Goose Island- Christmas Ale 2009: I Pardon This Goose For Good Flavor
Saturday, January 2, 2010 at 11:35AM | by Jason 
This is what I believe a non beer drinker would imagine a Christmas Ale to taste like. It is a perfect blend of brown ale with subtle hints of cinnamon and nutmeg. Not over powering but creatively concocted to give your taste buds that Christmas morning feel.
Goose Island classifies this brew as an American Brown Ale and their website describes Christmas Ale as “Every year to celebrate the holiday season, we brew up our Christmas Ale, and with each year we change the recipe slightly so that you have something special to look forward to. Traditionally, our Christmas Ale is a complex brown ale that develops well in the bottle for up to five years.”
This beer poured a cloudy deep maple syrup color with a 1” tan colored head and is 5.7% ABV.
I am pleasantly surprised by this offering from Goose Island Beer Co and if it were up to me, I wouldn’t change a thing for next year. I had tried their Mild Winter and was less than impressed, kind of like your 3rd grader’s Christmas play, mildly amusing but not something you would recommend to your friends. Their Christmas Ale however, is a brew you can be proud to suggest and will make your friends think that your beer IQ is Einstein-esque. So, this goose gets a pardon from me and won’t be Christmas dinner and on my wish list for next year will be for Goose Island to let a good thing be and not change this recipe one bit.
ABV: 5.7%
Consumed: Imperial Pint
Verdict: Buy A Twelve Pack
