Goose Island Matilda

Bottle from OhioDad. Thanks Scott! Pours dark orange amber with a noisy, carbonated, white head that fades a little quicker than I would have thought. First thing that comes to mind when I smell this is orval which I believe this beer is attempting to memic in some way. Heady, bready yeast is definitely at the forefront, with spicy citrus hops, lemon juice, and wet grass lingering. Flavor is full of that special yeast, a little funky, with a smooth finish. My only complaint is that it tasted a little metallic at the finish. Very refreshing and a perfect beer for the summer. Thank you. Thank you very much.

hazy yellow with large fizzy head. This had a sour, funky, yeasty aroma. The taste was the same with light sweetness and dry sour finish. No thank you.

Bottle. Orange-honey colored pour with a thin white head. Sour/tart aroma, bready yeast, light sugar, lemon zest... Cinnamon? Very clean. Again clean on the flavor, slightly sour, bready, no alcohol to speak of. This is the way I would want a summer beer to taste, very refreshing. Nice clean mouthfeel. Not complex at all, but I’d love to grill some burgers and drink this beer. Rerate, still a favorite. I don’t know why I said not complex in my original rating... Great beer.

Bottle courtesy of Viggo- surprise extra in a trade- thanks man! Poured into an Affligem chalice. Cloudy tangerine colour with a good off white head. The smell was belgian candi. Looks like this will be a tasty brew. Taste- wow! Not what I was expecting- has a real sourness that caught me by surprise. Really dry finish to boot. Label says profound hops but I’m not picking up a ton- maybe on the finish. The sourness was a treat- defintely funky- Jolly Pumpkin like. Mouthfeel is good- fairly high carbonation. This is a unique brew and it was great to try a bottle. Very drinkable - the sourness becomes very addicting! I see most other reviews don’t note the sour notes- perhaps I’m just going crazy?

Bottle. After the initial gusher in which I lost about 1/3 of the bottle, it poured a somewhat hazy golden/amber color with a voluminous frothy white head. Aroma was sweet, yeasty with a dash of spice. Flavor was somewhat sweet (fruity), a touch yeasty and fairly hoppy. Quite tasty. Perhaps a bit too carbonated.

Draft. I remember enjoying this belgian. Very fruity and sweet flavor, but I don’t remember much else to say about it. So I guess it wasn’t that impressive.

Pretty standard Belgian strong ale for me; but still well done. Yeast, citrus and fruit aroma. Flavor was much of the same.

Note: This is a rating for a tap glass of “Matilda Reserve” I was served at the brewpub (Clybourn location). I’m re-writing my Matilda rating and not adding a new entry although there is a different entry for “Goose Island Tripel” and “Goose Island Reserve Tripel”. However this tap glass was significantly different from the bottles I’ve had in the past. Even better that the already excellent bottle version. It may just be because it was on tap or maybe this should be a different entry. I’ll move the rating if I see one day a local creates a new entry for a Matilda Reserve

In short: A Saison-like crisp Belgian ale.
How: Tap at brewpub
The look: Clear golden blonde body with a small white head.
In long: Lots of crisp malts. Although not funky per say the beer as a strong farmhouse character. Fruity notes are on the lighter juicy citric side of things with grapefruits, granny smith apples and so on. Wonderful complex hops finish blending Saaz-ish dry grassiness and citrusy American hops. Citric tartness just make you wanna go for more and more. This tap glass was much crisper and less candy than all the bottles I’ve had before. Best thing with a woman name I’ve had since... well... a woman.