TL;DR summary: Too subtle.
Beer style: Saison
ABV: 6.5%
What I paid: 9.99 (on sale)
How it came (packaging): 4 12 oz bottles.
Brewery link: http://www.gooseisland.com/
About the Beer:
Goose Island is one of the early players in the craft beer
game and a Chicago mainstay. The brewery was acquired by corporate behemoth AB
InBev in 2011, a move lamented by much of the beer loving community. However,
control remained with the management in Chicago, and Goose Island continues to
make excellent beers, while gaining access to resources, capacity, and
distribution they couldn’t hope to achieve on their own. (Please don’t read
this as an InBev love fest. I despise the megacorp and I think they’re
representative of everything wrong with the beverage industry. I just think in
this case it worked out well. It’s likely the exception to the rule.)
Sofie is part of the brewery’s vintage ale series. These
beers are barrel aged, and, theoretically, suitable for cellaring (I haven’t
tried. I don’t have the patience). Goose Island has some of the most detailed
descriptions of their beers on their website that I have seen, so be sure to
check out what they have to say. In a nutshell, Sophie is a Belgian farmhouse
style ale, aged in wine barrels.
Color/appearance: straw colored, slightly cloudy, thick, persistent
white head
Aroma: grapes, spice, a little bananas
Mouth feel: tingly with a slick finish
Flavor: citrusy, hints of grapefruit, hints of pear. minor spicy
note slightly sour at finish.
Notes:
This is a very delicate beer. The flavors are very
subtle. Reminds me of a sparkling
white wine. It would probably do well paired with rich food or delicate
cheeses, but it doesn’t really stand up spectacularly on its own. It’s just not
complex enough for me for this
style (or maybe too complex?). It would be interesting to see how it cellars.
It really needs the right conditions to drink it. It’s not a session beer for
sure, but might appeal more to wine drinkers.
Summary:
Subtle but really could be more complex. It’s an ok
beer, Goose Island makes better, and there are several much better examples of
the style available.
Rating : 2.5
Scale:
1 – avoid
2 – if it’s the only choice, I guess
3 – a decent beer. Drinkable.
4 – good beer – hard to turn down
5 – great beer - One of my favorites, pour me another.
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