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Goose Island Imperial IPA

Goose Island Imperial IPA

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 Percentile 
99
overall
An Imperial/Double IPA brewed by
Goose Island Beer Company

Chicago, Illinois USA

bottled
common

on tap
common

Regional Distribution
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 Ratings  Average  Score  Seasonal  ABV  Style Pctl  Serve in  Advanced 
5224.04/5.04.03/5.0Winter9.2%95.4Snifter, Tulip P  Stats

Commercial Description:
Traditionally, there are a lot of rules when it comes to brewing great beer. The fact that American craft brewers have broken those rules to produce some of the world’s finest beers is downright heroic. At Goose Island we live and die by hops, so breaking the rules meant pushing the hop limit to the extreme to create this monster Imperial IPA. We took three of our favorite hops, TETTNANG, SIMCOE, and CASCADE, and balanced their spiciness with tons of malt. Them we went back and dumped in MORE HOPS and more malt until this beer was exploding with flavor...strong enough to wake the dead and filled with more bitterness than a woman scorned. This Imperial IPA is absolutely gigantic, you’ll smell the hops from about a yard away. What will surprise you is how incredibly drinkable it is. Pair it up with the saltiest blue cheese you can find, and go nuts.

Most RecentTop RatersHighest Ratings Who's Rated This?
 wxman (458), O’Fallon, Illinois, USA
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/58/104/516/20

Dec 9, 2007  
Pours a pale amber with a thick orangish off-white head. Lots of fruit in the aroma, especially pink grapefruit, some pine cone as well. Sweet malt, caramel, and grapefruit taste. Well balanced with no hint of the ABV except a warmth after swallowing. Great effort!

 jgentgesdo (544), Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
4.3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/104/59/105/516/20
Oct 5, 2008  
Pours hazy brownish orange with a smallish white head. Nose is cookie dough and powerful floral and citrus hops. Flavor of very strong floral hops, slightly less citrus hops, and tons of malt. Rather bitter. Very heavy, velvety mouthfeel. Lingering malty finish. Quite sweet. Very very good.


 travita (762), Lewisville, Texas, USA
3.7 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/103/57/103/516/20
Sep 16, 2008  
Copper orange color, murky in look with a light white head. Smell is grapefruit, citrus, hops, and pine. Taste is medium bitterness with more sweetness than I expected as citrus, caramel, and pine.


mcmd (55), Louisville, Kentucky, USA
4.3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/105/58/104/518/20
Sep 14, 2008  
Pours a thick cloudy burnt orange with a nice foamy white head - Looks great. Aroma is sweet malt and honey, grapefruit, pine/grassy hops. Flavor is sweet honey malt with a nice balance of piney hops at the finish. Full-body and sticky on the palate. Very nice imperial IPA even if overpriced.


 JCB (1050), Durham, North Carolina, USA
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/57/104/516/20
Sep 3, 2008  
12oz (2007 bottle) from mashmaster - thanks, Tom! Big cloudy orange pour with a still sizable head and a vigorous, well hopped aroma. Surprising that this beer has held up so well in the hops department! I had a few fresh 2006 bottles which were very strongly grapefruity. This isn’t quite up to that description but is a splendid IIPA nonetheless. Nice Cascade hop flavors emerge with the warming malts, which also deliver a pleasantly creamy mouthfeel. Very enjoyable beer.


 doubleo (825), San Diego, California, USA
4.2 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/104/58/103/518/20
Aug 29, 2008  
12oz bottle, vintage 2007 from glouglouburp. Been wanting to try this forever, thanks! Pours amber with a medium sized, sudsy white head, good retention, spider web lace. Smells very citrusyand hoppy astringent, best nose I’ve sniffed in a while. Tastes citrusy hoppy, slightly earthy with some of that resiny, astringent hop flavor on the finish. Full body, nice carbonation.




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