Goose Island Matilda

Brewed by Goose Island Beer Company
Style: Belgian Ale
Chicago, Illinois USA

Cellared bottle. Pours copper with a nice white head. Smells funky with some nice dry malty hints. Tastes perfumy and funky with some hints of dry malt and a touch of fruitiness on the finish.

2006 bottle. Busted it out to celebrate my contribution to the presidential ticket 2008, aight? The head won’t go away. Very nice. Lots of bubblegum and yeast on the nose. Suggests a fruity flavor, but they hopped this generously, more in bittering than in flavor or aroma obviously. Balance is pretty good, almost there. See you tomorrow/hey Frank can I borrow/a couple of bucks from you/to go/waltzing Matilda.

A Mes rate: bottle at Twickenham beer festival.
Orangey copper coloured with no head. Nice enough colour though. Huge sweet yeasty aroma with a ton of bread and some slight hoppage on top. Similar flavour. Like a solid US beer (I wrote bear in my notes...) with a shit load of Belgian yeast. Big sweet orangey notes with plenty of bread holding it up. Has a kind of marmalade on toast character. Not particularly complex but very tasty and enjoyable. Thanks to Westy Shane McBogan floppy hat with corks wearing ride a bike for 6 miles to say hi to his neighbour Knifey McSpoony Duff. Bit of a Goose?

Clear amber with a vanishing head. Nice fruity nose, especially apricots and oranges, some malt sweetness and yeast spiciness. Flavour is less than expected from such a peculiar aroma, but still a interesting ’’Belgian’’.

Pours orange with a white head. Aroma is of malts, yeast, spice, candi sugar, and caramel. Taste is very malty, with a big spiciness. Lingering spicy bread taste. Very enjoyable.

This is a solid effort by Goose Island. It’s very subtle, but a nice maltiness and a slightly spicy yeastiness. Clean finish. Nothing extraordinary, but very pleasant.

OTH tasting 09/06/08. Pours crystal clear deep gold with thin white head. The aroma is full with coriander spice notes, sugary sweet Belgian candi sugar, mild brown sugar, hints of grainy malts and more spiciness. The taste has sweet notes seducing the palate first with mild esters, assorted spices and a faint yet growing pepper seem to round out the smooth blended flavor. There’s more going on here but I’m struggling putting words to the experience.

This is a nearly perfect beer. Pours a dark amber, with an aroma that hits you right off the bat. A smooth citrus with subtle hops and a sweetness that doesn’t overpower. Ends with a pleasant bitterness on the aftertaste. I can’t recommend this enough. Once again proving that Goose Island is always on the cutting edge.