Honker's Ale - Goose Island Beer Co.

soper2000

Texas

3.78/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at BW-3's. I love how this beer is so common around here, even campus bars usually have it on tap (albeit the movement of it isn't so great at times). It pours a deep golden copper color. Aroma is extremely floral, it would make a nice air freshener. Taste is very clean with a nice hop flavor but nowhere near as bitter as SNPA. Drinkability is nice on this one. It's an excellent session brew. I prefer some of Goose Island's other products, but this is a decent offering.

Serving type: on-tap

04-18-2004 01:23:46 | More by soper2000

Boto

Connecticut

3.88/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Draught @ Goose Island Clybourne: A favorite when I go to Chicago! They also have a cask conditioned version that is even better! The beer pours a dark golden color with some white head. Mild hop nose with sweetness too. The taste is subtle and balanced, with an excellent balance of malts with a hair of hops evident. Always a favorite!

Serving type: on-tap

04-11-2004 13:44:31 | More by Boto

brewQ

Missouri

3.45/5  rDev -8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A clear Royal Brown color with a creamy off white head.

Definitely some floral hop smells in the aroma. The taste has a light sweetness plus the hops in appropriate balance for a Pale.
Somehow though I did not get the finish and drinkability I look for in a Pale Ale.

I liked Goose Island years ago when I wa a frequent visitor to the brewpub, wonder if they profile down for the bottled market.

Serving type: bottle

04-09-2004 03:09:38 | More by brewQ

jwilli7122

Minnesota

4.3/5  rDev +14.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Pours a clear, moderately dark apple juice color.
Smells of dough and some spicy hops.
Taste: very nice moderate spicy hop flavor with some bready/doughy flavors to follow. Every once in a while I get a little hit of banana flavor. Mouth feel is prickly but still a little bit wet...or fatty maybe. I wouldn't mind drinking this all day.

Serving type: bottle

04-08-2004 04:05:46 | More by jwilli7122

ngandhi

Illinois

3.78/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Either I've changed or this beer is dramatically different on-tap, but, to append my bottle review, this is nothing like Bell's Amber.

Very floral with rounded fruit, but still flat and pretty one-dimensional. It is filtered and tastes filtered -- stripped of any life or soul. The draught version feels almost tasted cask-conditioned in its smoothness. Lingering finish with only the slightest bittering, Honker's Ale really shows off the style. It is pale ale. But it's also a shining example of what happens to beer when the brewery gets too big.

Relax, relax.
ng

Serving type: on-tap

04-02-2004 14:59:21 | More by ngandhi

jimdkc

Missouri

3.23/5  rDev -13.9%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Slightly hazy copper color with a small head that disappeared quickly (even with an aggressive pour!) Very mild hop aroma. Little malt flavor, followed by light pine and grapefruit hop notes. Grapefruit becomes more pronounced if you let the beer warm a bit. Easy to drink, but not very complex. This was a good ale, but not a great one! I almost feel that I'm being a bit hard on this... but I honestly don't know where I'd give it any more points!

Serving type: bottle

03-11-2004 07:42:59 | More by jimdkc

masterbruewer

Ohio

2.98/5  rDev -20.5%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured a brown amber with some haze, thin head and mild carbonation.

The smell is primarily hops not much else.

The taste is hops, not much else. No off flavors of aftertaste.

The mouthfeel is firm, but not too heavy.

This is definately an ok beer. Nothing wrong with it, but nothing great about it either.

This bottle is dated best before two weeks from last Monday. I got in from a sample pack on the cheap at the local Andersons store. I'd be interested in trying one that's a little fresher.

Serving type: bottle

03-02-2004 20:31:00 | More by masterbruewer

merlin48

Kentucky

4.08/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours into a pils glass a clear, bronze, amber color. Ivory head is 2cm, and quickly drops into scattered patches of sheet and glob lacing. Aroma is of clean, citrusy hops. Mouthfeel has lively carbonation and a moderate hop bite. The westcoast style hops are more restrained in the taste, but pine and lemonrind are still in charge here. There is caramel malt sweetness underneath, to lend a pleasant balance. Overall, one of the better session ales around.

Serving type: bottle

02-19-2004 03:55:18 | More by merlin48

TastyTaste

Minnesota

4.5/5  rDev +20%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Hazy copper color, that I aggresively poured, and came up with a huge head that filled up my pilsner glass. Smells moderately of hops and citrus. Taste is very smooth and balanced. Tastes pretty close to an IPA, but it is a very good pale, that I could sip on all day.

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2004 19:00:12 | More by TastyTaste

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

4.22/5  rDev +12.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

I had this tonight at Mondo's in Iowa City. It was served way too cold and in a frosted glass. So, I let it warm a little....

Medium gold with a creamy bone white head. The cap faded to a broken film and deposited a good bit of intricate lace on the pint glass. Very nice for a bar pour. The nose wasn't too impressive, but to be fair, I did most of my aroma assessment when the beer was still fairly cold.

It's amazing how with some beers the aroma and the flavor don't match up with respect to quality. This was one of those cases because Honker's Ale was delicious. Perfectly hopped with a flavor of candied grapefruit peel, it was wonderful from the first cool sip to the last room temperature one. The hops were so much in the foreground that it seemed more like an IPA than a pale ale. Not much malt, but that's perfectly fine with me.

The medium body and the creamy mouthfeel was the icing on the cake. It also stood up very well to a spicy Buffalo chicken pizza. I haven't heard Goose Island mentioned in the same breath as a lot of the other quality U.S. microbreweries, but Honker's Ale (on-tap anyway) is very good beer.

Serving type: on-tap

01-25-2004 06:26:22 | More by BuckeyeNation

WVbeergeek

Ohio

3.95/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Appearance: Nice amber tone with a pleasant off white cream colored foamy head leaves speckled lace behing, not a bad look. Aroma: Interesting mix of earthy hop blend somewhat herbal quality with a caramel malt sweetness dancing in there as well. Taste: Perfect balance the hop profile takes on a piney edge that just works with the sharp sweetness of the malts nice solid flagship ale from Goose Island. Mouthfeel: Light to medium in body standard amount of carbonation very smooth. Drinkability: It's the quintessential American pale ale with great hop flavor and balance creating alot of drinkability.

Serving type: bottle

01-16-2004 23:58:32 | More by WVbeergeek

Redrover

Illinois

4.2/5  rDev +12%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Beer was poured into an imperial pint glass. Nice hazy bronze with a ½ inch tan head.

Great smelling beer. I could smell this one when the bartender put the glass on the bar. Nice floral hops, some fresh bread and the signature goose yeast strain all make an appearance.

Taste is top notch. Hops on the initial taste with more malt creeping in as you work deeper into the beer. As many have mentioned, this beer seems almost English in style & substance. Taste remains solid as the beer warms.

Soft creamy mouthfeel (is it the water?) and great carbonation per style. A beer that is extremely easy to drink all evening.

Great every day beer, easy to pair with good food and good conversation.

Serving type: on-tap

01-15-2004 21:12:22 | More by Redrover

benmiliron

Ohio

2.58/5  rDev -31.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Got this in a variety 12-pack of Goose Island. I used to get Honker's Ale for hiking trips in S. Ohio because this was the only micro the store had. Basically a well-done Sam Adams clone, this brew is your standard malty/hoppy micro brew, it's what your friends probably think of when they think of the beer you drink.

I'd skip this one and move on to something else.

Serving type: bottle

01-05-2004 18:30:26 | More by benmiliron

daledeee

Iowa

3.58/5  rDev -4.5%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This beer is readily available in my area. Thought I would pick some up. Could not get any head to speak of. Appearance is a somewhat off orange color. Very hoppy aroma. The taste is typical of American pale ales. Lots of hops. This one has not much malt and is rather watered down tasting. It tastes OK but lacks something. There are much better offerings in this catagory.

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2004 23:46:33 | More by daledeee

Weissenheimer

New Jersey

3.25/5  rDev -13.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

(Sampled at the North Clybourne location)

By the time this five ounce sample arrives it, like most of the others brought to our table, has almost no head. It has a deep coppery crystal appearance and an invitingly crisp, sweet, floral scent.

I take a taste and am rather surprised by the strongly metallic bitterness. It's very astringent but not all that complex, which to my way of thinking is a bad combination. The bitterness has a woody aspect, but the metallic overtone predominates. There are actually three discernible stages to the taste, but they fly by far too quickly. First comes a bracing sensation that has little taste beyond a slight woodiness. Then that metallic bitterness comes on strong, overwhelming all else. This quickly migrates to the back of the tongue as the sharp bitterness takes on a more hoppy aspect.

I think this beer would be much better if it had a more balanced, full body to back up and round out the metallic bite. As it stands, though, that bite makes this a barely mediocre beer.

Serving type: on-tap

12-30-2003 00:42:41 | More by Weissenheimer

DrunkMcDermott

Illinois

3.85/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Once in a while I gotta remember to have one of these as reminder of “how it all started” in this area. The Goose’s flagship beer is one of those that can start anybody on the road to good beer appreciation. An appealing orangey pour with a good head. Caramel roasty malts, and a floral/bitter hop character that only insinuates itself after a few sips. Toward the bottom of the glass, it even took on a bit of IPA character. Wonderful fruity ale taste.

Serving type: bottle

12-16-2003 13:54:14 | More by DrunkMcDermott

Gavage

New Jersey

3.9/5  rDev +4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I opened my last bottle from my Chicago trip - poured a amber color with a medium head that had some larger bubbles. There was a soft floral and malt aroma that was detectable, but not overly exciting. This beer does have a nice balance of malt and hops, and there was a slight crispness that was detected while drinking. This has a medium body with a slightly high carbonation rate. A good session beer, but I prefer this on tap rather than the bottle.

Serving type: on-tap

10-20-2003 22:36:54 | More by Gavage

xgrigorix

Michigan

3.63/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Twelve ounce brown twist cap bottle. Best by date printed on label.

Medium amber, clear, with brisk carbonation. Rocky off white head.

Some sweet malt & inviting floral hop aromas, with just a touch of citrus.

Caramel, sweetness, some graininess, along with some non-descript fruit flavours. A fairly hoppy finish with lots of floral notes, along with some subtle orange flavours as well. Medium bodied, brisk carbonation, & somewhat crisp.

Serving type: bottle

10-20-2003 17:00:33 | More by xgrigorix

OldFrothingSlosh

Pennsylvania

3.93/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured a distinctive bright copper in color. Clear with lots of tiny bubbles flowing to the top of the beer. Lacing is thick, leaving distinct rings on the glass. Aromas are citrusy and floral. Flavor is solid. Good amount of bitterness. Small amounts of malty sweetness to offset the bitterness. Finishes crisp and clean with a pleasant bitterness. Mouthfeel is good. Just slightly on the thin side. Very quaffable beer. Solid offering from Goose Island.

Serving type: on-tap

10-18-2003 02:22:25 | More by OldFrothingSlosh

moulefrite

Massachusetts

3.95/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

This is simply a good, clean, crisp and mostly a super tasty fresh offering that is easy to enjoy as I am just down the street from the brewery. The color is light creamy caramel and sports just enough, but never alot of head and stick. The aromatics are super fresh and are nicely in balance showing first a bitter side then a soft malty side. In the mouth the same thing, flashes of pine needle then a washing of creamy, lightly sweet caramel malt in a light to medium bodied style. This is a hell of an easy beer to drink and a stellar value at 5.99 a sixer! I'm supportin the local team no doubt, and you should too when in town!

Serving type: bottle

10-18-2003 01:42:18 | More by moulefrite

brewdlyhooked13

Ohio

3.65/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Appearance - Poured a pleasing amber and orange color into a Belgian glass. It was slow to form a head, so I roughed it up a bit halfway through. Still, I only got a half-finger or so and that didn't hang around long. Ended up with an incomplete covering and the thinnest of crowns.

Aroma consists of a bright orange citric smell. Trace of malt base under that. A bit weak but pleasant.

Taste - A light malt presence has no time to develop before being burned away by some solid carbonation. Citric, slightly sour hops move in and carry the taste to a clean and mildly bitter finish. An earlier comment that this is similar to Sam Adams Boston Lager is well-taken. Similar, but with a noticeably more floral hop presence.

Mouthfeel - sturdy legs on the body of this pale ale helps the taste linger. Good bubbles enhance overall appeal.

Drinkability - More tasty than refreshing, I'd prefer it mostly in autumn and winter, methinks.

Serving type: bottle

09-26-2003 15:51:25 | More by brewdlyhooked13

StevieW

Florida

4/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottles at my brother MikeyW's house.
Clear shiny copper color. Tight off-white beige bubbly head. Good malty, biscuit rich smells. Taste is nice and balanced. Toasted malty goodness with a snappy hop bitterness. Slightly "english" flavor to me. Not sure what variety hops, but it has a kind firm hard water snap to it. Lightly toasted malt adds richness and body in my opinion. Light to medium bodied. Not watery, stays together to the end. A notch above an average session brew in my opinion. A real keeper. Very good pairing with Montgomery Inn Ribs.

Serving type: bottle

09-26-2003 00:33:10 | More by StevieW

RonfromJersey

New Jersey

4.1/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a bright orange, with a touch of gold, fighting through the chill haze. Topped by a sticky, foamy white head. A sweet orange (fruit, not color this time) aroma rises from the glass. Sweet caramel hits the tongue first, but is quickly topped by a blanket of balancing citric hops, which linger as the malt fades away. Good carbonation in the mouthfeel. While not necessarily a "wow" kind of beer, this can be a great "everyday" ale.

Serving type: bottle

09-22-2003 02:32:41 | More by RonfromJersey

hotstuff

Indiana

2.7/5  rDev -28%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Draft:The appearance was that of a medium sized ivory head that was smooth and creamy with fine sized bubbles that mostly diminished.The body was clear and uncarbonated with a golden orange hue.The nose consisted of malt and hops along with a hoppy, bitter fore and aftertaste flavor.The mouthfeel was smooth and medium bodied and this beer left a good lacing on the sides of my glass.I would have enjoyed this beer much better, but it was a little bit too hoppy tasting for me.

Serving type: on-tap

09-21-2003 22:08:58 | More by hotstuff

rastaman

United Kingdom (England)

3/5  rDev -20%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A fair bit of sweetness at the start, dried out a bit by some piney, fruity hops, ever so slghtly sticky, and some bitterness. Relatively clean and easy going. A little to sticky sweet perhaps, as a lot of American Pale Ales tend to be, but....quite tasty.

Serving type: bottle

09-08-2003 03:06:48 | More by rastaman