Archive for the 'Goose Island' category
Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat Ale
Does anyone actually know what an ‘urban’ wheat ale is? The ‘wheat ale’ part I’m familiar with. The ‘urban’ is what confuses me. Does this mean that it’s especially hip, and should feel at home at the newest Euro club uptown? Hell if I know – I just review beers.
The ‘Urban’ wheat ale pours a mildly cloudy light golden color with a very thin white head. It’s a very nice hue for a wheat ale and gives me the impression that the flavor will be light and refreshing. The aroma here has lots of lemon zest and a wispy sweetness to it. In the mouth, this is a pretty decent wheat ale. It is big on the lemon zest and has a lot of light malt flavor. Through the mouth, this lemon also contributes a bit of sourness that contributes to the refreshing aspects of this beer. In addition, there is even MORE lemon here in the form of a mildy unpleasant lemon rind flavor. Basically, they didn’t leave any of the lemon out of this beer, from the sweet to the citrus to the sour to the rind. This sweeps down the entire tongue, riding sidecar with the sweet light malt. Altogether, even with the lemon rind, this isn’t a bad beer. It comes across as quite accessible, and all the sourness would make this very refreshing on a hot day. I haven’t done too much with the Goose Island brews yet, but this is a pretty strong offering.
Goose Island Pere Jacques
I bought this beer at the nuptials of the Kanipes back in May in the great state of Ken-tuck. Many of the bottles were consumed throughout the weekend but one was saved so that the readers of sevenpack could read, firsthand, what I think. I know you’re terribly excited and so I won’t dilly-dally any longer.
The Pere Jacques is a hazy, copper-colored beer. The head is insignificant as it doesn’t stick around very long and has no bearing on whether or not I like this brew. I’m drinking it out of the special Sam Adams glass, and not one of my chalices. it probably doesn’t matter one iota but I kinda feel as if I am doing this beer a disservice by using an “inappropriate” serving glass. If anyone knows if this really matters let me know, because I want to get the most out of each and every drinking experience…The smell is cherry sweet with a bit of liquorice. The aroma carries over into the taste with an added hint of nut. There is a mild carbonation burn, with little hop presence, and a pronounced sweet maltiness. I feel as if the taste collects more at the front of the tongue than in the back of the mouth. This beer is both simple and complex, subtle and bold. I am a fan of this beer. It’s rather big at 9% abv so it isn’t anthing you want to play around with but certainly a beer you could enjoy at a leisurely pace.
