Goose Island Sofie

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

Aroma beautiful tropical fruit aroma, the kind you get from the salads using wonderful fresh fruit in good restuerants, orange,mango,papaya, banana, and some kindergarten glue, flavor is much the same, alittle initial sweetness ,a little bitterness,and then oddly it dries out in finish,aroma more enjoybale then flavor,but still an excellent Saison

22 ounce bottle, bottled on 10/23/2009. Served in a tulip glass, the beer pours a hazy light gold color with about an inch white head. Head retention and lacing are both pretty good. Aroma is lemon, orange peel, peppery spice, and wheat. Taste is pretty much the same as the aroma, but with the addition of some green grapes. Mouthfeel/body is light/medium, it has high (but soft) carbonation, and also has a dry finish. Drinkability is good, it’s a nice and refreshing brew. I liked this beer, I’d buy it again.

2009 22 oz Bottle -- Pours cloudy yellow with a big white head. Smells of orange, lemon, apple, and wheat. Mellow sweetness with a good tartness. Alcohol is very present on the finish. Peppery and dry finish.

Pours staw yellow with avoid sized white head. Aroma of Belgian yeast and citrus. Taste is tart up front with lemon peel and orange in the middle. Moves to pepper and sometype of danker taste I can’t put my finger on. Finishes dry

Bomber Bottle from Champanes, 2009 bottle marked ‘Bottled Oct 23’ (fresh bottle), sampled in a Kuhnhenn Tulip and Gouden Carolus Chalice glasses, has a almost clear (but there are fine particles in this brew which give a faint haze) pale yellow pour with light orange hues, gave a white head, medium or so effervescence, bottle had some light colored sediment on the bottom, Chalice produced more effervescence than the tulip glass, lots of lemon citrus, lemon skin and some orange citrus on the nose, a little white sugar sweetness in the background and faint floral aroma to, flavors of lemon and orange with pale malt, light fruit and honey sweetness, has a tart and a little pepper at the finish which ends dry, mouth feel is around medium, seems to be a little under carbonated, could use more carbonation, chalice gave a better mouth feel but the nice mouth feel appeared to fall off as the ale warmed to room temperature, this is a nice Saison but sort of typical in many ways.

This seems entirely more like a "Belgian ale" than a Saison. Pours a lightly hazy blonde with a slightly loose great big head that leaves plenty of lace. The aroma is lots of pineapple, some bubblegum, some farmyard, and some fresh hops. The flavor is dry and hoppy and spicy and features notes of citrus, some tartness, some pineapple, lemon rind, non descript fruit, some pineyness, and some bubblegum. The beer is very well balanced between fruity flavors, funky flavors, and a remarkable dryness. The palate is sharp and the carbonation level is perfect on the tongue.

Bottle from rciesla. Nose is slight barnyard funk, slightly sweet with some pink peppercorn and orange peel (the pithy part). Taste is barnyard and straw with a nice dryness. Finishes slightly fruity at first, with a light dry bitterness initially that fades as it warms. As it warms, the fruit in the finish becomes a little cloying and it takes on a pronounced Orangina soda flavor/feel, which isn’t great. All in all, this was nice and close to great early in the glass. I would allow a little longer for the wild yeasts to do their thing and take the edge off that orange soda sweetness. Would drink on the cold side. Thanks, Ryan, have been wanting to try this one for a while.

Bottle: The aroma consists of yeast, orange peel, pepper, and a hint of lemon. It pours a hazy, bordering on cloudy, gold with a half inch white head with sporadic lacing left behind. The flavor starts with light orange, orange peel, and faint floral notes. The finish is lightly peppery along with some light lemony sourness. It’s light bodied with lively carbonation that is fairly soft.