Goose Island India Pale Ale

Brewed by Goose Island Beer Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Chicago, Illinois USA

Bottle: Dark straw color with a lot of haze. A finger of thick, creamy off-white head and heavy lacing. Straightforward aroma is floral, citrus, and caramel. Rather sweet. Big impact right away with the taste. Full of hoppy pine resin, florals, and citrus. Caramel malts. Rather intense and syruplike body sticks to the mouth. Nice finish is hoppy and lingering. Nice.

Bottle at the Relentless Thirst Tasting on 08/29/2009. Clear golden body with a medium creamy white head. Big floral and citrus hop aroma. Big floral and citrus hop flavor. Medium body with moderate carbonation.

Golden brown beneath a foamy white head. Lemony, herbal hop aroma. Clean bitterness, grainy malts, light citrus, some pine and a lingering soapy flavor. Spicy herbal hop flavor lingers on past the finish.

355 mL bottle. Clear orange-gold with a small, quickly dissipating, white head. Lotsa citrus hop in the aroma with a little spruce and sweet caramel underneath. Flavour is relatively well balanced. The malt profile is simple and a little "thin," but it makes enough of an impact to prevent this one from being one-dimensional. Hops in the finish, but they don’t linger, which wouldn’t be a terrible thing. Pretty good, though.

Hazy yellow golden pour covered by a creamy white head. Wonderful citrus hop aroma. Flavor is initially sweet, but quickly gains a terrific grapefruity bitterness that lasts and lasts. Medium to full bodied, the beer builds some foam in the mouth, and this is the weakest part of an otherwise near ultimate American IPA. It has been a reference American IPA for my part for the last couple of years.

Bottled 12/04/09, consumed 12/17/09. [A] Orange, lemon zest, spicy earthy hops, sweet malt backbone. [A] Calm pour shows a golden amber color with one finger of white head. Quickly recedes to a slight foam with soapwater bubbles and decent lacing down the glass. [F] Sweet pale malt, biscuity, seems to be upfront with fruitiness, juicy hops in the middle, and malty finish complimented by a resiny pine linger. [P] Nice feel. Decent bite. Good balance. Fairly sweet. [O/D] $6 a 6 pack is a steal. This is a good brew, even if not the greatest IPA. Pretty damn fresh, too. I could drink quite a few out of bottle without noticing. Always something good from Goose Island.

Bottle Pours a yellowish copper with a good white head. The head lasts well and laced okay. Has a good hoppy aroma of citrus, pine, and floral. The carbination is good. Flavor is good hoppy but not over the top. Has an oily texture. The body is light to medium. Not a bad finish and a good aftertaste. Not a super harsh IPA but real drinkable.

Pours a yellow orange, more yellow, pale color with generous white head. Very fresh floral and orange on the nose. Very tempting. On the palate is a seriously hopped melody of flavours that are still balanced with malt. Simple story executed beautifully - assertive hop character but still balanced and very, very drinkable. Among the best IPA’s I’ve ever had.