To celebrate the landing, Goose Island will be putting on a ‘Hoppy Hour’ at select venues in Melbourne and Sydney where the Midway IPA will be available courtesy of Goose from 6pm until the kegs run out. For the purposes of this test, we’ve tried beers ranging from as low as 0.3% ABV (which is classed as non-alcoholic), through to 5% (which is slightly pushing the boundaries of what a session IPA truly is, but is still pretty light in the grand scheme of things). What does session IPA taste like? The latest list also sees two new brews break into the top ten with Goose Island Midway IPA and Maltsmiths American Style IPA landing in eighth and ninth respectively, while Greene King’s East Coast IPA is the biggest loser dropping three positions. Floral and citrus aromas lead to a slightly sweet caramel malt character, plenty of citrus from the generous use of Amarillo hops and a well balanced bitterness I guess that is the point with it being 4.1%, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as the Goose Island IPA. It was reasonably nice enough, but nothing to get excited about.

Paying tribute to its Chicago roots, Goose Island’s Midway IPA is sessionable, refreshing and easy drinking. This would make for a great Craft Beer Gift for all Beer loversPaying tribute to its Chicago roots, Goose Island's Midway IPA is sessionable, refreshing and easy drinking

Our famous beer began with a trip across Europe, when Goose Island founder (and unabashed beer lover) John Hall took a tour across the continent. Pint by pint, he savored the styles and selections of brews in every region, and thought to himself, “America deserves some damn fine beer like this, too.” The two brews maintained berths in the top three following significant investment in from Camden Town Brewery owners Budweiser Brewing Group. The phrase IPA stands for India Pale Ale, and sits within the pale ale category (beer brewed with mostly pale malts).Carlton & United Breweries (CUB) will be handling the distribution of Goose Island in Australia, but the local brewing of the beer will be overseen by the Chicago team to “ensure that it meets the high standard that the Goose team have set for themselves”. I had the first one and thought it was pretty nice, but when I went for another I found it quite weak. This is probably due to the fact that the first one I drank was after another beer, whereas when I tried it for the 2nd time it was my first drink.

The term “session” refers to beers that have all the taste of a regular IPA, but with a lower ABV of around 3-5%, which make them suited to long hot summer afternoons. Craft brewing wasn’t widely known at the time, but upon return from his European sojourn, John set out to change all that. He settled down in his hometown of Chicago—a city perfect for craft beer, with rapidly evolving tastes and the largest system of fresh water on the planet. And then he got to brewing. If you enjoy the hoppy character of IPA but are looking for something lighter in alcohol, a session IPA is ideal. What’s the difference between a session IPA and a regular IPA? Midway is 4.1% alcohol in strength, what they call a session IPA. This is the one you’re supposed to choose if you want to drink more than a few, aka a session. Jared Jankoski, Goose Island’s Brewmaster, said: “Goose Island Midway IPA is a lighter bodied dry hopped beer that we would call a ‘session IPA’ in the US. It has a pleasant balancing malt character, low to moderate bitterness and a unique, bright tropical hop aroma derived primarily from Mosaic hops. The result is very refreshing and enjoyable beer with a great hop aroma.”

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Straight off when I poured this the head was pretty big. It’s frothy, and it’s one you really have to pour slower unless you want a lot of foam at the top. It’s also very flattering that interest in American craft beer is spreading around the world, and thrilling for Goose Island to be a part of the movement. Everyone at the Goose Island Beer Company is looking forward to making some new friends Down Under.”

I was never really into the whole ale thing, and just drank the usual lager you’d find in most bars or shops. But then I kind of wanted to experiment a bit. Jankoski continued: “Brewing locally gives a great freshness advantage, and with our ability to be directly and constantly involved with the brewing process we see this as the most ideal way to bring our beer to Australia. We have been involved every step of the way, giving direction on the brewing process and visiting the brewery to personally taste the beer for every trial.”It tastes really nice. It’s very smooth and easy to drink, and you can forget that this is almost 6% in a can. You’d not want to drink too many of these, but I think that it would be pretty easy to. Goose Island IPA is a 5.9% alcohol Indian Pale Ale. It was really easy to pour, and has a nice colour. In addition to a reshuffle of its top ten selling pub pours, the UK’s craft beer sector has seen brands transform under the strain of the Covid-19 pandemic.