Wild Goose Snow Goose Winter Ale

Brewed by Wild Goose LLC (Flying Dog)
Style: English Strong Ale
Frederick, Maryland USA

Bottled in 1999: Best served by May 1, 2000. Beer is about 8 years old and sampled tonight, courtesy of BigSilky. Unbelievable flavor for 8 years down the road. Aged very well. Poured typical, smelled like a great strong ale should and went down smooth. Since we split this beer, I only consumed 5-6 oz. and was ecstatic about (not surprised) how balanced this brew was. Fantastic stuff. Malty, smooth and lightly carbonated. The label fooled me, Brando! Thought this was an old school Goose Island seasonal brew from 2000 (When I was a mere 17 years old). What an honor this beer was to drink, even among the other brews we broke in to tonight. If you can manage to grab a few of these and hold on to them, you’re in for a nice little treat.

Nose of chestnuts, peanuts and toast, with a undertone of oak or cedar wood. Palate is dry and roasted, tastes of nuts and wood mostly, with some brown sugar and maple thrown in for good measure. I think it’s missing some plum or cherry flavors, that would definitely make this good, but otherwise it’s a solid beer.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Poured a clear deep copper color. Mild citrusy hop aroma with a large malty base. Sweet caramel and nutty. The flavor was malty sweet with an acidic hop. Mildly bitter dry finish.

Dark red color. Dull nose. But fairly nice malt flavor. Definately tolerable and somewhat enjoyable.

I had a draft glass of this at the Bone Fish grill in Frederick, and it was pretty good. The beer was a dark amber, almost brownish color, with a creamy, dark tan head. The head faded some, but lasted throughout the beer, and clung to the side of the glass in light rings. Pretty good roasty aroma, mostly caramel malts, with a bit of cinnamon, and perhaps some piney hops. The flavor was a nice mix of sweetness and bitterness, that complimented each other well. It was a fairly wet beer, with a full body and good mouthfeel.

Hand bottled from Goldtwins. Pours a amber color with a huge foamy head. Nose is funny as this is a bit off but still has some caramel notes but little else. Still a great chance to try this brew.

Reddish brown with a moderate head, decent lacing and retention. Aroma is wood, caramel, hints of port or sherry (aging would probably bring lots more) and light hops. Flavor brings this, medium bodied with a slightly sweet finish. Rich malts made this enjoyable, nice.