REVIEW 6: 312 URBAN PALE ALE

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  USA

BREWERY:  Goose Island Beer Company

STYLE:  American Pale Ale

ABV:  5.4%

PURCHASE:  60-oz. pitcher, $10.00

SERVING:  Draught; said pitcher, poured into chilled pint glass. First pour--moderate speed and steady--yielded not even a half-inch of head. A pour twice as fast on the second go-'round got about 3/4". Ditto for the third and fourth pours. Retentive though, in every case.

APPEARANCE:  Transparent caramel-copper tint. Darker than most APAs I've had. Bright white head.

BOUQUET:  Mild hops (duh). It's a pale ale. Any pale ale will feature hops at the forefront, be it an IPA, APA, APWA, etc. This one was rounded out with complements of caramel, malt, and citrus essences, albeit mild ones. An ever so slight touch of orange zest seems present if you strain to detect it. All in all, a fairly simplified aroma.

PALATE:  Medium body, very lightly carbonated. Considerably malty for this style. Semi-sweet at the front, followed by a hoppy crescendo that pervades the bulk of each sip. Citrus undertones are evident, but become more prominent in the aftertaste. Specifics are much more discernible here than in the bouquet, as I could break down the citrus finish into mainly orange notes. But a tinge of grapefruit snuck in there. Very amiable taste, overall--very low on the hop bitterness scale, for a pale ale--which in turn yields a high drinkability factor; in other words, it's smooth.

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  To me, the benchmark for a truly "good" brew is a combination of intrigue and drinkability. Put another way, a) Regardless of complexity, how much does this beer stand out? and b) How easily can I drink this? 312--so named due its being the area code for downtown Chicago, where Goose Island is located--passes both tests. Now, in order for me to regard a beer as truly "great," or "outstanding," I ask myself a follow-up question: Is this among the best I have ever had of this particular style? The answer in this case: Possibly. Is it among the best I have ever had of any style? The answer to that: Not quite. No matter. For $10 a pitcher, this is an exceptional value among microbrew pale ales. So what if it's not a Hall of Famer? It's still a contender for the regional All-Star team.




GRADE:  B+