Sunday, July 13, 2014

Goose Island The Ogden Review


Name: Goose Island The Ogden
Style: Tripel
ABV: 9%

It's been a while since I've reviewed a Tripel-style ale so for this review I'm breaking that dry spell and taking a look at The Ogden, a new limited release beer from the Goose Island Brewing Company. Recently they have been stepping up their releases of Belgian-Style ales, much to the surprise of some beer drinkers since they were bought out by Anheuser-InBev just a couple years back.

Now I've mentioned in some of my previous reviews that Goose Island loves to toot their horn over the fact that they are based out of Chicago, even though many of their beers are now contract brewed around the country. To my understanding, this was brewed in the Windy City itself. As for the name "Ogden" I'm going to guess that it's named after William Ogden, the first mayor of Chicago.

The Ogden pours a mildly-to-moderately hazy yellow color. I'm picking up a fairly high amount of carbonation, more than what I'm used to seeing in a Tripel.

The nose has fairly potent Belgian Yeast scent with a sweet citrus hop profile that gives it an almost mango-like quality. I'm also picking on some grapefruit notes and some toffee malts in the background. It smells good though!

The flavor is pretty Belgian yeast forward and a pronounced mango flavor with a distinct resin bitterness on the back of the palate. I'm also picking up on some pale/toffee maltiness and even some light piney hop notes in here as well. The aftertaste for the most part is a resin hop bitterness with a slight touch of mango fruitness.

The body straddles the border between mild and moderate in terms of weight with a bit of thickness. The carbonation is moderate and not too overwhelming, a stark contrast compared to my observations when first poured.

I found The Ogden to be a very good Tripel style ale. If I were to warrant one major complaint about this beer, I would say that it's very pricey for what it is when you consider the fact it comes in a 4-pack ($15.99 in my area) which makes me thankful I got this as a standalone bottle. All and all, The Ogden is a good representation of the Tripel-style ale and I would recommend checking it out if you're willing to spend a couple extra bucks on a good Tripel.

Goose Island The Ogden - 8.5/10

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