Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat Ale

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

I always expect Goose Island beers to be better than they are, and I am always disappointed. I got a pint of this at Prarie Moon in Evanston and tossed half of it. Beer is a pale yellow with a small head, only slightly hazy. Nose of lemon and sour malt. Taste of lemon, none of the complexity often present in a wheat beer. Mostly pretty boring, probably fine after mowing the lawn or something. Average for a wheat, at best.

Not a bad beer, very light and refreshing, nothing extraordinary about it though. Some friends highly recommended it, but I think their recommendation was a bit over-rated.

12oz. bottle. Lightly grainy and sweet aroma, full of wheat malt character and doughy, bready yeast with a touch of lemon citrus and honey. Pale, cloudy, yellow color with a very slight head and few swirls of sediment, no lacing to speak of. Flavor profile is lightly bitter, tart and quenching, some malt showing through but the gentle sweetness that accompanies it only really becoming apparent towards the finish, and even then combined with the lingering citric sharpness. Ample effervescence on the palate, paired with a light, somewhat watery body. Perhaps nothing spectacular, but certainly inoffensive and seems to fit the bill of a warm-weather quencher fairly well as the sweetness in the flavor is minimized. Better than some examples of this style I’ve tried.

I put this side by side with the summertime ale. More substance, visible upon the pour and on the nose. I am not a wheat fan, but I find this brew pleasant and a good representative of the style.

Pours a hazy, typical AW, nothing special, decent head. Aroma is mostly cascades, unusual for this style, and in my opinion, a big improvement to the style. Flaor is similarly familiar with a twist. Ultimately , this comes across as an APA made with wheat rather than barley, which puts it well ahead of most in this usually flavorless style.

4/1/07: Bottle.
Xtra pale, hazy, lemon body with a white rim of carbonation. Hoppy, tea-like nose with hints of lemon. Flavor is similar to drinking an iced tea. Would be very refreshing for a hot summer day. Bring on the 90° temps! Crisp finish.

Very weak aroma, hazy dark yellow with a very small head. The appearance is not cloudy enough for a wheat ale in my opinion, and the body and finish are weak.

Draft Paulie’s Bar and Grille-A cloudy orange with no head. Aroma of orange and it had a taste of orange and a bit of coriander. Another typical American Wheat. I was expecting more from Goose on this one.