yeastiness that lingers on a bit. Consistency is way too thin for the style, but the flavor is simply amazing. I actually found this to be relatively under-malted for a belgian strong, with a firm bitter hops presence and a good balanced yeast flavor. Alcohol immensely well concealed.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
Pre-release bottle given away at the tasting below, Feb. 04, Tasted 4/19/05. Okay, the big banana taste has really settled down now. It’s still pretty prominent, but I had to get pretty far down in the glass to be reminded of it. Instead there a big pile o’malt here. Toasty and caramelly, with a fruity bubble-gummy aspect. Sticky, and with a fine alcoholic mouthfeel. Much better than my first impression.
Original rating, 2/8/04 from sampler at the brewery.
Jacques, Jacques, Bo Baques, Banana, Fanna, Foe, Faques, Fee, Fie, Moe, Maques--Jacques In other words, banana. Hits you in the nose as soon as your pour. Overwhelms everything else. Pours dark yellow under a thin head. Likeable, but a bit overdone.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
12 oz. bottle, bottled 6/22/05, tasted 5/8/06 Well, I traded all my other bottles, so the re-rate had to wait until I found a loose one at Trader Joe’s. In a small Trappist glass, it’s deep gold and cloudy, with an unmistakable Belgian malt and sugar nose. A sip with my nose in the glass tames the malt smell, but tste is very sweet. This is nearly a year old, so the hops have faded out somewhat (though being German nobles, their good base bitterness remains). A bit citrussy, then dry. Lots of fizziness, then a touch of sourness. Obviously, something different in every sip… what you’d taste if Willy Wonka had made beer.
FOAM series bottle, at the brewery, 2/8/04: Well, served in a plastic cup, so I can’t tell too much about the color. But very hoppy and complex. But a big hoppy taste that belies its Belgian-ness. More I could not discern, but I took some more bottles home, so we will definitely revisit this one.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
Bottled and Draft at the Brewery: The next beer in their specialty retail line (as soon as they get approval for the labels). Baseline example of an American wheat: pale yellow beer under a bubbly head that clings a little to the plastic glass. Not as fizzy as other wheats. Hop taste is more traditionally bitter, not fruity like 3F's Gumballhead, and very well balanced to the malt profile. Sampling from the bottle reveals a slightly fruitier profile.
Bottle, 8/17. Not much that'd make me change my rating. Pours into a .5l Weizen glass, it kicks up a fine, rocky wheat head. Light body, low carbonation, decent taste with little perceptible hop note. Well balanced summer refresher.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Bottled, unlabeled from the brewery, 8 Feb ’04 Hoppy, hoppy bo boppy... no, wait a minute. An amazing and massively hoppy brew. I don’t catch the citrus the others have noticed, but maybe I’ve been through too many beers already. Lighter brown color than normal for an IPA, but that doesn’t belie a big malt profile. That’s all I got from a wild night of tasting at the Goose’s Fulton St. brewery, but I got some bottles as a souvenir, so I can submit another rating later.
Draft at Goose Island, 6/28/04. A massive sock of Simcoe & Cascade hops grabs you by the throat for the entire glass. The 79 IBU’s seem to dedicated to nothing but bitterness. Enjoying this monster is a challenge, but one which I’ll gladly accept.
Clarkvv (16523) reviewed Christmas Ale from Goose Island Beer Company 22 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5
2003 bottle. Seemed like a mix between an American Pale ale and and English Strong. Beautiful reddish-brown ruddy color, tons of tan creamy head. Smells of cherries, mild plums, cinnamon, candied apples, brown sugar and some hops. I was surprised that as the beer warmed I could taste some moderately bitter hops tones, but they would mix in with the creamy texture and get lost in the big caramel-brown sugar malt flavor. Medium to full body, tending more towards medium. Robust and even a touch of smoke at the beginning, I thought I tasted it at least. I just cant get in to these type of beers as much because my palate seems to want the huge complexities of the best English Strong Ales where you seem to be able to easily pick out many many different flavors. This one is more homogenous but still very well done and tasty.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9
Pours thick and oily. Black, no head. Total whiskey aroma. Alcohols rise out of the glass. Espresso, chocolate and vanilla flavors plus bourbon notes. Earthy aroma as well. Thick palate - coating. Bittersweet finish. Highly roasted. Acrid, challenging. Licorice comes through as well.