Tag Archives: goose island beer company

Midway ISA – Goose Island Beer Company

by Mike

From Goose Island Beer Company out of Chicago Illinois comes their “Midway India Session Ale”.  The beer pours an orange colour with a white head.  The aroma consists of mild tropical fruit, melon and some sweetness.  The flavour is of mild tropical fruits, melon, herbal and low bitterness.  The alcohol content comes in at 4.6% with an IBU of 30.  Much like many ISA’s I wish this beer had some malt presence but it was pretty tasty.

Commercial Description:  Paying tribute to the city we call home, Midway IPA is sessionable and refreshing, or as we like to refer to it – easy drinking. With a lower ABV, balanced IBU’s, and a tropical fruit aroma, make Midway your new go-to, have more than one, easy drinking IPA.

Sofie 2017 – Goose Island Beer Company

by Mike

From Goose Island Beer Company out of Chicago Illinois comes their “Sofie” 2017 a Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale barrel aged in white wine barrels. The beer pours a cloudy golden colour with a white head. The aroma consists of wheat, grain, peppery, fruit, sweetness and some floral hops. The flavour is of grainy, wheat, citrus, lemon, orange peel, peppery, yeast, vanilla and sweetness. The alcohol content comes in at 6.5% with an IBU of 20. Once again this one was quite enjoyable.

Commercial Description:  Our sparkling Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale is wine barrel-aged with an abundance of hand-zested orange peel. Spicy white pepper notes contrast the citrus tartness. The light, refreshing, creamy vanilla finish will excite those fond of Champagne.

Goose Island Beer Co is owned by AB InBev

Goose Four Star Pils – Goose Island Beer Company

by Mike

From Goose Island Beer Company out of Chicago Illinois comes their “Goose Four Star Pils”.  The beer pours a golden colour with a white head. The aroma consists of grain, biscuit, citrus and floral hops. The flavour is of grain, biscuit, citrus, fruit, sweetness and mild bitterness. The alcohol content comes in at 5.1% with an IBU of 38. This is exactly what a Craft pilsner should be. Grainy with a good little hops bite. Goose Island Beer Co is owned by AB-Inbev and their standard lineup is brewed by Labatt in Canada.

Commercial Description:  Goose Island has taken the traditional Pilsner beer style and made it uncommon with a unique blend of German and American hops. The result is an immensely drinkable and refreshing beer with a crisp hop aroma that will have you reaching for another one in no time.

 

Goose Island Beer Company Beer Dinner (Glowbal) – June 6th, 2017

by Mike

One June 6th, 2017 I was invited out to an invite only beer dinner with Goose Island Beer Company out of Chicago that was held at Glowbal restaurant in Vancouver.  This was my first time actually dining at Glowbal.  To start the night off samples of Four Star Pils were served to guests.

The dinner was hosted by the brand new Head Brewer for Goose Island Toronto Brewhouse Bernard Priest and the Executive Chef Kyle Dampsy.

This is a fine dining restaurant and the room for the dinner was decorated to match the occasion.  To start the night they brought up both Bernard Priest and Kyle Dampsy to discuss the beer and then the food.  Once the talking had finished the started to serve the first course.

First Course
Amuse Bouche
Foie Gras Sable Cookie with Strawberry Gelee Se Salt
Paired with Gillian 2016

It was nice to start dinner off with what would almost be considered a desert.  The cookie was really tasty and the sweet strawberry topping really paired nicely with the sour strawberry farmhouse ale.  Sweet and sour counteract each other really nicely.

Second Course
Parmesan Fried Chicken
Parmesan Fried Chicken, Corn Puree, Compressed Watermelon, Pickled Watermelon Rind
Paired with 312 Urban Wheat Ale

The fried chicken in the Parmesan breading was amazingly flavorful with a nice little zing. I wouldn’t say that the chicken paired perfectly with the wheat ale but the Watermelon sure did.

Course Three
Flank Steak
Yucatan Style Flank Steak, Mushroom Polenta, Roja Sauce, Cilantro.
Paired with Sofie 2017

Who can take what is considered a poor cut of beef and make it amazing?  Holy hell can this chef!  The BBQ sauce has a big pepper spice and goes well with the peppery saison.  The flank steak was rare and cooked amazingly well.  I don’t know a ton about Polenta but this mushroom version was really great.  The hint of earthy mushroom really worked with the saison.

Fourth Course
BBQ Pork Ribs
BBQ Pork Ribs, Celery Seed Brined Coleslaw, Jalapeno Corn Bread.
Paired with Goose Honkers Ale

The flank steak was great but this may have been better.  I am still undecided and I may need to try both again to find out haha.  The rib sauce had a mild sweetness that really melded well with the honkers ale.  This is not my favourite beer from Goose Island but with this dish it really worked.  I have never had a brined coleslaw but after having one I don’t know how I have eaten it any other way.  I love the kick that it gives.  The final touch of the jalapanjo corn bread just rounded it out with a nice mild spice to contract the sweetness of the BBQ sauce and the beer.

Course Five
Carrot Cake
Carrot Cake with Goose Island IPA glaze.
Paired with Goose IPA

This desert lived up to the rest of the meal but even I was getting full.  The carrot cake was not super sweet and the glaze was really nice.  With Goose IPA being a malt forward English style IPA it really worked well with this pairing.

This was definitely a great beer dinner and I would like to thank Goose Island Beer Company and Labatt for inviting me out to share the evening with them.

Goose Island Beer Co
http://www.gooseisland.com

Glowbal
http://www.glowbalgroup.com/glowbal

As a nice little thank you to people that attended the dinner they gave us a bottle of Gillian 2016 Vintage a beer that is not sold in Canada.

 

Gillian 2016 Release – Goose Island Beer Company

by Mike

From Goose Island Beer Company out of Chicago Illinois comes their “Gillian” a Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale from the 2016 Release.  The beer pours a cloudy yellow gold colour with a white head much like a champagne.  The aroma consists of strawberries, honey, spices, pepper, sweetness and some tartness.  The flavour is of strawberry, honey, spices, pepper, wheat, honey, mild earth, tartness and a mild brett funk.  The alcohol content comes in at 9.5% with an IBU of 20.  I was really excited to give this beer a try!  It is a very good beer with an amazing mix of flavours and there might still be a chance to find it on tap in Vancouver.  Hawskworth had a keg at one time.

Commercial Description:  Inspired by an amuse bouche often prepared by the wife of one of our brewers, Gillian brings white pepper, strawberry, and honey to a harmonious blend. Partially aged in wine barrels, this Belgian style farmhouse ale is slightly tart and pleasantly sweet in a refreshingly effervescent body.

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