Spent Thanksgiving with the family, gathering in Chicago. So naturally, I must make my way down to Goose Island. They weren't running tours that weekend due to the holidays, but we still killed an afternoon working on our MBAs.
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Sister and I started with the Foxxy and Hex Nut Brown, respectively. Foxxy was a mild brown ale which I found to be pretty uneventful. The Hex was really good though. I would put it a close contender to Blackstone. I hope they start bottling this version since they've discontinued their standard nut brown ale.
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The Belgian IPA was tasty, Belgian, and IPA-ish but it wasn't anything unique.
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Dominique is a sour ale aged in bourbon barrels, so there's a lot going on. It tastes exactly as they described it. I always try sour ales even though I'm not really a fan. It's always interesting. BIL ended up finishing it since he seemed to like it a bit.
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I got a half of the FairytAle, some guest chef collaboration. It was hard to pin down but I was sure that I didn't like it. "It smells like Taylor Swift and tastes like poop smells." Couldn't have said it better. Note to self: construct more colorful descriptions of my drinking experiences. Addendum: Apparently, it was "poop sticks", as in a "stick of poop", not referring to how poop might stick to a surface. Hearing and parsing fail. I like what I thought I heard better.
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Frankenporter is a blend of multiple porter recipes. The result is a pretty stout porter with a lot of complexity. Tasty.
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Blonde Rascal: A Belgian-style ale, though the hop blend seems IPA-ish to me, and steeped with lavender. A really floral and interesting ale. Mildly hoppy, fragrant, effervescent, light-bodied, and very smooth.
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Schwarzbier: B-in-l ordered it. Didn't try it, but took a snap since it's not common.
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Had to try the Christmas Ale for 2010. Can't say much without 2009 for comparison.
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Had to try the Golden Goose Pils since I've never seen a bottle of it. Tastes like pilsner. Reminded me that I don't really like pilsners.
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Finished with a classic: IPA. Delicious.