Goose Island Imperial IPA

Brewed by Goose Island Beer Company
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Chicago, Illinois USA

Pours a cloudy golden hue with a fast fading white head and by the time I had a chance to rate it, lacing wasn’t even rateable(if that’s spellt corectly or even a werd). Aroma...... oh man...that aroma....of a good Ipa... Pine and citrus aromas abound that fill my nostrils with delight. Man that is good. Crisp pine ebbs and flows as I sniff ever so gently. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with flavors that match the great aroma. A little soap is thrown in there, but with the pine and finishes smooth. The flavor doesn’t match the aroma as one would think, but this still a top notch double IPA and it is suprising to be from the chicago and not the west coast, despite it’s types of hops.

Excellent aroma of piney hops with some grapefruit in the background. Color is a hazy amber with a frothy head. Flavor promises a lot up front, but kind of gets watery as it develops and finishes weakly with only a slight evergreen hoppy character. Back to the scent... outstanding.

Excellent DIPA. Pours pale for a DIPA with a good head. Aroma is extreme citrus IPA, awesome. Flavor is bitng hops, citrus, pine and all those good flavors, and enough malt to make you want more, good beer.

Hazy orange body, creamy off-white head. Nose has a whole lot of orange, caramel, pine, loads of sweet malt. I could smell this forever. Flavor is fruit, really bitter almost grating hops - floral & orangey. Frankly not enough malt to back up the hops.

Inthe bottle from the Crescent Moon. Pours a cloudy butterscotch color with a yellow head. Pours as thick as motor oil. The aroma burns your eyes from a potent combination of alcohol and hop oils. I get pineapple, mango, tropical fruit, citrus, grapefruit and fresh hops on brewing day. Maybe even a bit of strawberry! The aroma is perfectly delightful. Has a chewey palate that is thick and brutal. In fact, you will get an esophageal burn from the alcohol. Dominant flavor is that of chewing on a pine tree. There’s a big syrupy sweetness at the midpoint. Nuts! I taste actual nuts! There’s probably no type of food that this beer wouldn’t complement. After finishing this bottle, I saw that number (much like John the Baptist) way up in the middle of the sky and that number was XXX.

Thanks for dickinsonbeer for picking this one up for me in Chicago. Pours a lightly hazy golden amber with a large foamy slightly off white head that laced nicely and sustained. Aroma of a sweet malty orange, caramel with some light pine. Very solid aroma. Flavor was actually a little different than the aroma. Still that decent malt and hop balance with some bitterness, pine, roast malts and a light sweetness. In summary aroma is just about right on with what I look for in an Imperial IPA and the flavor was very complex and only a slight step down from the aroma. In no way a negative though.

bottle. Cloudy orange/copper pour with a modest white head. This stuff smells great: floral, hoppy, grapefruity, but the most remarkable quality is the balance of it all. The flavor is in the same vein, robust and thick of zesty hops, caramel, pine, and all without being obnoxious (which wouldn’t be a bad thing, but balance like this isn’t bad either). So drinkable and complex. Alcohol is very well hidden. All in all, a savory treat.
[March 5, 2008] On tap at brewpub: This is a serious IIPA. This has way more hop flavor than I recall from my prior experience. The aroma is still as wonderful and over the top as I recall. I could smell this from the snifter before even attempting to take a whiff. Powerful citrus, pine, and herbal aromas radiate. The brutal hop onslaught in the flavor is not all that drying or stinging, considering. Rather very rich and complex hints of citrus and spices delight the palate. The malt presence is most appropriate and the majority of sweetness here comes across as a fruity, melon flavor. This is truly awesome.

Bottle: Pale amber, huge orange bias, large pillowy off-white head, fairly nice lacing.   Sweet piney nose, tea and tobacco, along with the proverbial hops.   Noticeable alcohol.   Citrus laden tea leaves on the tongue.   Pine and hops are subtle, finish is clean, but fairly light.   Not as abrassive as it seemed on the nose, very mediocre bite in fact.   Fairly well balanced.   However, seems like a 1½ IPA instead of an IIPA.   Tangy citrus and herbal finish.   Thanks Tom for the bottles!!!   Everyone at Hard Liver really enjoyed them.