Goose Island 1800 Demolition Ale (Strong Golden)

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

Pours a very cloudy burnt orange, with very thin head that disappears quickly to a wispy cap. The lacing is sparse, and doaesn’t really stick to the glass. Smell; caramel and brown sugar with toasted biscuits up front, with some tropical fruit, and a little pine in the background. There’s also some touches of a peppery spiciness as well. Taste; the toasted biscuits are very present on the first couple of sips, and then the caramel and brown sugar shine through. Once this warms up a little some pineapple and peaches come out, with spicy and herbal hops, and a bit of alcohol presence in the finish. Mouthfeel is medium to full bodied but very little carbonation, and a pretty decent drinkability. This is a very different one from the guys from Goose Island, and probably my least favorite of their Reserve beers. Despite that, it’s still a pretty good beer, and I’m glad I was able to purchase a 4 pack at The Still down in Lincoln.

Pours an off yellow. Some spice/hops notes, kind of sweet, but at the end of the day I just wasn’t sure if it worked.

Quite big and syrupy rich, with lots of honey, fizzy/tangy fruit notes, and cereal/toast flavors. Some interesting esters of possibly apple and spice, but mostly a big, sweet beer well balanced in the back end with a floral, Saaz-like bitterness and a dry finish with slightly sticky aftertaste. One of the better big beers I have had in quite a while.

Poured nice enough. Hey, Where’s the yeast? Pretty good head, but not big enough. Head left quickly. Maybe I like my Golden Strong Ales on the malty side. This one didn’t do it for me. To much bitterness. It maybe ok for the American market, but I don’t know if the Belgians would buy this in mass quantities. Left hardly any lace in my Duval glass. Drinkable, but at $10/4 pack...I dunno. I’ll take some of the Canadian stuff for a US$ less/4 pack.

Someplace between a Belgian and a Barleywine. Golden, clear. Citrus, buttery. Got to talking to an associate, so these notes suck. Re-rate some other time.

Pours a three finger, cream head that fades to a 1/4" layer leaving some lace. Cloudy amber color, some yeast in bottle. light-medium carbonation and medium bodied. Malty spicey nose. Flavor hints of honey, spicey, some bitterness at finish. Alcohol is hidden. Bottled on Jun 22, 2005, keeps good, $2.99 for a 12oz bottle from John’s Grocery Iowa City, IA.

12 oz bottle. Pours a semi-clear, light orange body with little head that fades almost instantly on a good pour. Lazy carbonation. The aroma consists of sweet molassass, raisins and just a slight hint of grass and licorice. The taste is super-hopped from the start, with a very bitter mid and aftertaste. This reminds me of Sierra Nevada Bigfoot barleywine. This flavor profile combined with the sharp and astringent mouthfeel personally brings down this flavor score for me. The only slightly saving grace is that they managed to mask the alcohol taste very well. A quick observation of this beer’s rating will prove that my personal preference was a major factor.

Hazy orange and practically headless, this product smells of sour generic fermentation with the grassy touch of saaz and a pinch of spices. Taste is much better with a hoppy-sweet medicinal quality that stings the back of my tongue. $3/12oz