Goose Island India Pale Ale

Goose Island India Pale Ale, Alc./Vol. 5.9%. 55 IBU rating. Serve in a thistle. Contains: Wheat (Is that a new thing? Have they always used wheat in this?)Brewed and bottled by Goose Island Brewing Company in Baldwinsville, NY and Fort Collins, CO. (Not Chicago, IL? Ah, that's why they sold out to Budweiser, eh?)

Every now and then, I re-visit a beer that I'd first taken notes on many years ago, back in the infancy of my beer reviewing life. I just bought a 6-pack of Goose Island's India Pale Ale, a brew I've always enjoyed, and looked back on the old notes. Know what? They hold up. So, here they are verbatim, from January of 2003:

"Pours a pure amber color, topped with a plump, lacey milk-white head.

Vibrantl aromatics, displaying a bold, bracing bouquet of hops. I'm no walking encyclopedia of beer ingredients, but I'd guess at Cascade as the chief hop in use. Evocative of some fruits, peach, pineapple,citrus, notes of herb and pine. The hop sensation buzzes and bristles, a sensation close to stuffing your face in a big bag of hops, and inhaling deep!

Sharp bitterness on the palate at first, ultimately, but not immediately, mellowing out. Excellent texture for the hopheads, as each individual sip requires one to stop, savor, swallow. The hop attack is huge, and clearly, not for everyone. I enjoyed the hell out of this tasty IPA. Puts others to shame."

This was almost 12 years ago, and I would no longer say that this one puts others to shame. It's still a terrific IPA, but the game has changed so much in the past decade plus, and much more has been accomplished in the field of IPAs.

Why did Anheuser-Busch purchase Goose Island? They've got plenty of money as it is, they hardly need more. Now that they own the GI brand, the beers are being brewed at A-B facilities nation-wide and reaching markets that GI never could before. But it's not really Goose Island anymore, is it? Is it still craft beer if it's owned and brewed by big bad Budweiser?

There are so many questions to face when you're trying to be a politically correct beer drinker. What it comes down to is, yeah, I do feel guilty that the $7.99 I paid for this 6-pack didn't go to a craft brewery that get where it is on it's own terms, without a leg-up from the Evil Empire.

You will still see GI beers here from time to time, but not much and not often. Other breweries will take priority, it's just the natural way I roll.

Hey, what's the label say? "English style IPA. Our IPA opens with a fruity aroma set off by a malty middle and long hop finish." Sure, why not?