Goose Island Brewery in Clybourn Overview

Now that I've posted everything, I wanted to comment a bit on the brewery. First off, its a brewpub that brews on the premises for the brewpub only. They do bottling and beers produced for distribution out of another brewery location in Chicago. This means that everything there is really fresh and was made specifically for people at the pub. Secondly, its their original location (they have a second one in Wrigleyville) and has been around since 1988 when it was the first real brewpub to open in Chicago and start a craft beer movement there. Third, the beer is delicious. They have about 20 beers on tap (unfortunately I only had time to try 7), which is pretty crazy. The tour/tasting was very informative and taught me a lot about the brewery and their strategies. The biggest thing that I took away was that they want to brew beers that are drinkable and able to be drank in multiple quantities. And no, I don't mean like how you can drink 15 coors lights in one hour, I mean quality beers and can be drank in large quantities. If any kind of beer tests this strategy to me its an IPA, and their IPA is definitely one of the most drinkable I've had. If you're in Chicago try it out, they also serve food there which I didn't try, but looked good.

For our local followers, I've heard that Goose Island will soon become much more readily available in New Jersey which is great news. I also have seen it in New York City a lot lately. Once I see it in NJ, I'll post where you can find it.

See below for link to the Clybourn Brewery website.

http://www.gooseisland.com/pages/clybourn_brewpub/65.php

Cheers!

Goose Island Pictures

Some pictures from our trip to the Goose Island Clybourn Brewery in Chicago:

Goose Island Clybourn Brewery flag

Cinders IPA aging in barrel. Dated 3/11/10

Tasting

Outside the brewery

Entrance

Tap handle we brought back to display in Gallagher's Pub!

Goose Island India Pale Ale

Been trying to catch up on some things after getting home so I'm a bit late getting this stuff up, but here it is. I've had the Goose Island IPA before, but decided to wait until I had it on tap at the brewery to review. It has always been a favorite of mine, but it was even better being so fresh. Pours a hazy reddish copper with a nice sized head that left beautiful streaks of lacing down the glass while drinking. Aroma was very delightful to the nose, with citrus nodes being mixed with roasted hops. Pretty standard scents for an IPA, but nothing too much on either end. Taste was citrusy at first, followed by some delicious roasted hops that had a nice bitterness. Mouthful was medium with a good amount of carbonation. Its not an IPA loaded with crazy citrus flavors or tons of hops, but its almost perfectly balanced between the two. This balance makes it a very drinkable beer for IPA lovers and one of my top 3 favorite IPAs of all time. Great job done by Goose Island.

Goose Island Porter

Didn't catch the exact name, but was definitely a porter. Coffee and chocolate prevalent in scent and taste. Thin in mouthful.

Jimmy's Red Farmhouse (Red Saison)

Most bizarre of the six we tried. Smell was a mix of a ton of stuff and reminded me of sour lemons mixed with malt. Taste did not match the smell, but rather had a sweet floral taste to it that was almost like a wheat beer even though this isn't one. Very odd beer, but extremely interesting.

Goose Island Rye Pale Ale

Overly citrusy in the nose, more than any other beer I've had. Taste was very citrusy at first before rye and hops kicked in late for bitter finish. My favorite one so far. Almost like an IPA but not as hoppy and with some different tastes being a rye beer.

Goose Island Naughty Goose

Very malty in the smell and taste. Brown sugar being the most distinguishable. Again, lacked hops in the finish, but wasn't bad.