Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat Ale

Hello all. It's been a while since a posting from me but I am in Chicago now and I am only exposed to the Midwest type brews here rather thank the glory that is the Oregon/Northwest brews. It's been rough, and not being able to be nourished with such warming and heartfilling beer has made winter feel just a little more cold on the inside, but I'm getting by. They do have some interesting staples out here though. Goose Island is a well known Chicago brewery that puts out all different kinds of seasonals and different creations. 312 is one of their more well known ones and I have to say not terribly impressive. Maybe it was the mood or my preference but on this particular day this just wasn't doing it for me.

It was a Sunday evening/afternoon and the Philadelphia Eagles were playing the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC Championship game. The Eagles were getting stomped but about to surmount a comeback that the Cardinals would eventually answer on their own to win the game and go to the Super Bowl. I was sitting by myself but in Chicago that usually means you're going to end up having a conversation with the person sitting next to you (especially during a football game). This was the case. The man to my right tried to talk football with me but he was a little out of it. The man to my left was an Eagles fan (tough day for him) and he expressed to me how much he has always disliked Donovan McNabb. I thought, what an opportunity to try a local brew and write down some sampling notes for the beer blog. I looked at the selection and thought I'd try out 312.

It had an appealing light yellow color that you could almost see through. I took my first sip and was caught off guard. Very bitter, as a matter of fact unexpectedly bitter. I took another sip to confirm, and it was what I would even describe as sour. This was not a good mix with football and Irish soup. It was very light and was not too filling at all. It also had a good crisp finish. In this case the crisp finish immediately removed any lingering sour or bitter tastes. I could see the appeal but given the time and my own preferences it just wasn't doing it for me. I nursed it and finished it as the Eagles made their last attempt on 4th down. While watching that play I could see the Eagles and I had made a similar but different mistake on that day. We both made a bad call.

I think our new brewing system is genius, but I also feel that there is one category that is missing so I'm gonna go ahead and create it right now because I feel that this applies. It's called the Summer BBQ Brew. This is a beer that is generally low in alcohol content but very light and not too filling. Make no mistake, a ball game brew or a throw back can serve just fine in this situation. However, these are beers that taste especially good during that summer time kickin it/relaxing mode and are considered to be a little better quality. A BBQ, a river kick-it or a porch hang out are activities commonly associated with this.

The Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat Ale is a Summertime BBQ Brew. This is a big reason why I didn't find it that enjoyable in the situation listed above. I could see this being comfortably enjoyed in the outdoor patio of a local pub on a hot summer day here in Chicago. The unique crisp finish is what does it. It contributes to the not filled feeling. I don't think it is my favorite because the sour bitterness just isn't my style, but after writing about it some and thinking about the situation it is definitely growing on me. I think I could definitely enjoy it in a few months, but it would not be a favorite.

Enjoy yourselves ladies and gentlemen,
Peace be the journey.