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Old February 24th, 2007 #11
Donnie in Ohio
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Join Date: Oct 2006
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Default Goose Island's India Pale Ale

In the early-19th century, Our White ancestors, in the form of the British Empire, ruled India. Land of Tigers. And "Holy Men" who drink their own piss. I'm guessing Altoids were a big seller in India in those days. Anyway, the Brits had a bit of a sticky wicket with their troops Pale ale supply. It spoiled on the weeks long schooner trip from Jolly Old England. Which really pissed (no pun intended) the lads straight off, as India tends to get rather hot, and Gatorade had not been invented yet. (for you public school graduates) To solve the problem, Those crafty Aryan brewers started adding large amounts of hops during the lagering (aging) of the ale as a preservative. They then shipped the ale off in new oak-lined kegs, and "hopped" for the best.

When tapped by thirsty British troopers, the normally golden pale ale had turned a deep copper, and the extra hops had indeed preserved the ale to perfection, and added a fruity bouquet that was truly distinctive. They christened the transformed brew "India Pale Ale." (IPA) Honest. I don't make this shit up. I was on Jeopardy! dammit!

Still reading? Or did you run off to check CNN to see if David Duke is the real father of Anna Nicole Smith's baby?

I've tried Lots of IPAs. It's one of my favorite styles of ale. Goose Island India Pale Ale hails from the Goose Island brewery in Chicago. Which seems to make sense. I've never had one. Let's try one together, shall we?

This ale is the color of strong iced tea. The head is tan and creamy. Aroma is hops hops hops. I catch a whiff of orange and a very light undertone of what smells like fresh-cut grass, if that makes sense. Very pleasant. Smells like Spring. This ale is lightly malted, allowing the full flavor of the very aromatic hops to dominate. If you don't like hoppy beer/ale, you will Hate this one. The beer (all ale is beer, but not all beer is ale. Wrap your minds around that) is very light in both texture and flavor. It really does have a fruity taste to it, more so than other IPAs. It's not unpleasant though, and gives it a strong hop/bitter aftertaste. (As all IPAs have)

The alcohol content is going to be a little higher than you are used to if you consider Michelob imported. (It's not). The higher alcohol content is what allowed the ale to survive the voyage to the hinterlands of British India, which we once owned, and where now I have to call every time I need any sort of customer support. Fuck You Gandhi! In summary: It's a good IPA. The carrier boasts that it is "Recognized as among the world's finest". Only if the judges were niggers smoking assloads of crack. Don't get me wrong... It's a good IPA. But for a true example of a World Class India Pale Ale, look to England. I know I am. 6.1 on the scale. 7.99 a six. I'm guessing it's regional. WWW.GOOSEISLAND.COM
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