From my home town of Chicago comes the very versatile brewery known as Goose Island. They brew everything from sour wild ales to rich bourbon barrel aged stouts, and they're very tasty to boot! They were established on a very lucky Friday the 13^th in 1988 by John Hall, who built the first brewpub known as the Clybourn Brewpub in Lincoln Park. Chicagoans and fellow midwesterners were tired of mass-produced beers and enjoyed this relatively new “craft” beer, shooting up demand. In 1995, Hall built a larger brewery and bottling plant while demand climbed even higher. In 1999, Hall built his second brewpub near the home of the Cubs, Wrigley Field. Today Goose Island beers are available in all 50 states and in Europe.

Goose Island’s beer portfolio has a wide range of styles for everyone’s taste. There are the Vintage Ales, mostly Belgian-style saisons and wild ales aged in wine barrels, known as the “sisters.” These are big, full-flavored beers in bombers and not recommended for the novice beer drinker. There is Sofie, Matilda, Halia, Gillian, Lolita, Madame Rose and Juliet, all very exquisite with a wine-esque presentation complete with foil around the crown and simple labels with their name elegantly scripted in bold lettering.  I have a Gillian to try later. 

For the boozy barrel aged beer lovers, there are the highly desired Bourbon County Ales including Bourbon County Stout, Bourbon County Coffee, Bourbon County Barleywine, Backyard Rye BCS, and Proprietor’s BCS.  All are heavy on the sweet bourbon smell and taste and high in ABV.

There are also the Urban and Classic Ales available at various times throughout the year, and all are very refreshing like Honker’s Ale and 312 Urban Wheat. Then there are those that do not leave Illinois, like Fulton and Wood, but I will not elaborate on those because they are just a tease to us Floridians. 

I will now taste a young Gillian that can be aged for up to five years. The label is classy with a strawberry color and the name Gillian in a curvy font. It is a Belgian-style farmhouse ale. This beer was originally named Scully after Gillian Anderson’s character on The X-Files but failed to sound ladylike, so was renamed the appropriate “Gillian.”

Appearance

It pours the color of a fine French Champagne with a quick fizzing head

Smell

Tart, jammy strawberries, faint petting zoo, apple cider vinegar and a hint of honeycrisp apples

Taste

Strong, funky barnyard, strawberries, a touch of honey and a Zinfandel-like finish: dry and peppery. This is a big, wild saison true to the style and super funky.

Prepare for a hefty price tag for Miss Gillian, as much as $30, but in my opinion, she is worth every penny.  Bourbon County is a more affordable but ultra rare and disappears faster than a baseball in the ivy of the Friendly Confines. Best pick up a sixer of Endless IPA, sit back and enjoy the day.

Adam Shugan, ABC Fine Wine & Spirits beer consultant - Gainesville

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