Venturing back across the pond tonight with a Goose Island India Pale Ale. After the success of the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale that I tried a couple of months back, I have to say that my perception of American beer is not the same as it was. Lets see how this bad-boy turns out...
Slightly hazy in appearance, with a golden orange colour. A thick yellowed head retains itself very well and gives great lacing.
Hop-heavy nose with an abundance of floral hops and grapefruit. Gently toasted malt is in there underneath the hops. Smells very nice!
Straight away, the hops are there with tons of oily, resin flavours and a pithy bitterness which coats the palate. The fruity character comes through with definite grapefruit, and gentle hints of rhubarb and gooseberry. Hefty dose of hop bitterness in the finish, with more oily hop flavours. Malt biscuit flavour and gentle honey sweetness just about manages to keep the aggressive hops in check and bring balance to it all. Very crisp and refreshing!
Medium bodied, with gentle carbonation and a little astringency. The alcohol is almost completely hidden and doesn't taste like its almost 6%. With an easy drinking character, this a fantastic example of an IPA. Some may be unhappy with the down-trodden malt backbone (which is arguably weak), but this is brilliant and I want some more!!
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