Brewed By: Goose Island Beer Company (owned by AB InBev) in Chicago, Illinois
Purchased: 1 Pint, 6oz (650mL) bomber from Binny's in IL; 2011
Style/ABV: Belgian Blonde Ale, 7.2%
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| Goose Island - former pride of Chicago craft brewing |
I realize that I never properly introduced Goose Island. But there is so much to talk about regarding today's beer, and I don't want to spend too much time on history. Especially since I am jaded knowing that Goose Island is now owned by A-B InBev. The Wikipedia breakdown works for me: the brewery began as a brewpub on Clybourn which opened on May 1988. The actual brewery itself opened on 1995, and is located on the Southwest side of Chicago. The second brewpub, located in Wrigleyville by the Chicago Cubs, was opened in 1999. On March 28, 2011, Goose Island sold 58% of the brewery to Anheuser-Busch. The remaining 42% of the brewery is also supposed to be acquired by A-B in the future.
Today's beer is called "Demolotion" and is currently retired. Goose Island has a number of retired beers, including their Bourbon County Vanilla, Bourbon County Rare, Nut Brown Ale, and their Oatmeal Stout. The Nut Brown Ale and Oatmeal Stout were fan-fucking-tastic, and I am sad to see them go.
Aside from the very popular 312 Urban Wheat Ale that Goose Island is most known for, they brew a number of classic, vintage, vintage reserve, and extreme ales. The classic ales include typical seasonal offerings. The vintage and vintage reserve ales are Belgian and French Style Ales. And the extreme ales are huge Imperial Stouts and Barleywines.
Today's beer, Demolition, would be in the Vintage Ales if not for being retired. I feel like it is kind of pointless to review a retired beer - after all, this beer won't be on shelves in the future. But at the same time, I think there is some cool stuff we can educate ourselves on in the process. Specifically, I want to unravel some style semantics, and I want to see how a stale beer holds up. YES: I am reviewing this beer well past its expiration date. According to my bottle, this beer was bottled on 2/6/2011. Even more depressing is that there are no clear indications that this is bottle-conditioned. Although, I get the impression from all the yeast and sediment inside the bottle that it might be. The bottle clearly states: "Will remain fresh 180 days from the bottled on date." Well fuck me; according to my math, it's been around 304 days since bottling. That means this beer is 120 days overdue. I'm worried - I'm not gonna lie. But then again, people age beers like Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale for 10 years. This beer uses Saaz and Chinook hops and has Belgian Yeast, so my hope is that it remained funky and drinkable despite being overdue.
So already we are throwing credibility out the window and pissing in the wind with this review. But we can still talk about style semantics and have some fun drinking beer in the process. Ratebeer has dubbed this beer a Belgian Ale and BeerAdvocate is calling it a Belgian Pale Ale. I've complained about these ambiguous style guidelines before. Goose Island has dubbed Demolition a Belgian and French Style Ale.
The BJCP has a Belgian and French Style Ale category, and within that section is the Belgian Pale Ale category. Belgian Pale Ales have an IBU between 20-30, an ABV between 4.8-5.5%, and use Pilsner or Pale Malts, Vienna and Munich malts for color, body and complexity, and Noble hops like Styrian Goldings and East Kent Goldings.
The BJCP also has a Belgian Blond Ale category. These beers have IBUs between 15-30, ABVs between 6-7.5%, and use Belgian Pils malts, aromatic malts, sugar, Belgian yeast strains, and noble hops. They also have an often noticeable orange or lemon flavor.
The Demolition uses Saaz and Chinook hops; I believe the Saaz are a classical noble hop, and the Chinook is more of an American hop that is often used in Pale Ales, and IPAs. Demolition also uses Pilsen malts, clocks in at 40 IBUs, and packs 7.2% ABV. It sounds slightly more bitter than both the Belgian Pale Ale and the Belgian Blond Ale. It also clocks in at a much higher ABV than a Belgian Pale Ale. Perhaps it doesn't play nicely with either style guideline...I guess we will find out, hopefully.
Again. This bottle is well overdue. I'll obviously note any noticeable defects, and comment accordingly. But it really doesn't matter because this beer is retired. So this review is strictly for the LULz and the education.
Today's beer is called "Demolotion" and is currently retired. Goose Island has a number of retired beers, including their Bourbon County Vanilla, Bourbon County Rare, Nut Brown Ale, and their Oatmeal Stout. The Nut Brown Ale and Oatmeal Stout were fan-fucking-tastic, and I am sad to see them go.
Aside from the very popular 312 Urban Wheat Ale that Goose Island is most known for, they brew a number of classic, vintage, vintage reserve, and extreme ales. The classic ales include typical seasonal offerings. The vintage and vintage reserve ales are Belgian and French Style Ales. And the extreme ales are huge Imperial Stouts and Barleywines.
Today's beer, Demolition, would be in the Vintage Ales if not for being retired. I feel like it is kind of pointless to review a retired beer - after all, this beer won't be on shelves in the future. But at the same time, I think there is some cool stuff we can educate ourselves on in the process. Specifically, I want to unravel some style semantics, and I want to see how a stale beer holds up. YES: I am reviewing this beer well past its expiration date. According to my bottle, this beer was bottled on 2/6/2011. Even more depressing is that there are no clear indications that this is bottle-conditioned. Although, I get the impression from all the yeast and sediment inside the bottle that it might be. The bottle clearly states: "Will remain fresh 180 days from the bottled on date." Well fuck me; according to my math, it's been around 304 days since bottling. That means this beer is 120 days overdue. I'm worried - I'm not gonna lie. But then again, people age beers like Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale for 10 years. This beer uses Saaz and Chinook hops and has Belgian Yeast, so my hope is that it remained funky and drinkable despite being overdue.
So already we are throwing credibility out the window and pissing in the wind with this review. But we can still talk about style semantics and have some fun drinking beer in the process. Ratebeer has dubbed this beer a Belgian Ale and BeerAdvocate is calling it a Belgian Pale Ale. I've complained about these ambiguous style guidelines before. Goose Island has dubbed Demolition a Belgian and French Style Ale.
The BJCP has a Belgian and French Style Ale category, and within that section is the Belgian Pale Ale category. Belgian Pale Ales have an IBU between 20-30, an ABV between 4.8-5.5%, and use Pilsner or Pale Malts, Vienna and Munich malts for color, body and complexity, and Noble hops like Styrian Goldings and East Kent Goldings.
The BJCP also has a Belgian Blond Ale category. These beers have IBUs between 15-30, ABVs between 6-7.5%, and use Belgian Pils malts, aromatic malts, sugar, Belgian yeast strains, and noble hops. They also have an often noticeable orange or lemon flavor.
The Demolition uses Saaz and Chinook hops; I believe the Saaz are a classical noble hop, and the Chinook is more of an American hop that is often used in Pale Ales, and IPAs. Demolition also uses Pilsen malts, clocks in at 40 IBUs, and packs 7.2% ABV. It sounds slightly more bitter than both the Belgian Pale Ale and the Belgian Blond Ale. It also clocks in at a much higher ABV than a Belgian Pale Ale. Perhaps it doesn't play nicely with either style guideline...I guess we will find out, hopefully.
Again. This bottle is well overdue. I'll obviously note any noticeable defects, and comment accordingly. But it really doesn't matter because this beer is retired. So this review is strictly for the LULz and the education.
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| The "Cauldron Effect" that I'm always babbling about... |
The beer yielded some good smoke when I popped the top. There was also some carbonation peaking out, so I poured it quickly. The bottle says pour it into a snifter; and who am I to argue? This is a hazy, straw-colored beer with hints of straw, yellow, and orange depending on the light. I got one-finger of a very white colored head that dissolved into a wonderful cauldron effect fairly quickly. The head has semi-thin bubbles that reminded me very much of the head on a Saison. This beer is super carbonated and effervescent, and it also has A TON of sediment floating around in it. My guess is that this is in fact bottle-conditioned. But why would the beer clearly warn you to drink it in 180 days? Just about every other Goose Island beer that isn't from their classic line advises that you can cellar it up to 5 years. Very strange.
The aroma here is hops, Belgian yeast, and candied notes and spices. The hops do smell a bit faded - and hey - my guess is a lot of the flavor in this beer comes from the Saaz and Chinook hops. Beers that you can age often get their flavor from yeasts and malts. Still, I'm getting sweet grapefruit on the nose, lemon and lemongrass, catty Belgian funk, a touch of orange, a touch of candied citrus/candied lemon/candied orange, and hints of pepper. Overall, not a bad nose at all.
My initial impression upon first taste is that this beer is flat. This beer is catty, stale, and has not held up well. The hops are not resonating, and it is pretty clear that time has taken a tole on this beer. I'm a little concerned, though. The beer poured with a head, smelled great, and still has taste and flavor. Is my own bias and expectations tainting my opinion? Or can I trust myself to describe the beer accurately.
I'm tasting a lot of peppery and spicy citrus; hints of grapefruit, orange, lemon, and lemon grass sprinkled with that peppery note. There are actually hints of pine as well. I'm also picking up some grain and biscuit, and a slight sour or astringent quality. The bone dry finish and the peppery citrus remind me a bit of a Saison.
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| Goose Island Demolition Ale |
There's not a lot of complexity with this bottle, and the mouthfeel is flat. This is carbonated and thin, with that peppery and bone dry finish typical of a Saison. The alcohol is absolutely non-existent, save for some warming on the deep back end. The front is peppery carbonation, citrus, and pine. You get peppery and pine in the middle, which roll into a dry backbone that has hints of grain and biscuit.
Rating: N/A
Score: N/AA long time ago I stated that I would never rate a beer with obvious defects. I'm not even going to guesstimate a rating, because there really is no point. The fact is, this doesn't taste bad and there are still good notes that sing. But there is also a catty, flat, and faded quality to this beer that is highly suspect.
On the plus side, I feel like this beer is in fact a very ambiguous Belgian and French Ale. I'm reminded quite a bit of a Saison, which is a strong, fruity, and spicy beer. I really do not believe this beer fits into the Belgian Pale Ale category, and the assertive hops make me wonder if it would qualify as a Belgian Blond Ale either.
I'm sad that I didn't drink this beer when it was fresh. Actually, not really. To be honest, Demolition appeared to be a genuine flop. This beer was always lining the shelves of the liquor store, and it never seemed to achieve popular status. Goose Island has a large number of really good Belgian-style brews, and I feel like this one just got lost in the crowd. Proof that less is more, Goose Island still offers a legit Saison (their Sofie) and a number of other Belgian Ales.
So there you have it. My first review of a likely defected beer, a whole lotta info on Goose Island and their beer, and some food for thought on the style semantics of the Demolition Ale. Until the next review, cheers.
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