[euge]

I'd only heard of the far off brewery Goose Island and never in my life thought it would ever be on the shelves here but lo and behold...

I've had a 750 of "Sofie" farmhouse ale and am sipping on some "Summertime" which is a Kolsch evidently.

So far all have been excellent. Could it be that the recent appearance has anything to do with InBev?

[cheshirecat]

A couple months ago I ran into a guy that worked in Goose Island's yeast/quality lab. According to him In Bev only brews their IPA and couplen other of their "main stream" beers. That helped open up fermenter space to make more of their other beers. So in a way yes. He also told me part of the agreement is Goose Island still has final say on ingredients and recipe changes. They also do quality control on what In Bev brews.

Over the last two years I have certainly seen their beers more often in the Bay Area.

[HoosierBrew]

A couple months ago I ran into a guy that worked in Goose Island's yeast/quality lab. According to him In Bev only brews their IPA and couplen other of their "main stream" beers. That helped open up fermenter space to make more of their other beers. So in a way yes. He also told me part of the agreement is Goose Island still has final say on ingredients and recipe changes. They also do quality control on what In Bev brews.

Over the last two years I have certainly seen their beers more often in the Bay Area.

I hope the suits keep their paws out of Bourbon County Stout.  Love that one.  I'm sure over time it won't be cost effective.

[duboman]

It has everything to do with InBev and yes, they still maintain control so the beer is still Goose.

Distribution is expected to ramp up nationally and I believe they now have one of the largest barrel aging programs in the country as well as a brand new facility that strictly handles wild yeast to the tune of about a million $'s

[corkybstewart]

I've spent too much time the past few years sitting in the Goose Island pub in O'Hare Airport, but I loved their beer, especially the Matilda on tap.  But we can now get 312 Wheat(one of my favorites at the airport) and Honker at a restaurant in Carlsbad.  Both are insipid, tasteless shells of what I enjoyed too much of at the airport.  I don't know if it's a freshness issue or an InBev issue but the beer I get here truly and royally sucks.

[jeffy]

I've spent too much time the past few years sitting in the Goose Island pub in O'Hare Airport, but I loved their beer, especially the Matilda on tap.  But we can now get 312 Wheat(one of my favorites at the airport) and Honker at a restaurant in Carlsbad.  Both are insipid, tasteless shells of what I enjoyed too much of at the airport.  I don't know if it's a freshness issue or an InBev issue but the beer I get here truly and royally sucks.

I got a six-pack of Honkers last week that I thought was very good.  It seemed fresh to me.

[udubdawg]

I often find old Honkers sitting around shelves.  Got fooled by a date not long ago, not noticing the 13 was actually a 12.     When fresh, it is still fantastic.

[beersk]

I've always been a Goose Island fan, drank a lot of of the 312 back in my formative beer years. I remember I went to a Cubs game a few years ago and afterwards my friend and I stopped at a bar a couple blocks away from Wrigley and got a Honker's. It was the freshest pint of Honker's I'd ever had, it rocked.  I miss the oatmeal stout, but they stopped bottling that a few years ago, it was one of my favorite commercial versions. I'm kind of surprised Sam Adam's doesn't have an oatmeal stout, now that I think about it.

[gmac]

I picked up a 750s of Matilda and Sofie here in Southern Ontario on the weekend.  Clearly there has been a recent push to really expand distribution if I'm finding it here in Canada now.

[Joe Sr.]

Love their Pere Jacques and drank a 750 while brewing yesterday.  Of course, I added 1.5 lbs of sugar to the wrong kettle...

I've been drinking their beer pretty much since they opened.  Their growlers are a great deal and they give the AHA discount without question.  The brew pub always has a variety of stuff they don't bottle.

[brewmichigan]

I haven't seen a 750 of Sophie here in years. It's all four packs now which I prefer anyways. It's funny that production has seemed to ramp up for them but I can't find sophie hardly anywhere. It's my wife's favorite beer and I buy it whenever I see it. I hear bourbon county will go year round now too.

[reverseapachemaster]

We've started getting Goose Island in the past few months. I like a lot of the beers and they aren't showing up in poor quality. We're not getting BCS or either Pepe beers but I'm hopeful it will show eventually.

[HoosierBrew]

I haven't seen a 750 of Sophie here in years. It's all four packs now which I prefer anyways. It's funny that production has seemed to ramp up for them but I can't find sophie hardly anywhere. It's my wife's favorite beer and I buy it whenever I see it. I hear bourbon county will go year round now too.

I found Bourbon County in liquor stores in Indy this year that only have a decent craft beer selection normally, so production must obviously be up on it too.  A good thing.

[nateo]

ABInbev has the best brewers and equipment in the world. They can make anything they want, they've just only wanted to make light lagers in the past. IIRC they have the largest barrel aging program in the country now. It's pretty awesome that craft beer is coming to restaurants and bars where you wouldn't see anything fancier than Corona.

[Joe Sr.]

We've started getting Goose Island in the past few months. I like a lot of the beers and they aren't showing up in poor quality. We're not getting BCS or either Pepe beers but I'm hopeful it will show eventually.

Pepe Nero has to be the nastiest beer I ever tasted.  Or close to it.