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Saturday, April 30, 2016

Goose Island The Illinois Imperial IPA


Goose Island Beer Co. of Chicago, Illinois is one of the most famous and popular craft beer breweries in the United States, but Anheuser Bush owns it and it’s parent company In-Bev. But they manly control Goose Islands core brands such as Goose Honkers Ale, Goose IPA, 312 Urban Wheat Ale, Green Line Pale Ale, and Four Star Pills. In-Bev manly wanted to buy Goose Island for distribution. But they aren’t taking over any other beer in Goose Island portfolio. One beer in particular that has not been as much a part of the In-Bev deal is Goose Island The Illinois Imperial IPA (India Pale Ale), 8.4% AVE and an IBU of 80. The Illinois is brewed with Calypso, Galaxy, Cascade, and Chinook hops. The Illinois pours a deep orange coopery color with a decent one and a half finger white head. The color is quite nice looking. The aroma is strong and earthy with a little pine in the mix. I did find a faint bit of some citrus fruits like a bit of orange and grapefruit, but more grapefruit than orange. Taste is strong up front but quickly becomes citrusy earthy with hints of faint pine. At first the taste is great but as you continue to drink it you become friendlier with the intense hoppy flavor and it becomes better with each sip. The mouth feel is somewhat medium and the after is hoppy earthy with touches of faint pine and citrus flavors. I wasn’t sure I liked this Imperial IPA at first but it grew on me the more I drank it. It’s a B- in my book. Not bad for an Imperial IPA. I am not a fan of Imperial IPAs I rather go for a normal IPA, but this was not bad. I would go back for this but not so fast. It wasn’t so smooth as some other Imperial IPA like The Unknown Brewing Co. Vohopciraptor. But I enjoyed Goose Island The Illinois Iperial IPA. Cheers! Please enjoy responsibly!     

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