Goose Island Imperial SmokED Brown Goose

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

Draft… DLD’08… This beer rocks!… Pitch black ale with a small, creamy, beige head. The aroma is of beechwood smoke. There’s some chocolate in there as well, but it’ almost totally eclipsed by that wonderful, wonderful smoke. Full-bodied and velvety with prickly carbonation. Sweet, smoky and chocolaty up front, but moderate bitterness outlasts all else. Smoky, bittersweet, chocolaty finish. Awesome brew!

tap at the brewpub. dark mahogany with a red throughout. aroma- booze, smokey(meat i.e. bacon, ham, smoked brisket) sweet fruity backbone with a strong smoked meat flavor. smoked apple, woody and light vanilla are here too. a peach like finish with more meat and astringent in a good way. this is full and rich.

In short: A fruity and very smoky brown ale (too complex for a true “In Short:” description)
How: Tap at brewpub (Clybourn location)
The look: Brown body with a small beige head
In long: Lots (and I mean LOTS) of smoke on the nose. Very fruity with raisins, black cherries and more soaked in mollasses. Nutty flavours started to come out as the beer warmed up along with some milk chocolate. Those fresh green hops in the finish were the cherry on the sundae. From start to finish I had a woody sensation like that of an oak barrel aged beer. Lively carbonation. Having all those flavours coexist so harmoniously is quite a feat. This truly is a Smoked like no other, unless you order a second pint in which case it will probably be a Smoked like your next/previous Smoked.

Very dark brown with red hues around the edges. Beige head with some lacing and retention. Smokey, bacon, roasty, charcoal, reminds me of BBQ and campfires. In the taste I got smoke, bacon, charcoal, caramel, and cherries. Low carbonation and medium body. I could drink tons of this, thankfully we had a growler to consume courtesy of General_Gao. Hope they make this again.

Serious thanks to General Gao for supplying a growler to a tasting he wasn’t able to attend. Oh, pepsican too. Dark brown pour. Aroma was smoked bananas and ham with real nice vanilla. Lots of Banana and some other fruits beneath the smoke in the taste. Lots of depth here, real nice

Draft at GI Clybourn. Poured a clear dark brown-orange color with a tan head. Aroma was of well smoked, salted bacon. There was also a whiff of chocolate. Medium to full bodied and sweet. There was a dash of salt and a hint of alcohol warmth, but at 9.2%, the alcohol flavor was fairly well disguised. Rich and hearty flavors of smoked bacon, caramel, and chocolate. If you go to one of the Vosges Chocolate retailers on Michigan Ave or W Armitage and taste the Mo’s Bacon Bar, it may remind you of this beer. I liked this it a lot because although the smoke was an active player, it wasn’t overbearing. Very good.

draft - Pours dark brown with very little head. The excellent aroma is mainly of smokey, toasted malt. The flavor is similar as the smoke notes come through very nicely. There’s also some mild alcohol noticeable. It’s lightly carbonated and full bodied, going down very well and providing a pleasant, warming finish. Rich and full, this is a very enjoyable brew.

#100. On tap @ brewery: Dark black in the snifter with no head and strong smoky malt aromas. Smells very bbq: smoked ham and campfire. In contrast to the smoky aromas its surprisingly light bodied and slightly creamy. Malty woody smoky flavors that are quite sweet and earthy. The taste of alcohol isn’t strong but you can feel the warming in the back of your throat. An excellent beer.