Beer Review – Goose Island Fulton St. Blend Coffee Ale

By Boozedancing @boozedancing

Coffee. That and a hot shower are what really get me going in the morning. After booting up the computer, the number one priority when I arrive at my office in the morning is the walk to the Keurig machine for my morning jolt of caffeine. Emails and voicemails can wait!

While I'm no fan of the Keurig machine and the bland tasting coffee that it produces, I can't argue with the convenience of it all, and given the lack of quality coffee production near my office, it'll have to do.

You see, I love coffee in all shapes and forms.

Diner coffee.
French roast coffee.
Iced coffee

Espresso. Cappuccino. Macchiato.
Double Macchiato. Vanilla Latte. Hell, I'll even go for a Flat White. Whatever the hell that is!

Turkish coffee.
Greek coffee. Love the flavor. Hate the grit. And there's always grit! My advice, double down on the baklava.

Coffee ice cream.
Coffee flavored Nips.

I'm all for it!

And speaking of coffee, I love it when there are coffee flavors in my beer...

Stouts and porters are where it's at. Deep, dark, and delicious is what they are. Bring me your Yeti, KBS, Bourbon County, and anything else you can think of. I love them all!

While the Goose Island beer in the above photo has the word coffee in its name, it doesn't have the same look and feel as the beers that I mentioned a few words ago. Golden Ale. That's what it says at the bottom of the bottle. Rich coffee flavor and aroma. It says that too.

When I hold the glass up to my nose, there's no denying the coffee aromas. Diner coffee. That's what I'm getting. Reminds me of 2AM at the Oregon Diner in South Philly. Bottomless cups of Ellis to wash down whatever post drinking craving that I may have...

Pork Roll, Egg, and Cheese on a Kaiser roll?
Western omelette with home fries, toast, and a side of well done Scrapple?
Big bowl of Rice Pudding sans raisins?
Yes! Yes! Yes! That's where this beer takes me on scent alone.

Sadly, the flavors don't pack the same coffee punch. While you definitely get some of that medium roast coffee taste, it's not as robust as the nose would suggest. I like it for sure, but after the aroma induced time travel that I got from the nose, I can't help but feel somewhat let down. On the plus side, the stuff that I was smelling comes back in the aftertaste and lingers for quite awhile. Now I'm craving a slice of caraway seed studded rye toast that's been slathered with a plethora of butter. Because that goes really well with a cup of black coffee.

Categories: Brew Review, Goose Island

Tagged as: Beer, Beertography, Bokeh, Craft Beer, Drinkwire, Glotography, Goose Island Beer Company, Goose Island Fulton St Blend Coffee Ale, Photography, Review, Reviews