Goose Island Matilda

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

Poured from a bottle (is this a screw-top?!?!) into a big-bottomed wine glass without a stem so as to experience the bouquet a bit better. Pours golden-orange-brown with a little head that disappears quickly. Lacing ain’t happening all that much. Smells of fruit, a little bit of alcohol (not as much as say, a La Fin Du Monde or Bell’s Sparkling Ale) and old Belgium basement/cellar and a bit like my old garage in downtown Wilmington, NC. Tastes pretty nice, due to, what’d that guy call it, "The Brett?" Whatever. Yeasty taste, pretty unique, but not far from some trippels I’ve tasted. VERY expensive, but pretty good for the style. I got three more that will wait until New Year’s 2008/9 to drink. We’ll see how it ages.

bottle complements of of toddbates: In the aroma the brett is the first thing that hits you, but then there are floral, and fruitiness that comes from the yeast. pours a dark shade of gold with an inch of head that sits on the beer as a film. Not nearly as beautiful as Orval. Flavor was spicy, with some brett, and dry, but no where as complex as Orval. palate wasn’t quite active enough. This was good, but fell short in my opinion

On tap at Harry Caray’s in Chicago, I found this Beligian-stle ale to be well crafted. I once had this cask-conditioned at the Brewhouse, but never rated it. It had a good fruity flavor and a ite and the end.

just wasn’t what I had hoped after all the hype I had heard about it... especially for the price

this is beer that i find satisfying even though i do not particularly enjoy belgian ales. matilda is different that is to say the spicing is different. i suppose comparable to a degree but clearly and interestingly different. the mouthfeel is moderate and lightish with typical belgian small bubbling. the brew pours an interesting taste with mild dark fruit in the backround. the sweetness is good but overdone. towards the middle of a glass the taste becomes annoying. after the beer settles the flavors and characers of the beer mingle and a light hoppiness springs to life. the beer is quite adequate if given a few minutes to breathe.

Pours a opaque/hazy honey gold with thick creamy white head. Aroma is sweet, of apples and yeast with a bit of spice. Flavor is of yeast hops and hints of apple. sweet and bitter very well balanced. There is definite hops but it is offset by the a bit of yeastiness. I really like this beer. It has been awhile since I had it and forgot how much I like it. Goose Island forever.

So used to hearing the word "interesting" used with a negative conotation. Well, this is interesting in a most glorious way. The flavors evoke so much and much of that seems either divergent -if flavors can be divergent - what I’m saying is that flavors that I generally wouldn’t think of as working together well do so in this beer. Sour and sweet or tart, spicy and giving the sensation that it saw time in a barrel of one sort or another whether it actually did. I really liked tasting this and finding different bits in every sip. Couldn’t begin to list it all, so I won’t. If you can get your hands on one, I would recommend it. If you sent me this bottle, thak you. I’ve had it tucked in the back of my fridge so long that I forgot it and who sent it. (don’t think that means I don’t appreciate you)

Fancy label, but otherwise a typical American Belgian-Style beer. Does not have the true brett flavor of a real Belgian. Nice, but nothing exceptional.