Goose Island Harvest Ale

Brewed By: Goose Island Beer Company (owned by AB InBev) in Chicago, Illinois

Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 6-pack purchased at Jewel-Osco in IL; 2011

Style/ABV: Premium Bitter/ESB, 5.7%

Goose Island should need no introduction. They are one of Chicago's largest breweries, and have several brewpubs in the city. They are perhaps most famous for their 312 Urban Wheat Ale, and most respected among craft beer drinkers for their big stouts and their Belgian lineup. Recently, Goose Island was purchased by Anheuser-Busch InBev. This has generated some controversy among craft beer drinkers, but as long as Anheuser-Busch stays away from the actual production of the beer, I will likely continue to support Goose Island beer.

Today's beer is one of Goose Island's seasonal releases, available between August and November. Goose Island's Harvest Ale is an Extra Special or Premium Bitter. The term Bitter was used to describe English pale ales, and currently Bitters are a style that usually utilize English/European hops. If you check out Goose Island's website, they give a good breakdown of their Harvest Ale: this beer uses Cascade hops and Midwestern malts. This beer clocks in at 5.7% ABV, and packs 35 IBUs.  

This beer pours with a nice copper body that is filtered and transparent. There is moderate carbonation, and the pour yields a nice one-inch head that is pretty thick and tan in color. 

This one smells floral and malty. There is some caramel and sweet malt, some nuttiness, some grain, and light floral components coming off the head.

Goose Island Harvest Ale

If you are not familiar with Bitters, this is somewhere between an American Pale Ale and an American Brown Ale. This is light, earthy, and hoppy, with a slight floral or pine component. But there is a good malt character here providing caramel and nuttiness. 

Despite the large malt component, this beer is really balanced and grounded. It is pretty damn refreshing, and has a nice hop character and just enough bitterness to beckon another sip. This slightly dials up the malt component, but could compare to an American Pale Ale. 

This is medium-light, crisp, and refreshing. There isn't a lot of complexity, but the mouthfeel is satisfying. The front end is carbonated and sweet, which leads into a caramel and hop-driven middle, and finishes with a crisp back end. I'm getting hops and malt on the back. 

Rating: Above-Average

Score: 83%

At 5.7% ABV, this is super easy drinking. You could easily make a few of these disappear. I'm also digging the nice lacing and head retention. I tried to figure out why this is a "fall seasonal." It didn't make sense to me at first. But when you think about this particular style of beer, you can see that it is slightly less hoppy than an American Pale Ale and might have a more prominent malt character. 

When it is spring time, you want to reach for an American Pale Ale that has fresh pine and floral notes, is more hoppy than malty, has a nice golden body, and delivers nice hop notes like pine and citrus. 

When it is fall you want to reach for an Ale that is a little more malty than hoppy, has more subdued hop notes, has a nice copper/darker body, and delivers a slightly heavier taste but is still refreshing. Malts can contribute to that "heavier feel." This Harvest Ale is a Bitter that is still super fresh and drinkable, but the perfect fall compliment to a spring Pale Ale.

In conclusion: This is a great fall beer, and the perfect foil to a spring Pale Ale. From it's copper color to its big malt presence, this is an easy drinking beer that would be great during a football game or on a chilly Autumn day.