Goose Island Matilda

12oz bottle into a trappist glass. Definitely Belgian, but lacking flavor... flat in profile.

Bottle, 2008 vintage. Hazy orange with off white head. Yeast, fruit, grain and caramel in aroma. Sweet flavour with yeast, caramel, fruit and malt. Quite carbonated.

Draft pint from Cullen’s in Chicago. Pours cloudy amber with virtually no head. Aroma of fruit, sugar, spices, wheat, and yeast. Flavor is sweet, fruity (pears and dried fruit), and yeasty with some spices, wheat, and a little hops. I was honestly a bit disappointed with this one, having heard it hyped by some as perhaps Goose Island’s best offering. On my second try, at a Goose Island beer and cheese tasting at Teller’s in Cincinnati, this one improved and I underrated it before. Still not the best from GI, but I liked it more the second time around.

Pours a copper color with an off white head. Aroma is some caramel, peppery, sweet funky brett, and sweet sugary fruit. Flavor is caramel, fruit, toast, and a sweet brett finish. ar 6 ap 3 f 5 p 2 o 9

Bottle, 330ml. Pours translucent treacle, with none-to-little head, which dissipated quickly. Caramel and sweet malt on the nose, and something similar on the palate, with notes of yeast surfacing. Overall another decent effort at a Belgian ale from the Goose Island brewery.

I had a fine bottle of the 2007 this August, ’09. It poured an orange-amber color, as described previously, with a huge frothy head. The aroma is fruity wheat. The flavor is definitely a combo of fruity and spicy, but not very sweet. I love this Belgian style ale, and think Goose Island nailed it with a small unique twist.

I shared a bottle of this with BeerBaron617 this evening. He sort of hyped it up a bit, and it didn’t disappoint too much, although I don’t feel that it should be classified as a Belgian ale. It poured a nice amber orange color with a fluffy head. Aroma was a bit on the sweet fruity side, and unless my senses deceive me I could smell the alcohol in it. Highly carbonated, malty, sweet, a bit fruity (light fruits - apples, grapes), and maybe a bit of grass in the taste as well. It was quite good, but I did not get the yeasty, banana, clove flavors that a traditional Belgian would have. Overall good, but not a Belgian.

2009 bottle 12 oz. - Poured amber color with medium head that quickly faded. Aroma - yeast and caramel malt Flavor - very yeasty and bread like. Its like I ate a piece of honey wheat bread. Palate - light/medium mouthfeel with average carbonation. Slight spice on tongue with soapy dry finish. Overall - Drinkable beer but not overly impressed.