Goose Island Christmas Ale 2012 & Mild Winter

A wonderful Christmas surprise arrived from Goose Island, so Mrs. BeerBuzz & I decided to start the holiday weekend off with a tasting.  Tonight we decided the weather was perfect to sample these two seasonal Goose Island brews, so with the snow flakes flying and the fireplace in full gear, we broke out a Goose Island Mild Winter and Christmas Ale 2012.

Goose Island Mild Winter is a classis American Mild Ale, but there’s a surprise in the mix in the form of Rye malt.  With just a touch of Rye in the malt bill, the sweeter side of the mild ale is balanced with some rye bitter, leaving you with a pretty nice winter seasonal.  I was surprised how spicy this beer tasted, especially since there aren’t any spices in the mix beyond the rye malt.  Look for flavors of dark fruits and just a touch of biscuit in this one and for the beer statisticians….5.6% ABV, 28 IBU with Pilgrim & Tettnang hops.  Try this one out and you’ll see what I mean.  It’s an interesting blend and a really nice balance.

Up next we decided to sample the not-so-distant cousin for Mild Winter….Goose Island Christmas Ale 2012.  This seasonal holiday ale uses a different recipe every year, and for 2012, the recipe was all about one flavor for me…Molasses.  With a big malty sweet molasses backbone, the subtle spices work hard to balance out the equation, ending in a nice boozy bite.  Christmas Ale 2012 has some spice to it, but not in an overwhelming way like some holiday brews.  This beer carries the 7.3% ABV nicely and it’s 55 IBU thanks mostly to the Pilgrim, Styrian Golding and East Kent Golding hops.

Try these out for yourself, and if you can, try them back-to-back like we did.  Both beers are available in 12oz bottles (4/6 packs) as well as on draft so they should be easy to find.  A Merry Christmas to Ken & everyone at Goose Island and a big thank you for sending these beers out for us to sample.
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