Goose Island Autumn Ale

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

Pouring a reddish-brown boddy with a stunted, creamy head, this has a sweet malt aroma with hints of apple and citric juices, grainy with an underlying fresh bread scent. Medium-bodied, this is an interesting malty brew, the mix of grains creating a soft, sweet drink with a suggestion of spices and enough hopping to keep it from getting cloying. A nice warmer.

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

Tap at Clybourne. Red copper ale with a lcaing off-white head. Sweet herbal aroma with smooth hops. Lightly sweet malt with good nutty notes, nice german style hops, crisp, and dry. medium bodied, with staying power. Fresh! Nov. 10, 2005.

On tap: Ruby brown hue witha small rocky off-white head, very good lace and a bit oily as well. Aroma hints of cookie dough, cereal, roasted malt, floral and piney hops, orange, dust, and meaty yeast esters which reminded me of a steak. Initial taste was sweet but not coy with a twangy undertone. Bitter and citric tone on the finish, some alcohol noticeable as well but not overpowering. Medium-bodied with a oily and lively mouthfeel, light metallic and alcohol feel on the finish. A good brew but nothing to go out of your way for unless already at the Goose, then go for it.

On tap at GI – Clybourn. Poured a lovely, clear reddish-caramel with a short, creamy white head and thorough coating lacing as it descended. The aroma picked up sweeter, candied floral notes backed by assertive dry white peppery spices, cloves, and corn-derived sweetness (that worked). The flavor was peppery and lively with strong, spicy yeast leading the way.. sweetness from medium-skinned fruits and caramel.. long, enjoyable finish. Higher carbonation on the palate with a creamy feel and a nice spicy contrast.. refreshing sweet peppery finish. Good stuff.

Clybourn. Clear, opulent cherry wood in color with a fluid, sturdy grey wrung and a hawkeye-shaped sheet of tan for the head. Simcoe and amarillo jump out in the aroma, swirled around with maraschinos and red raspberry jam. Blueberry fruitiness with a juniper and callow lilies impart a garden sense for additional smelling stopping power. An unforeseeable nutty dimension manifests for flavor, rooting itself in honey roasted pecans, poppy cock and autumn pipe tobacco. Amble palate spanning bitterness and nearly sticky malt sensations. Not a sock-it-to-ya strong ale, but an enjoyable, moderate, medium-bodied treat to bode well with the season.

Draft sampler, Nov. 1. Another punchy amber ale with a mild snout full of American hops. Specialty malts give it a more spicy tone that sets it a little more apart.

On tap at Clybourn. Pours a clear somewhat red/auburn, glowing, small frothy white head. Aroma is pungent, moderately sweet, apple spice, Belgian yeast, estery, sharp banana, strong and sharp clove, light grassy edge, nutty, vegetables trailing off. Flavor follows, sweet, sticky, quite hot, estery, nutty, weird yeasty, tea-like bitterness. Medium bodied, noticeable alcohol, smooth fine carbonation, heavy.

This was one interesting beer. A nice copper, brown color with a decent, off-white head. The aroma lends itself to notions of a hoppy beer. Nice piney/citrusy characters almost over-shadow the malt. However, the flavor is singing it's own tune. The differing malts all come together to mesh quite nicely. None of them over-power. The hops only come out in the finish, which has a nice bitterness to counter the otherwise too-sweet flavor. An interesting beer brewed to celebrate the autumnal harvest.