Goose Island Matilda

Draft at Goose Island (OHare). Served in a wine glass. Amber color with a slight off-white head. Sweet, fruity aromas. Medium body with frothy carbonation. Flavors of lightly roasted caramel with fruity hop and yeast spice. Finish is bitter, with a hint of sweet. Fairly tasty drink. Could be a light barley wine or a Belgian strong ale. Justified the flight.

12oz Bottle. Sweet banana ester, phenol and bread yeast amalgam. Spicy. Dry and minerally with a hint of sulfur. Pours a darker shade of gold, with a couple fingers of silky, white lacing head. Flavor is rich and peppery. Lightly sweet, with a really crisp, fruity floral yeast character. Wow. This a very nice and refined Belgian character, with none of the usual harshness on the palate or too much heat. A juicy hop bite blends nicely with the character. This is delicious. Fresh. Canteloupe closes down the finish. Very nice. Very dry and very drinkable.

On tap at the Goose Island Pub in the Chicago O’hare airport. Pours a deep golden-orange color, as someone else commented similar to a strong IPA. Little head mostly dissipated leaving a faint ring around the edges. Smells fruity, a little Belgian funk/yeast, similar to a Leffe blond to me. Flavor crisp with light hops at the start(belgian?), continues with a little spicyness(really comes out after a few sips) to a very uplifting fruity flavor that lingers for a few minutes. This would be the best beer in the airport if I didn’t like their IPA so much ;)

Goose Island has scored another one! This pours a light amber/orange(almost looks like an ipa) which is slightly misleading. It’s aroma is very pleasantly fruity. The flavor and mouthfeel are also fantastic. As the description states, it’s very fruity, with a classic yeasty finish. Fantastic. Cheers!

Pours brownish with a thin tan head. Nose is belgian spice, malt, flowered hops. Flavor of belgian candy, sweet, flowery hops, strong yeast, with a nice bitter hops finish. Rather syrupy mouthfeel. Om nom nom.

Bottle, from 2008. Orval this is not. Pours a clear copper with a small off-white head. On the nose some spice, fruity maltiness, a touch of noble hops. In flavor, fruity, spicy. malty, a nice bitterness. Quite smooth with a medium amount of carbonation. Eager to see how this ages with the brett, but it didn’t have the crispness of fresh Orval, nor the complexity of some of the better Belgian-styles.

4-pack bottles - poured into and drank out of a pint glass. overall great tasting beer. pours nicely. goes down smooth. great appearance. you can smell the yeast but also some fruits and spice. the funky flavor is right up my alley. very enjoyable.

2008 bottle. Very thin head. Clear orange body. Aroma - apple strudel? orange zest, slightly spiced, some horseblanket. Noticeable alcohol presence. Sweet and funky, somewhat yeasty. Sour mash note. A little bit too thin-bodied to hold its alcohol. Somewhat reminiscent of some De Dolle concoctions but to a lesser extreme. Gets boozier and yeastier as it warms up. Encouraging for the first Goose Island beer I’ve had, although a little pricey.