Monday, April 11, 2011

Goose Island Beer Co. Beer Tasting at Jungle Jim's

While at Quilt Festival in Cincinnati, Holly and I hit the jackpot and found a beer tasting for Goose Island Brewery at Jungle Jim's.  YAY!

Do you remember the review of 312 from March?  See it here.

This was the first time I have ever been to a real beer tasting.  It was awesome!  We walked into the venue and there were plenty of tables to choose from.  We chose one near the front and sat down.


On each plate at the table, we find the papers above.  A list of the types of cheese on the table and a list of the beer that will be served.  Have I ever mentioned that 1:  I love cheese and 2:  I found out about a month ago that I am allergic to milk?  Well, as you can imagine, this made for quite the dilemma.

View of the table from my seat
This is what the table looked like when we sat down.  Remember this picture, because at the bottom of this post, you will see the after picture.

Getting ready for the presentation
 As we wait for the tasting to begin, we watch the final prep for the presentation and nibble on addictive bread with salt on the crust and cheese...yep...we had already begun to munch on cheese.  I love cheese.

This tasting included 10 beers from Goose Island.  the first beer to be delivered to our table was their most popular beer, 312.  In case you were wondering, 312 is the area code for Chicago...home of Goose Island Beer Co.

Due to the number of beers we tasted, we are simply giving a rating...

312 Urban Wheat Ale
Style: Urban Wheat
Alcohol by Volume: 4.2%
International Bitterness Units: 20
Color: Hazy Straw
Hops: Liberty, Cascade
Malts: 2 Row, Torrified Wheat

M - 4
H - 4





Summertime
Style: German Style Kölsch
Alcohol by Volume: 4.7%
International Bitterness Units: 20
Color: Sunshine
Hops: Mt. Hood, Saaz
Malt: 2 Row, Wheat

M - 3.5
H - 4





 
Sofie
Style: Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale
Alcohol by Volume: 6.5%
International Bitterness Units: 25
Color: Champagne
Hops: Amarillo
Malt: Pilsner, Wheat

M - 5
H - 3






Matilda
Style: Belgian Style Pale Ale
Alcohol by Volume: 7%
International Bitterness Units: 32
Color: Golden Sunrise
Hops: Styrian, Saaz
Malts: 2-Row, Caramel

M - 4
H - 5





 
Honker's Ale
Style: English Style Bitter
Alcohol By Volume: 4.2%
International Bitterness Units: 30
Color: Golden Sunset
Hops: Styrian Golding
Malts: 2 Row, Caramel, Wheat, Roasted Barley

 M - 4
 H - 5






Pepe Nero
Style: Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale
Alcohol by Volume: 6.0%
International Bitterness Units: 30
Color: Mahogany
Malt: Pilsner, Rye, Crystal Rye, Black Malt
Hops: Pilgrim, Saaz

M - 4
H - 4






Pere Jacques
Style: Belgian Style Abbey Ale
Alcohol by Volume: 8%
International Bitterness Units: 26
Color: Warm Molasses
Hops: Saaz
Malt: 2-Row, Wheat, Caramel, Rye Flakes, Special B

 M - 3.5
 H - 2





 
Dominique

M - 6
H - 6

Yep...we both gave it a 6!  This was the best beer ever.  You may notice that there isn't info available like the others.  That is because this beer was a mistake.  An awesome mistake!  They should have called it Serendipity...a happy accident. 

This beer used to be Matilda, went sour, got recalled, then put into bourbon barrels to age and re-released.  Awesome!  Someone deserves a raise.


 
India Pale Ale
Style: English Style India Pale Ale
Alcohol by Volume: 5.9%
International Bitterness Units: 55
Color: Bourbon
Hops: Styrian, Fuggle, Cascade, Centennial
Malts: Pale

M - 3
H - 2.5






Night Stalker
Style: Imperial Stout
Alcohol by Volume: 11.7%
International Bitterness Units: 60
Color: Midnight
Hops: Mt Hood, Simcoe
Malts: 2-Row, Munich, Chocolate, Caramel, Roasted Barley, De-Bittered Black

M - 0
H - 0.5






All factual information is from Goose Island's web site.  The rest is just our opinion.  We would love to hear your opinions if you have tried any of these... or if you know where we can get a hold of some more Dominique.
Lindsey Bonadonna and Eddie Anderson gave the presentation.  They were both very knowledgeable and funny.  I found the presentation both informative and amusing. 

As promised, here is what our table looked like after...
We also got to take these nice glasses home with us.

Thanks to Goose Island Beer Co.!
Just an FYI, but 2 friends, who were hungry to begin with and are now tipsy, should not be allowed to go shopping in Jungle Jim's (one of the biggest and coolest grocery stores ever!).  No bakery item, was safe!  This is just a couple of the items we purchased...

Monday, April 4, 2011

International Quilt Festival in Cincinnati!

Holly and I will be attending the International Quilt Festival in Cincinnati.  WooHoo!  We managed to get ourselves a hotel room attached to the convention center where the show is.  Yay for no extra parking fees!  We will definitely post pictures as we go. 

Mary