Goose Island's Matilda

This is a pretty beer. There's no two ways about it, and really, no other adjective fits it as well.

It pours a beautiful golden orange, with a thick lacy head and great yeasty tangerine aromas.

The taste is exceptionally well-rounded; again, tangerine in the front ("tangy" is an operative word here), giving way to vanilla, and finally a little flicker of hops in the back. And all the while, that musty spcy thing that comes from live yeast is just sort of hovering around the edges. It's some kind of really intelligent, perfect American take on a Biere de Garde. It's big, it's accessible, and the structure of it, the way it's put together, is pretty exciting.

I'm really happy to finally be getting some beers from this Goose Island line; looking forward to revisiting Sofie.