Goose Island Beer Company

Commercial Brewery | Chicago, IL, United States of America

Vital Statistics

Affiliated Venues

Goose Island Beer Company (Chicago, IL, United States of America)

Beers

Overall average: 78 (logged 118 times)
Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat Ale: 63 (logged 4 times)
American Pale Wheat Ale
Goose Island 3600: 67 (logged 1 time)
Saison / Farmhouse Ale
Goose Island Backyard Rye Bourbon County Stout
Stout (Aged in Barrels, Whiskey)
Goose Island Bourbon County Barleywine Ale: 88 (logged 2 times)
Barleywine (Aged in Barrels, Bourbon)
Goose Island Bourbon County Caramella Ale: 77 (logged 4 times)
Wheatwine
Goose Island Bourbon County Coffee Stout: 89 (logged 8 times)
Stout (Aged in Barrels, Bourbon)
Goose Island Bourbon County Regal Rye Stout: 75 (logged 2 times)
Stout (Imperial / Double, Aged in Barrels, Whiskey)
Goose Island Bourbon County Stout: 87 (logged 26 times)
Stout
Goose Island Bourbon County Vanilla Stout: 75 (logged 2 times)
Stout (Aged in Barrels, Bourbon)
Goose Island Brasserie Noir: 58 (logged 1 time)
Stout
Goose Island Cascara Grisette: 42 (logged 1 time)
Saison / Farmhouse Ale
Goose Island Cherry Rye Bourbon County Stout
Stout (Aged in Barrels, Whiskey)
Goose Island Devon Ave. Pale Ale: 67 (logged 1 time)
American Pale Ale
Goose Island Foudre Project No. 1: Barrel-Aged Flanders Red Ale: 75 (logged 1 time)
Flanders Red Ale / Oud Red
Goose Island Four Star Pils: 67 (logged 1 time)
German Pilsner
Goose Island Fulton Street Blend Coffee Ale: 83 (logged 2 times)
American Blonde Ale
Goose Island Green Line Pale Ale: 69 (logged 4 times)
American Pale Ale
Goose Island Halia Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale: 92 (logged 2 times)
Saison / Farmhouse Ale
Goose Island Hazy Beer Hug IPA: 50 (logged 1 time)
American India Pale Ale / IPA
Goose Island Honker's Ale
English Pale Ale / Bitter
Goose Island IPA: 67 (logged 3 times)
English India Pale Ale / IPA
Goose Island Juliet Belgian Style Wild Ale: 67 (logged 1 time)
Wild Ale
Goose Island Leggy Lass IPA: 50 (logged 1 time)
American India Pale Ale / IPA
Goose Island Little Risk Session Stout: 58 (logged 1 time)
Stout
Goose Island Lolita Belgian Style Wild Ale: 67 (logged 1 time)
Wild Ale
Goose Island Matilda Belgian Style Ale: 67 (logged 2 times)
Belgian Pale Ale
Goose Island Matilda Lambicus: 67 (logged 1 time)
Belgian Pale Ale
Goose Island Mild Winter
English Dark Mild Ale
Goose Island Oktoberfest
Märzenbier / Oktoberfestbier
Goose Island Old Man Grumpy: 75 (logged 1 time)
American Pale Ale
Goose Island Pepe Nero Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale: 75 (logged 2 times)
Saison / Farmhouse Ale
Goose Island Preseason Lager: 67 (logged 1 time)
American Amber Lager
Goose Island Rambler IPA
American India Pale Ale / IPA
Goose Island Real Ale: 25 (logged 1 time)
Belgian Quadrupel Ale
Goose Island Sixth Day Festive Brown Ale: 67 (logged 1 time)
Brown Ale
Goose Island Sofie Belgian Style Ale: 83 (logged 1 time)
Saison / Farmhouse Ale
Goose Island Sofie Paradisi
Saison / Farmhouse Ale (Aged in Barrels, Wine)
Goose Island St. Genevieve: 92 (logged 1 time)
Witbier
Goose Island Stare Into the Sun: 58 (logged 1 time)
Göse
Goose Island The Illinois Imperial IPA
American India Pale Ale / IPA (Imperial / Double)
Goose Island The Ogden Belgian Style Tripel: 58 (logged 1 time)
Belgian Tripel Ale

Limited Edition Single Releases

Collaborations

Deschutes Class of '88 Belgian Style Ale (collaboration)
Belgian Strong Pale Ale (Aged in Barrels, Oak, Wine, Pinot Noir)
Goose Island / Hertog Jan Grand Prestige (collaboration): 83 (logged 1 time)
Barleywine
Goose Island Class of '88 Belgian Style Ale (collaboration): 75 (logged 1 time)
Belgian Strong Pale Ale

Logs for beers from this brewery

The champagne of IPAs. (This is not hazy.)
Mellow wheat beer without the bland citrus vibes of most. If anything there is a bit of pineapple hiding in the aftertaste with a little more bitterness on the front.
Draft at Giordano’s
Tastes like a sweeter Bourbon County, which is maybe a bit much? But you definitely get that raisin/fig molasses caramel on top. Not sure I really got Graham Cracker in here (other than, well, sweet).
Bottle at Odin Lounge
Truly a privilege to have had this beer. The balance, the sweet and the dry, the char and the smooth molasses. Sublime really.
Bottle at Roy’s
Like a balsamic reduction after cooking a steak. And surprisingly, as a hater of bourbon barrel aged, this was really not bad.
Bottle at Roy's place
Aged now for seven years, lots of caramel, cacao, and hints of aged balsamic grape, finishing with a nice, clean, tannic dryness. Love to open an old bottle and find that it's still superb.
Bottle at Roy’s
Thick and sweet, hints of ginger and other cola spices but who even knows since it's so sweet it just overpowers any other flavor. Finishes syrupy and tacky in the throat. Just way too much.
Bottle at Home
Molasses is the forward thing here. Thick heavy and stout.
Bottle at Home
Tart, apricot-like, going into a lightly bitter, pretty funky Brett character. Finishes buttery and mellow, very much the prototypical ideal for a sour for me.
Bottle at Home
Too thick, too young, too sweet, and here's my first rule of cinnamon (or cassia) beers, it doesn't matter what else you put into it, it just tastes like cinnamon. This might as well be a second-rate Mexican cake stout. And for being based on a legendary beer, I just wanted to taste some coconut.
Bottle at Home
Tasted a bit off, like rooty, watery coffee. I haven't quite yet experienced a beer that successfully made me think "stout" at session ABVs, much like low-calorie colas this sits firmly in the uncanny valley.
Can at Home
Keg blew on this one. Seemed a little overly thick and still a bit over the top but I'm never going to complain about getting one of these for a dollar.
There is an instant of really pleasant surprised confusion as the tea flavors hit (I had not read the label or prepared myself in any way to know what this beer was supposed to be about)… but then the just overwhelming sweetness and viscosity come through…. and it doesn’t work. Tea, even Earl Grey, is not supposed to be *thick*. It can be broody, heavy, moody, dark… many things. But not *thick* and basically that kinda ruins it. I’m pretty sure tea will never go with a thick beer like stout for me…
Bottle at Day 613958295 Isolationville
There’s a good beer in there after it punches me. Thanks Eden!
Bottle at Home
Oy plagiarized my donut comment. High octane maple glazed cinnamon bun. Very sweet. Instant drunk while trying to cook dinner. Dangerous.
Bottle at Home
It’s an apple donut! Delicious! Thanks Eden!
Bottle at Home
Dark bitter smell, balsamic vinegar qualities. Smooth yet complex rich body. Good finish, nothing off lingering.
Bottle
Intensely sweet, like a sweet apple wine or brandy, with a concentrated caramel flavor throughout. It's a nice flavor, but there's just a little too much of everything throughout - it was hard to drink more than a small sip at a time. Hopefully with age maybe this could become a lot more mellow. All that said, it was still way better than the Kentucky Fog.
Bottle at Home
So I love Earl Grey and was super excited for this, but I’m really not feeling it here. The base beer overwhelms the subtlety of the teas and they end up turning into a weirdly herbal, perfumey and bitter aftertaste.
Still delicious, and maybe a touch smoother on draft.
Held up well in the recapped bottle, even after four days.
Bottle at Home
The Cherry was just on the edge of cough syrup but was nicely countered with some dark chocolate bitterness. It’s still fairly sweet so probably best delivered in a desert context and in small quantities.
Bottle at Home
Last year, we blended the Midnight Orange and Vanilla together to produce something that was more balanced than either base beer. This year, Goose Island did it for us! The orange is subtle, and the main sensation is chocolate, sweet coffee, and just a hint of fruit. As with most new releases in this line, the beer tastes very young and hard to finish.
Initially, I really liked it. The bottle tagline is "Rustic, Complex, Alluring". I'll give it at least the first two. Complex. Mineraly, pretty interesting.
Bottle at Home
Light grassy hop flavor with a cereal finish.
Also tastes young. Blending this with the Midnight Orange makes an orange cream stout that is probably better than either component beer. This is interesting because I first got to know Goose Island through their excellent orange cream sodas in the ‘90s.
Bottle at Odin Lounge
Strong orange. Almost perfumey, but just avoids that mortal sin by a hair. Tastes very young.
Bottle at Odin Lounge
Surprise offering at Boardwalk. Very smooth, caramel, slightly fruity. Got boozier as the glass went on and by the end I was pretty wrecked. Felt it all night too.
Smells like a fruity red, tastes like a fruity red. Well, with stout caramel on top, which makes it taste a lot like prunes. Tacky sourness lingers in the throat. Maybe this'll get better with age, but ... meh for now.
Bottle at Odin Lounge
Bitter for a lager. They bill it as a red lager with grapefruit and pine aromas. So the fact that it's a bit bitter and brackish is perhaps unsurprising. But overall, not too bad.
Bottle at Home
This is really good. I agree with Mike that it's like a good red are work coffee overtones.
Draft at Mullens Bar and Grull
Very light, almost lager like. But with this is bitter after taste, which is really a lot like dirty water.
Smooth, caramel, light flavored scotch ale with a pleasant but very bourbon-forward flavor.
Bottle at Odin Lounge
A strongly caramel / date barleywine, very sweet and boozy, although it finishes more with a smooth, sugary malt than with any harshness. Very much a dessert beer. Medium-thick.
Bottle at Odin Lounge
Fine, though a little brackish. Bitter, but not as much as the best pils.
Bottle at Work
Light, kind of mild for a pale ale. I think it's a fine beer for drinking, but I'm not a huge fan of pale ales.
Bottle at Work
Floral Belgian, dry, slightly spicy - maybe coriander, but not overwhelming.
Not quite tart enough to be bracing, this tastes nicely of berry but isn't quite of the depth of flavor or as refined as other recent sours I've had. Finish is mildly sweet cereal, at least compared to the opening.
2016 Big Wood Festival. Young-tasting, strong bourbon flavors. Slightly sour.
Crisp, slight fruity taste, a bit of bitter but not bad.
Draft at Lou Malnati's, Chicago
Very light, mellow wheat ale with just a hint of yeast tang. Not exactly watery, but very, very light.
Creamy smoothness belies the 14%abv haha
Bottle at Karthik's
Thanks, Chandler! Just amazing, super complex beer. Vegetal. Umami. Toffee. Thick. Smooth. All of the single words.
Good bourbon and coffee flavors. Very well balanced.
Lots of caramel with a bit of yeasty tang. Not nearly as burnt toffee or tart as the Regal Rye, and this definitely isn't a stout. It does seem to sit nicely in between the Coffee and the Regal Rye stout in terms of character, though. Tasty.
Basically a Bourbon County with what seems like a touch of cherry syrup added. I'm not a fan of cherry stouts or cherry chocolates, so while this was still good, it was a step down from the others. High and sweet bourbon notes and a lingering fruit-tart finish.
This year's version has lovely coffee flavor with no acidity or bitterness; very smooth. Bourbon is present but muted by the coffee flavors, making for a mellow overall character. I want to say this was a definite step up from last year, but this might just be because of its contrast from the rest of the flight. Still: delicious!
Very smooth. Dark chocolate, molasses. The one year of aging really smooths out the booziness.
Simply delicious. Nice dark chocolate, bourbon and roasted flavors. Maybe a little bit too boozy.
Wonderful smell with some marshmallow aromas. Very smooth oak and molasses flavors.
Lots of vanilla and toffee on the nose. Sweet and more than a little bourbony, this beer has a sweet, marshmallow-like aftertaste. Finishes smooth, and wonderful. So glad to have this again. Thanks, Chandler!
Malty IPA with a firmly bitter pithy finish. By the end I couldn't taste the grain anymore and I just got a bunch of booze. Oh, and this place is totally tacky.
Amazing to find this on tap during Migration Week! Take Bourbon County, add a sweet sheen of vanilla on top and then finish it with a little bit of rye fire. Not so much smooth as it is a treat.
A very pleasant pale ale: not too hoppy, not too malty. Light and refreshing. Also, Harry Caray!
Draft at MDW
I don't know if this was the specific name of this beer or if it's a rotating cask. This was a Belgian quad, and I can't say I liked it. Without carbonation it was way too sweet, to the point where it just started tasting weird. If I squinted though I could tell maybe there was something to it, but on cask I really couldn't like it.
Strongly tart and ambiguously fruity at the front, lingering into the finish. The flavor resolves into a thickish peach nectar flavor to close, which mixed well with the tartness. Hints of buttery Brett brings cobbler to mind and nicely sweetens out. First few sips tasted syrupy but resolved nicely over time. Very tasty!
Opening funk in the aroma and flavor. Goes very quickly into a puckeringly sour finish, and at this point you can taste the slightly murky character added by the salt. Finishes clean. I'm still kind of conflicted on this one, but I think it was overall on the plus side.
Opens like a wit, sweet with coriander and wheat. Finishes fruity, with a tart, dry notes that really recall sangria. Loved, loved, loved it. Amazing!
Standard dry coriander-dominant saison, avoids being musty. My palate was still a little messed up from a mystery beer no one could identify that tasted like Chinese medicinal herbs. There's a claim that this had tamarind in it, but who knows?
This was kind of awesome, and also weird. Medium gold in color, this tastes like a much darker beer. I think flavor-wise, it resembles most closely a creamy Irish red with a lot of excellent, smooth coffee flavor on top. Really, really good.
Subtle coriander, other Belgian spice & banana esters; good cereal, balanced with drying yeast bitterness and a tart, vinous finish. Lovely effervescence and -- in the sunlight -- an amazing appearance of flecks of gold in suspension, frozen in amber. I mean, look at that picture!
Alcohol a little more pronounced than I remember. Still quite tasty. (6 oz goblet)
Quite pleasing to the nose with strong banana bread and molasses smell. Very sweet, but not annoyingly so. Roasted malt, molasses, banana bread flavors. Very boozy, maybe a little bit too much.
Thank you Keith, for getting me this bottle! Rich and smooth, like a lighter Berserker. Out of the bottle, by itself, the alcohol and the sweetness were a little more on the nose than on draft, which knocks it down a bit. Perhaps more aging when buying bottled.
Light & fragrant hops with a cereal finish. Very drinkable, and when eating a Chicago-style pizza, geographically appropriate.
About as textbook example of a bourbon barrel aged imperial stout as you could ask for. This is not idiosyncratic in any way, nor does it have any funky residual barrel flavors. This is... it's Sparta.
The chai spices give this beer a kind of ginger-sandalwood-spice soap quality in the fragrance and in the flavor as well. There's a creamy malt presence and a bit of musty funk as well, but somehow this leads to a subdued overall experience. Flattish carbonation, with a bit of finishing prickle on the top of the tongue.
Tart and drying with a nice flavor. Not identifiably fruity.
Sweet and creamy, like a vanilla mocha with five pumps of syrup, but somehow avoids being cloying (although it certainly skirts the edge). Bourbon is just a hint at the beginning; the overall barrel character is subdued.
Clean hoppy smell. Soapy dank cereal taste initially but goes away after a few sips.
Not that tasty but highly sessionable.
Bottle at Copalis Beach, WA
Strong wine characteristics, it carries the Muscat really well, especially when paired with foie-gras. Stands up to old cheese too!
Bottle at Home
You guys, this was so good. Coffee, smooth, sweet and thick without being at all cloying. Pretty much exactly what I'd want a bourbon coffee stout to be, and seemingly a clear step up from the likes of the Baptist.
Bottle at Xbeer One
Distinct Belgian spice and black pepper on the nose. Starts with a bit of coffee-porter character, moves into a creamy, smooth Belgian funk, and finishes with a subtly peppery but definitely spicy kick. A nice surprise!
Bottle at Xbeer One
Smells like a sour. Taste is a complex combination of sour and dry spice. Some bitter in the finish. Interesting
Has the character of a Scottish ale like Traquair more than anything I'd call an American Brown - malty, pungent like wet hay. Once I stopped trying to think of it as a holiday ale it was much more enjoyable.
Bottle at Xbeer One
Sharp malt body with good bitter end.