Honker's Ale

[hops99]

At one time, maybe back in '98-'99, Honker's was really my stock beer at home. Like many other beers, I tired of it after a couple of years of having a glass or two every other day, and I realized at the beer store Sunday that I hadn't drank a Honker's in almost a year.

So, I picked up a sixer and had a glass last night. Man, this stuff is still great - just the right balance of malt and hops IMO - kind of like a HopDevil Junior.

I think there are a ton of great beers out there that lots of people have kind of forgotten about (certainly me) in the last few years, or beers that they (I) take for granted these days, like Honker's. Maybe SNPA falls into that category now as well. Strange, I never thought 5 years ago that I'd think of Honker's Ale as an "old school" beer, but I guess in some ways it is. Still, a very good beer.

[steveh]

That's definitely what happened to me with SNPA, coupled with a beer-of-the-month club that sent me nothing but American Pale Ales for nearly a year. Yes, that would be nearly 24 different Pale Ales - there was a glut of brewers trying to ride SNPA's coat tails.

As I've said on another thread, I've recently tried SNPA again and believe that there's nothing like the "original," so to speak. Nothing against Honker's at all, but it's difficult to drink that from the bottle when it's available on tap everywhere around here - and available fresh at the pub not so far away. But since the SNPA experiment worked so well, I may have to grab a sixer of the Honker's for fun.

If it's available, grab some of GI's IPA - it's Honker's on Cascade steroids! ;)

S.

[studentofbeer]

Originally posted by steveh

If it's available, grab some of GI's IPA - it's Honker's on Cascade steroids! ;)
[/B]

that's what i'm talkin about. Honkers is nice, but the IPA kicks it up a notch. of all the bottled beers goose makes, the IPA is my fav.

[skahtboi]

Originally posted by steveh
I've recently tried SNPA again and believe that there's nothing like the "original," so to speak.
S.

Have you ever had a Flying Dog "Doggie Style" Pale Ale? That has become, more or less, my daily drink. I found it hard to admit, but a while back it dawned on me that I actually preferred it to SNPA.

[fretlessman71]

Enjoying a Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA right now... not bad at all! I think I like this better than the FD "DS" PA. It's no match for SN Celebration Ale, which is indeed an IPA, however. Can't wait to move back to CO where I can get all sorts of good FRESH beer!

The GI stuff that steveh sent me way back when was alright... maybe it was a little old and I need to try them out again. BREWERY TOUR!!!!! :D

[studentofbeer]

for some reason the flying dog stuff doesnt do it for me, at least the time or two i tried it.

hell yeah brewery tour. any sunday id be down to show up.

i wanted to go to piece friday but my gf's roommate has never been to goose so we are going there. tuesday hopefully is the map room and then piece next week.

[Beaver]

I've like the Flying Dog beers I've had. It's been a while, so I may have to try them again soon! As a plus, Ralph Steadman is cool!

[Beaver]

Wow. I didn't realize that Flying Dog had a Barley Wine (http://www.flyingdogales.com/02_litter_brews/litter_horndog.html) . I'll definitely have to keep an eye out for that.

[Beaver]

Interesting. According to this (http://www.flyingdogales.com/02_litter_brews/litter_home.html) , their Pale Ale is hoppier than their IPA.

[steveh]

Originally posted by fretlessman71
The GI stuff that steveh sent me way back when was alright... maybe it was a little old and I need to try them out again. BREWERY TOUR!!!!!

Fret - Can't remember what of the GIs I sent your way...do you? I'll see if I can't pick up some fresher stuff for a trade...how is that home-brew Porter anyway? ;)

Student - I think you'll enjoy Piece, it's pretty laid back and has good beer choices. And I definitely want to give the Goose Tour a try some time now, probably not this weekend, though. Any thoughts on the RAF Friday pub crawl? My buddy and I are definitely gonna be at the Map Room - at least to start.

Skaht - I had the Doggie on tap for the first time last Fall at a beer-fest. As I recall it was a couple notches above the run-of-the-mill pale ales - speaking as a quaffer who is not immediately drawn to a PA.

S.

[studentofbeer]

steveh-- the goose brew tour is really hit and miss in terms of quality in my opinion. one time i went and it was with their head brewer and it was really cool just chatting with him for a while after the tour.

the second time i took it, the person who was supposed to lead the tour didnt show and so this business woman led it and jetted right after and it was much less interesting. still it's a fun thing to do and you get plenty of samples of just about everything they have brewed up at that time.

As for the RAF Friday pub crawl i haven't made any decisions, except that im doing something. map room would be awesome!

i like what it says they will have available on the real ale fest page--

* Freeminer Brewery Ltd (Steam Mills, Cinderford, Gloucestershire UK): Speculation Ale
* Harviestoun Brewery (Dollar, Clackmannanshire, Scotland): Old Engine Oil
* A local highlight (TBD) available on handpump

piece brews its own beer, right? any recommendations for when i go next week?

[steveh]

Originally posted by studentofbeer
i like what it says they will have available on the real ale fest page--

* Freeminer Brewery Ltd (Steam Mills, Cinderford, Gloucestershire UK): Speculation Ale
* Harviestoun Brewery (Dollar, Clackmannanshire, Scotland): Old Engine Oil
* A local highlight (TBD) available on handpump

Wow, that's been updated since the first (minimal) update this week, cool! Never been to Mac's or J.T. Collins'.

I'll bet the TBD will be a 3 Floyds' beer. I guess you can see that Clark Street Ale House will probably be the base camp, but Map Room looks to have some great offerings - though Tuman's (is that supposed to be Truman's?) is looking inviting...

piece brews its own beer, right? any recommendations for when i go next week?

Yes. Piece definitely brews its own, the brewmaster used to be assistant BM at Goose Island Lincoln Park a few years ago. The Kolsch that's on tap right now is a great starter beer. The Weizen is real good too. I had the Bitter last Sunday, and while it was very good, found it to be more along the line of a brown ale.

One thing I'll say, the beers are all well crafted - none of that "brew-pub" sameness that some brew-pub beers have. I think they have about six on tap right now - plus some guest brews, which is a cool idea.

S.

[studentofbeer]

Originally posted by steveh
One thing I'll say, the beers are all well crafted - none of that "brew-pub" sameness that some brew-pub beers have. I think they have about six on tap right now - plus some guest brews, which is a cool idea.

S.

what does this brewpub sameness come from? always using the same yeast? just lack of care? there have been times where i've been annoyed at goose about this-- a beer will be yummy, but then it'll start to taste a bit like all GI beers. it really depends on the style if i get annoyed or not. sometimes i go yum! this tastes like goose island beer, and sometimes im like wtf, why does this taste so much like a goose island beer.

yeah clark st. ale house looks pretty hopping. its too bad, i havent been there in a while b/c i used to sort of know one of the bartenders. should be a fun time.

[steveh]

Originally posted by studentofbeer
what does this brewpub sameness come from? always using the same yeast? just lack of care?

I haven't noticed it a lot in Goose Beers, at least in styles that are obviously different (Pale Ale - Oktoberfest), but with some other brew-pubs I think it has more to do with lack of enthusiasm or even creativity on the part of the brewmaster.

We should have Stodbrew or Brewmonkey comment here. They both have enthusiasm of beer to spare, and I'm sure they've tasted their share of mediocre pub brews as they sample the competition.

yeah clark st. ale house looks pretty hopping. its too bad, i havent been there in a while b/c i used to sort of know one of the bartenders. should be a fun time.

Used to sort of know? What was her name? ;)

My buddy already has our master plan mapped out. Starting with the Map Room and working our way through some of the pubs via the bus! I can hardly wait!

S.

[Stodbrew]

I think you're right about it being either apathy or lack of creativity on the part of the brewer. A lot of brewers may mix up the types of malt they use slightly to get different colors but use the same hops in all their styles, no matter what they are. I also think they don't treat their water differently to mimic a certain region where a style originated. In my opinion, water treatment is very important. I treat my water differently for almost every style I brew, with exceptions for styles that are similar, for example my pale ale and my IPA. Using the same yeast strain could also be a factor, but I only use one strain and, I think at least, my beers taste different.

I have been to breweries where the beers taste the same. There is one about an hour or so from my house where another brewer and I ordered a couple beers. He ordered a pilsner and I ordered an IPA. Couldn't tell the difference! I figured IPA stood for "It's Pilsner Also."

I'm jealous about not being able to attend the real ale week. I keep trying to go every year, but it never works out. I also missed entering my beer again this year. The last time it was there, I think was 2001. Oh, well, maybe next year.

Cheers!

Steve

[Stodbrew]

Of course, the fact that brewers only use a few different malts and hops could be because, ownership doesn't want to keep a lot of inventory on hand. So they could be stymied by the owner's cheapness. Just a thought.

[studentofbeer]

change of plans, heading to piece tonight. we'll see how it is.

[BluesHarp]

I went to a brewpub in Dubuque, Iowa last year; every beer tasted the same...mediocre.
It was like they made a stout, poured half out, added water back in, and called it Irish Red; same procedure, called it amber, etc...all the way to pilsner. Very disappointing, I must say; the stout was the only remotely drinkable one, and at that was barely a brown ale.

[studentofbeer]

i think what im tasting in goose beer is their yeast that tastes very distinctive, which is different from all the beers tasting the same.

anyway piece was really cool. it wasnt crowded at all, which was amazing and nice. our server was good, the gf loved the pizza (i thought it was pretty good too, but i still love chicago-style) and the beer was definitely nice.

i enjoyed the kolsch as a starter, then had a creamy hefeweizen and finished the night with the wingnut barleywine.

a friend got the pale ale and man did it remind me of snpa, and the barleywine remind me of bigfoot.

it was a good time and i will definitely head back again.

edit: the only thing i could really nitpick about is that the kolsch wasn't served in a kolsch glass. the hefeweizen did go into a weizen glass and the barleywine into a snifter-type glass so they did pretty well, but i think kolsch glasses are kinda cool.

[steveh]

Originally posted by studentofbeer
i think what im tasting in goose beer is their yeast that tastes very distinctive, which is different from all the beers tasting the same.

I picked up a six of GI IPA and sampled it throughout the week last week. The first thing I noticed was a distinct roasted malt flavor - very much like the flavor I noticed in their Oktoberfest. I don't know if they're using too much roasted malt in their recipes, or perhaps the malt is taking on a roasted flavor from a heating element in mash or boil (there was a local brew-pub that had a buggy heating element in their mash tun that produced a distinctive "burnt" flavor in all of their beers for quite a while)? The Kolsch and Pilsner don't seem to have the trait, so I'm guessing it could be in the recipe.

anyway piece was really cool. it wasnt crowded at all, which was amazing and nice. our server was good, the gf loved the pizza (i thought it was pretty good too, but i still love chicago-style) and the beer was definitely nice.

Glad you enjoyed it - tell all your friends! ;) I agree about the pizza, but it's nice to have something a little different once in a while - Piece's "white pizza" is pretty good.

i enjoyed the kolsch as a starter, then had a creamy hefeweizen and finished the night with the wingnut barleywine.

a friend got the pale ale and man did it remind me of snpa, and the barleywine remind me of bigfoot.

it was a good time and i will definitely head back again.

edit: the only thing i could really nitpick about is that the kolsch wasn't served in a kolsch glass. the hefeweizen did go into a weizen glass and the barleywine into a snifter-type glass so they did pretty well, but i think kolsch glasses are kinda cool.

I ordered the smallest of glasses of each beer I had, so the Kolsch came in a half-imperial pint. It definitely would be cool if they used the proper glass for the Kolsch - and other beers, for that matter - we'll have to suggest it on the pub-crawl, and also sample the Pale Ale.

S.

[hops99]

I've been to Goose on Clybourn several times, and it's still one of my favorite brewpubs - I always load up at Sam's across the street, too.

I too, enjoy the IPA, but the reason why I've always favored Honker's is because, to me, it seems to be a much better balanced Pale than most of the thousands of other Pales out there. Malt, baby.

But, my favorite Goose brew is something I had at the pub a couple of years ago, and haven't tried since. They made a Dunkel Weizen back in 2000 that I thought was absolutely terrific. Anyone know if it's still a rotating seasonal at the pub?

[steveh]

You can keep track, week-to-week: http://www.gooseisland.com/pubs/clybourn_list.asp Seems as though I tried that one 2 years ago at GI Fest.

Hmm, the Wrigleyville pub has a Sahti on tap...

S.

[studentofbeer]

i had the sahti at the clybourn pub about a month back. ive never had a sahti before so i dont know what to compare it too, but i liked it. it was sort of a better-testing version of dogfish's au courrant or something.

edit: they had a dunkelweizen sometime around last fall i think, and it was really good. so it probably comes around every once in a while. my favorite thing about goose is that they have a new style every week. it never gets old.

[hops99]

You can keep track, week-to-week: http://www.gooseisland.com/pubs/clybourn_list.asp

Thanks for the info!

I see that Kilgubbin is back, too. I really liked last year's version; probably my favorite red ale of the year. I wonder if this year's brew is the same.

[Brownbeard]

I am suddenly finding Honker's Ale becoming the micro on tap here in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City. I have been to 3 bars in the last week that had it on tap.

[steveh]

I don't think that there's a tavern within the Chi city limits that doesn't have it on tap, and it's been pretty prominent in the 'burbs for a long time. Funny how easily you grow complacent too, there are areas in the country that would kill to have a beer like Honkers on draft. My friends and I see it and wonder if they have anything different. :\

S.

[Kalleh1]

Not to be cantankerous, but, Steve, you are embellishing a bit if you say Honker's is usually on tap in Chicago or the burbs. Sometimes it is, but definitely not "usually."

BTW, I was recently in Nashville at a conference, and unfortunately I was so busy I couldn't get out of the conference center. However, I noticed 2 BrewPubs within my one square block! Is Nashville a beer center...or was that just a coincidence?

[BluesHarp]

Ber Advocate lists four in Nashville...I stopped at the Big River Grill and Brewing Works last time I was there. It was unimpressive; their stout was OK, but everything else was kind of mediocre...no real character to any of the styles.
On the bright side, they had a shrimp dish, that instead of pasta, was served over cheesy grits...that was very good (and filling)!

[steveh]

Originally posted by Kalleh1
Not to be cantankerous, but, Steve, you are embellishing a bit if you say Honker's is usually on tap in Chicago or the burbs. Sometimes it is, but definitely not "usually."

In my own self defense, I said "...it's been pretty prominent in the 'burbs..." leaving the "everywhere" loophole alone - for now. On the other hand, I've seen it in the smallest, least likely, of neighborhood taverns within the Chicago city limits proper - sharing tap space with Old Style and Pabst.

Early on I remember thinking, "Oh, they have Goose - nice." Now it seems to have become commonplace (again, in the city itself) - from Irish themed pubs to old established taverns such as Miller's Pub.

S.

[Brownbeard]

Here, the bars generally have A-B Amber Bock on tap, this was supposed to represent a micro. I am finding Goose on tap a lot and that is great. I have not had it in years, and I can tell my tastebuds are more refined now. I really like it. In fact, it is getting ready to become my house beer real quick.