The Ogden
Goose Island Beer Co.

Great aroma. Fresh sweet fruit, soft and mild spice, clean malt.
Smaller than typical very white head. Golden slightly cloudy body.
Note the softness of the feel right away and then an alcohol shot to the gut next. Nice complexity of the pale malt, soft fruit, stronger spice and some honey (I noted sweetness at first but later drinks it wasn't there) all rolling around in a enjoyable way. Quite a bit of drying mixes with the alcohol flavors on the finish. The alcohol is more straight alcohol flavor and less perfumey. In the long run the malt flavors are stronger than the spice and fruit.
Best is aroma and feel. Solid otherwise.
As it warms the sweetness and fruit flavors of the aroma emerge nicely. I bumped up the flavor score.

RB transfer

2014 vintage. From the bottle, it pours a slightly hazy light amber color with a tiny head, soon diminishing to a light ring. Nose is a little banana and some alcohol. Taste is light, mild and slightly fruity.

Bottled 4/16/14; drank 5/8/14 @ the Yarchives.

Dandelion yellow, see-through liquid; champagne bubbles throughout.

White head; decent lace.

Mild banana nose, with a hint of orange citrus & mild black pepper.

Medium thin mouthfeel.

The flavor is a pleasant, mellow blend of banana & orange, with a dry, bitter finish. Almost no booze heat. Good.

 

 

 

 

Poured into a chalice.
A - Pours a slightly hazy golden color with a white head that settles quickly.
S - Aroma is the citra hops, spices and a little banana.
T - Flavor is banana, clove, citrus and earthy notes with surprising bitterness on finish.
M - Mouth feel is average with above average carbonation. Comes off crisp and refreshing.
O - Very nice beer, especially nice in the sea of stouts I've been drinking. Not sure how close this sticks to the style, but it's still a good.

I love the beer with higher AlC. The Triple Style tastes amazing. I live in Chicago and I love the Goose Island Co.

 

 

 

 

I bought a 4-pack last summer and Had one per season to watch it change.
Since I joined BA only three months ago, this is my first review of it and it may be my last.
A change in the label may have started this beer off on the wrong foot. Goose used to suggest that you hold its Belgians for up to 5 years... which I never did.
This label gives us 1/2 year followed by a freshness warning. (Is this Bud's "skunk beer" commercial brought to the craft world... I hope not.)

Basically, the Goose (who I still like enough under its new owners) made an experiment and it is not quite right yet. The primary experiment seems to be dry hoping a triple style with American hops. This leads to an interesting aroma, but detracts from the taste. I also think the hops linger longer than is appropriate for this style.
The other major experiment to me seems to be the change of heart in a freshness date: the beer actually was better to me after 180 days, primarily because the hops settled down a bit and the alcohol was less noticeable.

How to improve this beer? The best but hardest thing to do is to replicate a real Belgian yeast that gives this style its "Wow" that so many American brewers struggle with.
Would I have this again? Possibly if I wanted a triple and it was the best in the bar.
Buy it in a store ? Buy only one.

 

 

This one pours a rich and cloudy golden color. The head is thick, short and very white leaving a nice lacing down the glass.

The nose is weaker than expected yet imparts some great notes of yeasty bread, grass, cloves, Ginger and lemon with a malty undertone.

The taste is quite good and is a very decent Trippel. This is a very dry beer with a sharp bite and some interesting flavors of sherry, wheat berries, lemon, vanilla and a tinge of bread and grass.

The mouthfeel is a trad bit watery for the style but is still acceptable.

Overall a good trippel but not a remarkable one. There are numerous other choices that are better. That said is is quite quaffable and enjoyable, especially for the price which is about half that of a chimay or a true Trappist trippel.

 

Pours a bright, hazy gold with quickly dissipating white head that leave a lasting skim on top. Aroma of biscuit and tropical fruit. Wow. Flavor is similar with a fruity malt sweetness that's perfectly balanced by more hops than usual for the style - only lending a pepper spice to the finish. Very smooth and creamy mouthfeel. Great take on a tripel.