Goose Island - Fleur Belgian Style Ale

You might have thought I forgot about this beer blog. And, for about 2 months, I did. But after reading the entire archive of Ethan's most recent reviews on Google Reader via my phone while eating slices alone at Santullo's Pizza in Chicago, I realized it was time to start blogging again (p.s. nice work, easy E). I'm just getting over the flu so I haven't been drinking much (at least by my standards). I figured it was time to reward myself for a week of good behavior (no drinking, no smoking, no staying up until 2am playing my NBA 2k11 franchise) by enjoying a nice 22oz bottle of beer. On my way back from the pizza place I picked up a bottle of Goose Island's Fleur Belgian Ale, part of their "vintage" series of craft brews that I have enjoyed drinking over the past year.



I picked the Fleur because I've had the Sofie, Matilda, and Pere Jacque and found them all to be pretty good. Unfortunately the Fleur brought my taste buds back in time to a beer previously reviewed on this blog. That beer is Earthquake High Gravity Malt Liquor, which Ethan quite accurately compared to "a 40 of St. Ides, dump(ed)... into a large bowl with several rotten apples...". The Fleur's bouquet is like a fresh bowl of fruit punch made with road apples and the end-of-the-week remains of the produce section from my (former) local C-Town by the projects on Flushing Ave in Bushwick:





I actually just took a break from writing this post to put the half poured bottle back in the refrigerator. The reason I did this is that I fear the beer will become undrinkable if I let it get too warm. One should never have to say that about a $8.99 bottle of beer, but in this case it's the sad truth. According to Goose Island the Fleur has flavors of kombucha, hibiscus, and 'tart, fresh berry'. I wish they printed this fact on the label so I could have chosen a different beer. Who the fuck wants kombucha in their beer? The only reason people drink that foul mold juice is for the health benefits. Although the health benefits of kombucha are pretty questionable in the first place, I'm pretty sure that brewing it into a stale apple ale removes any and all positive effects it might have had. The whole exercise feels like a half-baked attempt to be different and attention-grabbing without considering why these flavors are being combined in the way that they are. Then again, maybe I'm just a complete beer philistine, because people are giving this swill extremely positive reviews on BeerAdvocate.

If I really concentrate on what bothers me about this ale, it's that the flavor profile is supposed to give the drinker a sensation of sweetness upon first smell/taste with a tart finish. I am getting a sour/rotten first taste, followed by a tart (bordering on bitter) aftertaste. The fact that the texture so smoothly thick that it feels like apple juice doesn't help its case. In summation I think that Goose Island makes some terrific brews and I like their vintage series (the Sofie and Juliet in particular), but the Fleur missed the mark massively for this beer drinker.