Goose Island Matilda

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

Bottle. Poured a ruby golden color. Aroma is spice and banana and carmal. Taste is smooth with a finish of banana.

Pours a clouded brown with gold. Big head forms off a not very firm pour. Nose is yeasty a bit, but overall is very subdued. Doesn’t seem to deliver a whole lot. Extremely mild citrus is there. But it is just a weee little bit. Flavor is a punch in the mouth. Firm and full. Sweet from sugars, yes. But the yeast plays a good part in it all and the full experience is well rounded and mature. Feel is a bit dough like on the liquid with a thick carbonation. Overall I have to say that this is a very good production of the style. We all know how it can be with American producers trying to work the Belgian styles. Not the case here. Quite good. Worth trying. And worth holding onto for a while to see what may happen.

2006 Batch, recently picked up from a trip to a store up north. This is my 2nd bottle from the 4-pack, sampled about a week apart. I am amazed at the quality of this brew, Goose Island is one of my personal favorites and they created a gem with this one. The label remarks that this is somewhat of a tribute to a certain Belgian Beer and after the first one I realized how similar this is to Orval. Abundant earthy aroma, musty with some zesty citrus scents and lively sour malt. Smells fantastic, rich and aromatic. Grand pour producing a cloudy golden orange body with a huge fluffy white head. Thick lacing coats the glass, and there is some noticeable sediment at the bottom of my red wine glass. The head settles over time. Funky and lightly sour on the palate. A feel good bitterness rounds out the medium malt body. Flavor is still fresh and lively. Fermented musty fruits with nice flowery hops. A touch grassy and very yeasty. Earthy with a pleasant sourness. Good and malty, well balanced. Fantastic beer by Goose Island, I want to find more!

12 oz. bottled 03-15-07. Humongous creamy cap on this lightly hazy, orange-copper beer. Front is estery bubblegum turning to spicy grain, caramel apple, and tea leaf. Lightly toasted nut, fresh apple, and spicy-herb hops on the finish. Near-medium body is smooth with a tingly, slightly dry finish.

Mc Chouffe trappist glass. Pours a massive lasting off-white head that sits atop a transluscent orange body. The aroma brings forth ripe fruity boquet citrus fruits, pear, and apple along with bready malts, barnyard funk and intoxicating, pungent yeast. The flavour has that charateristic yeatsy bubblegum taste, with grapefruit citrus, sweet grain, candy, peppery corriander spice and a velvety smooth mouthfeel. The finish is slightly alcoholic and warming with fruity, yeast esters. Job well done.

Pours with a massive amount of head- rapidly rising, and very hard to pour the full bottle without stopping. Head is creamy, and slowly dissipating. A nice amber orange color. nice, fruity, spicy aroma to it. A nice, balanced taste that really explodes in the aftertaste. They say it’s a tribute to Orval, and I can really see the similarities between the two. I like this beer a lot, but I think the other seasonal Goose Island’s are a little bit better.

Pours a light gold/amber color with a pillowy taupe head that lasts well. Nose full of beautiful floral, oaky hops, and yeasty malts. Palate is smooth, coating the tongue in charred oaky malts, a hint of hops for accent, caramel, and toast. Gorgeous beer to the last drop.

BOTTLING DATE: 07-27-05 (When I opened this bottle, I had it in a stationary position and turned to grab my glass to pour it into and it started overflowing the neck of the bottle almost instantly.) Pours a hazy golden yelow/orange with a touch of amber/red. Like a beautiful sunset. Sitting on top is a nice 2 finger creamy white head that dissipates to a thin layer of white with good retention and lacing. When opened, I was initially hit with the smell of bananas. Upon further investigation, I smell orange and lemon with yeasty biscuit and honey scents. Small notes of vanilla and coriander. Very fruit forward with banana being most prominent followed closely by citrus flavors. Sweet caramel and light hops mingle in the middle. It ends with a licorice/anise flavor, which is minimal enough to overlook (because I don’t like licorice). The feel is quite nice. A good amount of tiny little bubbles that help make this brew very creamy feeling. The golden liquid flows down the throat quite easily. At (just) 7% a.b.v. this is a quite drinkable brew that could easily sneak up on you. It only takes me a matter of a few minutes to quaff one, so be careful! An excellent example of a strong belgian ale and another excellent brew from the fine folks at Goose Island. (This product has aged very, very well.)