Goose Island Sixth Day

I can't recall how Goose Island Sixth Day wound up in my keezer (I hope I'm not forgetting to thank anyone!), but it seemed like a good beer to try tonight:

Vittles:
American Brown Ale
8.3% abv
55 IBU

Score:
Appearance: 9/10
Aroma: 23/25
Taste: 37/40
Mouthfeel: 8/10
Style: 5/5
Drinkability: 8/10
Overall: 90/100

Impression:
I'm pretty impressed with the pour, though the head didn't have much linger to it.  Biscuit, caramel, and toffee dominate the aroma, with spicy, herbal, floral, and fruity notes in the background.  I enjoyed the complexity in this one quite a bit.  The malt backbone is prominent, but not out of balance with the more delicate hops characteristics, and there's just enough of sticky-sweetness to offset the mildly bitter bite.  Brown sugar and molasses came to mind, as did cherries, raisins, and something like cloves or nutmeg.  The flavor profile becomes more interesting as it warms, with some minor earthy and floral hints in the background.  Overall, I like this one quite a bit.

Cheers!

Goose Island Nut Brown Ale

I liked the other Goose Island beers I had, so I hope their Nut Brown Ale doesn't disappoint:

Vittles:
American Brown Ale
5.3% abv
25 IBUs

Score:
Appearance: 9/10
Aroma: 22/25
Taste: 36/40
Mouthfeel: 8/10
Style: 5/5
Drinkability: 8/10
Overall: 88/100

Impression:
The aroma is very nutty and fairly yeasty, with a decent helping of roasted malt, so it's pulling me in right off the bat.  The flavors are very similar but more distinct: dark toasted bread, hazelnut, coffee, chocolate, and some toffee jump out at me, and there's a nice earthy/woody tone behind it all.  A medium-full body rounds it out nicely.  This is a very well done brown ale -- not too bitter, not too dry, and the malt-heavy body brings forward some nice complexities.  Very enjoyable.  I'll have to look for this again in the future.

Cheers!

Goose Island IPA

I can't believe how stocked my keezer is with varieties I haven't tried yet.  I'm not even sure how I got some of these beers, since I don't recognize their labels.  Since I wasn't looking for anything too different or new this time around, I opted for a Goose Island IPA, which I thought would go nicely with the chicken dish I made for dinner:

Vittles:
English IPA
5.9% abv
55 IBUs

Score:
Appearance: 9/10
Aroma: 21/25
Taste: 36/40
Mouthfeel: 8/10
Style: 5/5
Drinkability: 8/10
Overall: 87/100

Impression:
I tend to prefer English IPAs to American ones because they usually have a better balance between malt and hops flavors (the ones I've tried, at least).  This one has a nice aroma -- a bit of grapefruit, a little pine, a smidge floral, and a wee bit malty.  The aromas aren't overblown, but nicely balanced, and the flavors follow suit.  I taste a wider range of citrus flavors than I picked up on in the aroma, and it's both creamy and crisp, making this a very refreshing beer.  It seems like it's a fairly versatile beer, too, like I could enjoy this with a wide variety of foods without the flavors of the beer being masked (or vice versa).  I would definitely have this one again.

Cheers!

Goose Island Summertime

Every time I see Goose Island's Summertime sitting in my keezer, I get "Summertime" from Porgy and Bess stuck in my head.  That's not a bad thing -- I love that song.  Anyway, it's the next beer I grabbed:

Vittles:

Kolsch

5.1% abv

20 IBU

Score:

Appearance: 9/10

Aroma: 19/25

Taste: 34/40

Mouthfeel: 7/10

Style: 4/5

Drinkability: 8/10

Overall: 81/100

Impression:

The head poured nicely, but it didn't have much stay to it.  It did leave some lacing as it went, though.  The aroma is mainly grainy and malty with a little herbal earthiness in the background.  Every now and then, I got a whiff that reminded me of wet hay, but that particular aroma didn't linger.  I tasted a bit more cereal and biscuit on the tongue than I detected in the nose, as well as a hint of caramel and something warm like vanilla.  The mouthfeel is actually thicker than I expected and adds a nice depth to the beer.  It finishes slightly bitter and dry, but the aftertaste doesn't linger very long.  A decent beer, nice and refreshing, but it's not going to knock your socks off.

Cheers!

Goose Island Honker's Ale

I've always like English-style bitters, but since I started this project, it doesn't look like I've had any.  Lucky for me, the Goose Island variety box I picked up recently includes their Honker's Ale, which is a standard bitter:

Vittles:
Standard/Ordinary Bitter
4.3% abv
30 IBU

Score:
Appearance:10/10
Aroma: 22/25
Taste: 37/40
Mouthfeel: 8/10
Style: 5/5
Drinkability: 8/10
Overall: 90/100

Impression:
I like bitters because, despite the name, I usually find them to be a good balance between malt and hops.  This beer's no exception.  In fact, this is probably one of the better bitters I've had in the past few years.  The head persisted fairly well and left mild lacing as it fell.  The aroma is on the malty side, with hints of wheat, caramel, and biscuit.  The hops aromas are delicate and mild, mainly fruity, earthy, and herbal.  I taste more toffee than caramel, but otherwise the malt backbone nicely complements the mild hops flavors.  There's more bitterness on the tail end, and it lingers into the aftertaste a bit.  This would make a good session beer because it's not too heavy or obtrusive of a flavor.

Cheers!