Goose Island Alt Bier

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

Copper bodied with a short-lived head, this has a malty aroma, lightly roasted, with a trace of apple skins. The flavor is a nice blending of a rich, caramel and toffee maltiness with a herbal bitterness. The finish is long and dry. A decent enough altbier.

<font size=-4><a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp? Island Beer Company - Clybourn, Chicago, IL<font size=-1>

Dark amber red with a creamy off-white head. Sweet fresh biscuity malt, very fruity with pleasant hints of hops. Nice wet mash, nutty and fresh. Some hops develop in mouth, with grassy herbal qualities. Medium bodied. Quite good. 3$ pint at Clybourne location.

Tap at Clybourn and served in a MBA pint glass: Coppery hue with a fizzy lasting head and okay lace. The aroma is SAAZ, SAAZ, SAAZ and some biscuity and caramel malt with a hint of apple esters. The taste has a clean mild bitterness with matching malt background. Minor fruity acidity and herbs on the finish. Sprite and refreshing mouth feel with a dry finish. Good for the style and easy to drink.

On tap at GI – Clybourn. Poured clear, brilliant coppery-amber with a well-retained cap of off-white head. The aroma picked up sweet caramel with some herbal accents.. a bit of cola sweetness as well.. overall malty and pleasant. The flavor had sweet caramel at the core with herbal and floral bitterness.. sweet complexion and lighter with a nice feel to it.. more bitterness emerged with warmth. Lighter-bodied and well-balanced. This was an enjoyable beer on all fronts, and I could drink a lot of it.

Draught at the Wrigleyville location. Clear red-brown color with orange highlights. Head was thin and off white in color. Smelled of dried cherry and light sprucy hops. Fruity and slightly sweet up front. Dry with a subdued malty brown sugar flavor in the middle and grassy hops at the end.

Draft: Golden brown. Dense, slightly-rocky ivory head. Restrained aroma of minerals, roasted nuts and wood. Toffee and vanilla whispers. Thin body with sharply-chalky pinpricks of carbonation. Failry straightforward and easygoing with a frontal display of nuts and roasted grains. Coarse mineral underlay exaggerates the rounded fruity acidity. Toffee-coated nut richness wanes as leafy hops and dry/chalky malts seal the finish. Decent rendition, but rather predictable and poorly assembled.

Clybourn. Translucent and glowing bronze with a 1/3" creamy, milky tan head and A+ lacking. Traditional, modest aroma of whole wheat bread, copper kettles, caramel and ginger. Mild Heath flavored frozen custard comes to fruition. Some unrefined cocoa powder in the profile. Brass/kettle resonance that adds an interesting twang dimension, but never sears or borders astringency. Toned carbonation, sliding emphasis to the chocolate confectionary powder sprinkled over mild hazelnut scones. Slight earthy hop dynamics and an ever present autumn sense.

Unfiltered ruddy orange. toasty and sweet baked apples in the nose. Rich malty body and taste, finishes with a bitter biye. aftertaste is toasted apples. Very nice all around, a winner.