Goose Island 1800 Demolition Ale (Strong Golden)

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

Thanks to maniac for this one. Golden body with a white head. 2005 bottle. Great aroma, some light hops left, nice fruit accents. Taste isn’t too bad, light fruits, bread and a tang that I can’t place. Slightly warm ending.

Bottle dated 06/22/05. Clear orange amber body with a medium frothy white head. Sweet grainy bready aroma. Heavy cereal flavors, light grain, honey, faint grassy hints. Medium body with moderate carbonation. Very smooth, but age seems apparent.

Pours an orange color with minimal white head. Carbonation bubbles appear and cling to the sindes of the glass. Smells of prunes or figs and malt and bread. Taste is faint fruit with very abundant hop bitterness that gets stronger in the finish. Average carbonation and medium-heavy body.

Bottled on 6/22/05, so these bottles are approaching the 3 year mark. ABV is listed as 8.0%. A pleasant aged Belgian Strong, I’m afraid the twist-off caps didn’t help out too much as there seems to be a little bit of oxidation present. A cloudy golden-orange pour with a small, filmy head and little lacing, under carbonated but the murky orange color really looks nice. Mealy aroma of lightly sweetened plain cereal. A touch of honey and some faint grassy hop scents. Very aromatic and pleasing. Medium bodied, well blended and very smooth. Drinks with ease, but it does feel a touch old. Real nice taste, lots of grainy malts. Bread and cereal with a mild sweetness. Caramel and Belgian sugar along with a pleasant mustiness. Nicely aged, and I would love to compare it to a new bottle to taste how this one is fresh.

12 bottle, courtesy my brother, Buffulohead. Hazy gold pour with a rather spare off white head that settles quickly. Honey, citrus, quite a bit of fruitiness and a touch of spice in this sweet malty aroma. Lightly carbonated medium/full body, resinous and chewy mouthfeel. Spicy bitterness comes on quickly after an initial blast of rich malty sweetness. Finishes with a soft dryness and some lingering stickiness.

Bottled on 2007-02-22, 1 year old, 8% ABV
It pours a cloudy orange-copper color, with a creamy head that disappears quite quickly. In the beginning the aroma is sweet and malty, but this as well vanishes; and later there is more accent on the partially fruity hop, light but nice. It has a good mouthfeel, with a very good toffee flavor and a good hopping, both well bitter and aromatic, with dry resins and character. Long final, very bitter, of Belgian memory. A solid Belgian Strong Ale.

Bottled on date of 042006. Small off-white head that mostly diminished, virtually no lacing, fast rising carbonation, transparent, and a golden hue. Nose was hoppy, notes of honey, malty, sweet, and notes of fruit and citrus. Ditto for the flavor. Mouthfeel was slightly tingly. Medium body. I was somewhat disappointed in the flavor as it wasn’t your typical flavor for this style. May have to have this one again for comparison sake.

Pours a hazy yellowy-golden color with little to no head that recedes very quickly. Virtually no lacing is left. Caramel and malt dominate the aroma with a tinge of hops. The inital taste completely reworked my palate, much like a Gouden Carolus beer would. The successive tastings weren’t quite as impressive though. The mouthfeel is disguised as large yet settles into a medium-small. The flavor has a pleasant caramelly taste but with an abundance of hops through the finish. The alcohol is also prevalent. I enjoyed this, but it didn’t knock me out.