Gillian | Goose Island Beer Co.

4.21/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Added from previous notes from the first release:

T: Tart, sweet strawberry, earthy funk, plastic/rubber, honey, peppercorn, champagne, too expensive to get often

★ 164 characters

4.44/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from tap into a shaker pint (yeah full 16 for $7 love Kroger) 1/2 finger head recedes rather quick to a pool. Pale golden in the glass, nor far from being clear. Smells of lactic, peaches. Taste initially of muted peach, somewhat tropical. This is a beautiful beer, great mouthfeel, carbonation, the works. Not much Belgian esters but that is ok.

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4.25/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Golden color (or maybe a shade darker than that). Stonefruit and bright strawberry notes in the smell. A great (high) level of sourness in the taste. Some vineousness. Quite drinkable and refreshing. Very good.

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4.17/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 2.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Pours an effervescent peach color with near zero head. No head retention or lacing, murks up a little

S: Sourness, wet hay

T: Follows the nose, lemon & cherry sweet tart, plus dryness up front. Puckery sourness as this warms, a little grapefruit, lemon & raspberry & strawberry, plus a little oaky dryness, some dry white wine sneaks through as well. Finishes with a little acid, strawberry, & Chardonnay & a touch of lemon sweet tart

MF: Light body, delicate carbonation, a little acidity

Very good take on the style, pretty darn drinkable, ABV is very well hidden. Worth the money

★ 594 characters

4.24/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

This is an elegant sour. The subtle redfruit tartness on the tongue is excellent! It won't win any festival awards for best of category, but one never tires of drinking it.

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4.14/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Vintage 2016

A: Pours a golden yellow color with 2 fingers of head that fairly quickly fades down to a thin cap

S: A bit of a tart note to start things off, followed by the strawberry and light peppery notes. Light sweetness from the honey comes through as well, although it is a bit hidden under the tart notes

T: Follows the nose. Starts off with a moderate tartness and some light acetic notes followed by the strawberry and white pepper notes. A bit of fruitiness and farmhouse character comes through from the yeast as well. Finishes with lingering strawberry and pepper notes

M: Medium bodied with moderate, spritzy carbonation

O: An extremely refreshing and surprisingly easy to drink farmhouse beer, especially considering the higher abv (the abv on this bottle is 8.8%). A good summer sipper that has the potential to age very well. Definitely worth checking out

★ 876 characters

4.1/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

10 oz pour on tap into snifter.

A: Light amber burnished gold in appearance. Almost no head.

S: Honey, strawberries, a little funk hay a little sourness.

T: funky hay clove taste with very faint taste of strawberries lightly sweet but not very sour.

M: Lighter with a soft feel.

O: Very good beer this one makes me want to try the other two Lolita and Halia. Goose island makes a good farmhouse and this is no exception.

★ 425 characters

3.93/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

No label information. Gillian is brewed in the style of a Farmhouse ale with strawberries, honey & white pepper, aged in wine barrels. Available in limited run 750ml. bottles and on limited draft. 2013 Vintage.

Poured from a 750 ml. bottle to a tulip glass.

(Appearance) Pours a crisp, fizzy head of a straw-white tone over a medium hazy pale amber body with moderate active carbonation. Retention is poor and there is no visible lacing. 2.5

(Smell) Pale, lightly toasted bread malts, tangy and sweet strawberry puree, spicy peppercorns, light funk and moderate acidity. The honey is not particularly aromatic and fairly transparent. Very evident strawberry impact, but nicely displayed, not overly syrupy and sweet, displaying the subtler tart characteristics, further accented by the farmhouse yeast and effervescence of peppercorns. White wine barrel aging is evident, generating a slight dryness and vinous undertones. Potency is moderate. 3.75

(Taste) Very sour up front, moderately drying. Pale, cracker and bread malts with the slight viscosity of fermented honey, quite a clean malt delivery nonetheless. Tangy acidity and essence of strawberries, even better concealed into the flavor than in the aroma this time around. Finishes spirited, dry and peppery with the added pinch of spiciness from peppercorns and young barrel notes, and a moderate vinous character from white grape notes. Very rich, tasty and strikingly pleasing sour farmhouse flavors. 4.25

(Mouthfeel) Texture is slick, smooth, medium dry. Carbonation is moderate, generating a light frothiness and a moderately crisp finish. Body is medium for the style, medium overall. Balance is slightly tangy, acidic and sour over sweet. Alcohol presence is light and there are no off characters. 3.75

(Overall) A very solid and strikingly soured farmhouse ale, although some time to mature in the bottle clearly did it some good. I'm still looking forward to this in more reasonable-sized bottles but recommend this as one of the better entries in the "sister beer" saison series, above at least Halia, and about on par with their year round offering of Sofie. 4

Goose Island Beer Co.'s
Gillian Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale
3.93/5.00

★ 2,205 characters

3.96/5  rDev -3.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Light copper to orange in color. There's a just a little whiff of off white in the middle of the glass. The complexion is very hazy. I smell strawberries, pepper, and lightly tart Brett. The taste closely mirrors the aroma with strawberries, light pepper and lightly tart Brett. The mouth is highly carbonated and very dry.

★ 328 characters

4.34/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Pours an identical hue to apple juice, clean with mild carbonation. Aroma is fantastic, very crisp dry yeast with notes of strawberry must, candied sugar and a little waft of lacto-funk. As it warms the peppers come out more and it unfortunately produces a campfire / sulfur smell. I thought the taste was also very good, though I wish one or two of the notes would have "popped" a little more. The dry yeast is the backbone, and the lacto is very well done & not overbearing. You can certainly detect the pepper spice (which brings a heat uncommon to the style) and honey, but the strawberry is very faint. I think it is subsumed by the lacto. Mouthfeel is bouncy and crisp, champagne like. Overall a great beer and better than Lolita (the only other "sisters" beer I have had) but it could have been a classic if it had some more stand-out notes on the tongue.

★ 862 characters

4/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle share at Darrell’s, thanks to Rich for bringing the "Sisters". Good solid sour, lots of herbal and floral notes, red/pink pour, tart nose and taste.

★ 157 characters

4.13/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Poured a cloudy orange body with two finger head and some lace that died quick. Some typical Belgian type yeast comes through along with a sour aspect and some spices, and there is even a slightly vinous aroma. Smooth, fuller body thanks to yeast, beer has lovely interplay between sour/funky and spice notes along with a thicker malt based sweetness (assume this is the honey) and a fruit like sweetness (I guess this is strawberry, per label, but tastes more like white grape (I guess this is white wine aspect that seems to pop up)) to me). Finishes with slight acidic sharpness that compliments, not detracts, from beer, and with ABV well hidden this is a very interesting beer with great flavor combinations.

★ 716 characters

3.9/5  rDev -5.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Gillian 2013, bottle pour at Hawthorne's in Philadelphia for Migration Week. I had Lolita 2010, Juliet 2010 and the Gillian, and this one was my least favorite.

Fresh, lively, spritzy... but lacks the complexity of the other vintages I had. A little on the thin side overall, and not sour enough. Don't get much strawberry or pepper. The nose is on point, though.

Glad I tried on tap instead of spending 45 dollars on a bottle.

★ 430 characters

4.3/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Smells slightly of strawberry. Moderately sour beer with strawberry notes. White pepper gives a very slight spiciness on the back end. Overall a good beer.

★ 155 characters

3.79/5  rDev -8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75

A — Pours a really light pale yellow color, almost no color at all to it actually, there is a light white head, but it fades quickly. No lacing left behind at all.

S — Smells great, lots of bright berry character, lots of raspberry, some strawberry, and a big hit of sourness.

T — Tastes nice, though a bit off, lots of tart green apple and a bit of strawberry.

M — Very high carbonation, lots of effervescence, almost champagne like.

O — Very nice overall, strawberry flavor is muted, but the rest of the beer is pretty good.

★ 542 characters

4/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Rating from 2013. Pour is mostly clear golden orange with a tight white head. Nose has a fair bit of grain and tangy yeast with a focus of leathery bret and some fruity bret in back. Taste is unique, body is medium with very strong carbonation. Loads of bret and fairly sour. Golden fruit bret with some citrus and a tangy yeast underneath. A good bit of peppery spice towards the back. Different, theres an interesting dusty cobweb mid palate. decent.

★ 460 characters

4.42/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Wow, very good, complex, but not too busy. Consumed 5/22/15, bottled 9/12/13. Looks very light bodied and a pale gold color. Looks do no justice to this beer. Scent is fantastic! Strawberries, very sweet, lactic acid, vinegar, a little cantaloupe. Taste is great! More strawberries, tartness, slight honey, pepper isn't too distinct until the after taste. People say Gillian is overwhelmed by pepper but I don't really pick up an overwhelming pepper flavor until the back end of this beer. Great barnyard funkiness as well! Very brettty! Perfectly complex beer without being too complex. Great mouthfeel with very nice carbonation! Totally recommend this one! Love Goose Island sisters!

★ 686 characters

3.49/5  rDev -15.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.5

Consumed on April 27th, 2015 from a bottle dated "12SEP13", so it has aged in my beer fridge for 17 months. Poured into a snooty Teku glass.

Beer is a clear rich medium golden with plenty of active carbonation. Smallish white head dissipates rapidly. Lots of cloudy yeast when you get close to the the bottom of the bottle.

Aroma is mainly pepper with a dash of white wine character. Too much pepper.

Flavor is likewise dominated by pepper, though there is also peach and white grape. Moderately tart without crossing the threshold into actual sourness. No/low bitterness. Fairly simple flavor profile. Slightly warming after a few sips.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied and a little spritzy. Tingly if held on the tongue for a few moments.

Overall, this is a unique and interesting beer that suffers from too much pepper flavor. I paid $31.99 for this bottle when new, and that was certainly too much. Won't be buying this again.

★ 940 characters

4.66/5  rDev +13.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

2013 vintage poured into a Brooklyn Brewery snifter - bottled 1219 @ 12DEC13

A - hazy orange pour with a light, effervescent head that hangs around for a little while. Hazier as the dregs get into the pour.

S - WOW. the white pepper and strawberries (expected them to be all but gone at this point because they fade so quickly) dominate with tart barrel in the background. Much better than from the keg during migration week!

T - The strawberries and sour funk dominate here with some mild barreling (I can't tell what kind of barrel it is but i'd guess pinot grigio or some other white wine) with the white pepper balancing the act on the back end. No booziness at all and a slight sweetness.

M - slightly high carbonation but appropriate for the style and description. This keeps the beer light despite the residual sugars I'm tasting.

O - I really like this beer and am a bit surprised at how much from the initial tasting. I'm thinking the beer is better front he bottle. I'm also pretty surprised that the strawberry is so strong.

This is my first review in some time. Happy to be back at it.

★ 1,111 characters

4.26/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

A - Murky wheat appearance, not much head, not much lace.

S - Wild fresh and tart.

T - Big tart fruitiness, fresh and clean.

M - Medium body, good carb and balance.

D - A very easy to dink beer, despite the ABV.

★ 215 characters

4.06/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

765 ml bottle, 2013 edition, bottled on 12SEP13. I've had this sitting around a while now, and figured I might as well get around to drinking it. Served in a Prairie Teku, the beer pours a hazy dark gold color with about a half inch white head that fizzled away quickly. Pretty much no lacing at all. Aroma is fruity and tart, the brew smells like strawberry, white wine, lemon peel, oak, hay, and a bit of peppery spice. I think the taste is similar to the aroma, but there's also the addition of some green apple, funk, lime and some honey. There's a good amount of tartness, but also some sweet fruitiness too (mostly strawberry). Mouthfeel/body is light/medium, it's a bit coating with a moderate amount of carbonation. The 9.5% ABV is well hidden! Overall I liked this brew, and thought it got better the longer I drank it. However, with the $26.99 a bottle pricing I don't think I'd buy it again at that price. Still, it was nice to try this once.

★ 964 characters

4.51/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

Bottle pour at the Old Toad for their Goose Island tasting.

Pours a hazy, murky pale yellow, especially since I got part of the dregs. There's a small head, but no lacing.

Smells like strawberry, honey, oak, lemon, white wine, and distinct funk.

This is a really unique wild saison, I dig it. As it warms up, the strawberry, while already prominent at the beginning, becomes even more in your face. There's a nice sunny sweetness from the honey, with a mild sourness that's pleasant and plays in the background behind the strawberry and honey flavors. There's a bit of light funk, and a nice peppery finish. I'm glad the pepper is restrained here- I'm not sure how it would work if there was much more. I get a bit of lemon and lime flavors, too.

This is light bodied, with a light, crisp, and sweet mouthfeel. It's really drinkable- the GI rep called "sessionable" which I'm not entirely sure about, given the ABV. He is right in saying how crushable and easy-going this one is.

This was really unique and awesome, and nicely set up the big crushers later in the tasting.

★ 1,077 characters

4.26/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750 ml bottle into tulip glass, bottled on 9/11/2013. Pours lightly hazy bright gold color with a small foamy white head with poor retention, that reduces to nothing fairly quickly. No glass lacing, and a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big strawberry, peach, pineapple, lemon zest, green apple, pear, white wine, honey, oak, white pepper, hay, straw, grass, light musty funk, and yeast earthiness. Fantastic aromas with great complexity and balance of fruity/spicy yeast, strawberries, and wine barrel notes; with great strength. Taste of big strawberry, peach, pineapple, lemon zest, green apple, pear, white wine, white pepper, honey, oak, hay, straw, grass, light musty funk, and yeast earthiness. Fair amount of fruity/acidic tartness and spice on the finish; with lingering notes of strawberry, peach, pineapple, lemon zest, green apple, pear, white wine, white pepper, honey, oak, hay, straw, grass, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Incredible complexity and balance of fruity/spicy yeast, strawberries, and white wine barrel flavors; with a great sweetness/tartness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, moderately crisp/acidic, and slightly slick mouthfeel that is great. Alcohol is very well hidden with only a light warming present after the finish. Overall this is an outstanding wine barrel fruited saison. All around awesome complexity and balanced of fruity/spicy yeast, strawberries, and wine barrel flavors; and very smooth to sip on for the big ABV. A highly enjoyable offering.

★ 1,592 characters

4.2/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Great balance of tartness and sweetness, with a fruity note running throughout. Wish I had more to say about this beer, but it was one in a long list of beers at a bottle share.

★ 178 characters

4.11/5  rDev -0.2%

From 08/29/14 notes. Found this on the shelf in Manahawkin, NJ for $17.99 that morning. Date on the bottle is 11/Sept/13, 750ml bottle poured into a wine glass.

Pours a hazy bright yellow color with one inch of off white head that leaves quickly, and high carbonation evident. Lots of fresh strawberries, sweet dark fruity malts, white wine, oak, and citrus. Taste is tart with more berries and sour vinegar notes. Light to medium body and moderate to high carbonation , dry finish.

Overall a good beer. Not my favorite of the GI sours but a lot of good strawberries and lots of sourness in the taste. Worth checking out for sure, would have it again.

★ 654 characters