Goose Island Barbary Blue

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

On tap at the pub. Foamy off white head over a light copper beer. Blueberry dominates the nose of this beer, leaving room for little else. Flavor is blueberry, caramel sweetness with some acidity. Really a one dimensional beer.

Blueberries are perhaps my least favorite fruit, in or out of beer, so each time I try a brew with said berry in it, I worry that I’ll have to fight back a reflexive gag reaction. Not so with this beer, perhaps because rather than having some ungodly syrup poured into it, it’s a golden ale aged on blueberries. It pours a golden body with a touch of brown in it topped by a respectable white head. The aroma is sweet with malt covered by a soft blueberrfy tartness. The berries are a minor player in the flavor, adding a touch of fruitiness along with the tartness, but the sweet grainy malts carry the load. Drinkable, something I hadn’t expected.

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

Poorly executed fruit beer. Nice potential but definitly missing something. Blueberry and other berries showed up in the aroma after a golden brown pour. Flavor was big time berry with a kick of "beer" if that makes any sense. Like a shot of fruityness was added to a bud select or something. Not as bad as THAT, but to help exemplify what I’m trying to get at.

Draught at the brewpub, Wrigleyville location, as Cubby Blueberry Ale, 4.8% ABV
Hazy copper color. A very ordinary Ale, light sweetness, with a very light (luckily) fruity flavor.

Tap @ wriglyville. Hated it! Soo horrible! very light fake blueberry taste. Super flat with bad aftertaste. By far the worst beer I have had from goose.

Tap at GI Clybourn: Stopped by for a growler and finally broke down and rated this... I am not getting to wordy here expect to say I like Blueberry beers that have a fresh fruit taste. This is not one of those beers, the Blueberry flavor tastes artificial and syrupy. Additionally there is a grainy and corny aftertaste that makes this close to undrinkable. Lucky that Goose still had plenty of Dunkelweizenbock for me to enjoy.

Tap at GI Cly. Clear, light amber with no head. Strong blueberry aroma, sweet, a little apple, pleasant. Sweet fruit, cherry flavor with other berries and green apple. Medium body, medium carb. One of the better fruit beers, better body and flavor/aroma.

Tap @ GI Clybourn - Clear dark amber, creamy white head. Nose was full on blueberry syrup with touches of lemon and earth. Fruity sweet blueberry flavors give way to a slight nutty earthiness in the end. Light bodied, soft carbonation, fruity sweet finish. Not bad, but I think overkill with the blueberry juice...