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It’s always interesting to hear from a brewmaster, and it’s always a lot of fun talking beer with the man who creates it, but we had even more fun today with our brewery choice because their beers are brand spanking NEW in Northeastern PA.
Today we featured Goose Island Brewery, and for those following along, you’ll note that only a month or so ago Goose Island entered the Pennsylvania market. For many years I hurriedly sampled Goose Island beers as I ran from one terminal to another at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport….they always had great beers and I can remember wondering why I didn’t see them in PA.
Jump ahead to a year or so ago and Goose Island was purchased by Anheuser-Busch bumping their distribution and production up considerably. In fact Goose Island just announced that by Nov 2012 they will distribute in all 50 states. Some may think this is not good news for Goose Island beer, but I would disagree…their beer is better than ever and now more available than ever before. 
Today we chose an interesting beer from Goose Island called Pepe Nero. This is an interesting mix of a Belgian Farmhouse beer that uses black peppercorns in the brew. Pepe Nero is an interesting combination of sweet and savory flavors with notes of nutty flavor and an earthy peppery finish. The addition of black peppercorns accentuates the typical Farmhouse Ale peppery feel and finish and makes for a really tasty beer. If you stop to savor the flavor for a moment, be sure to check out the dark mahogany color of this beer too…it simply looks and tastes wonderful.
Today we were lucky enough to talk to Goose Island Brewmaster Brett Porter. Brett not only has a last name perfect for a brewer, but even a first name that is perfect for a brewer…and hopefully we will see him create a Brett-Yeast Porter someday. It was really fun talking about Pepe Nero and the recent expansion of the barrel program and distribution at Goose Island. It was also fun talking flavors with Brett & even a bit of food pairing for Pepe Nero as well. This is a beer and style I’d recommend everyone try for themselves and see if you like it as much as we did.
Not many people realize that Goose Island has one of the largest barrel collections in the U.S……so as a bonus, the guys at Goose Island were nice enough to send us a bottle of Goose Island Bourbon County Stout 2012 and it was wonderful! At 15% ABV, Bourbon County is a big beer for sure, and it is loaded with chocolate, boozy bourbon flavor that I really enjoyed. Try this one for yourself if and when it does hit PA.
Thank you to Brett Porter from Goose Island
, Nancy, John & Joe for yet another fun Friday.
The Friday BeerBuzz…bringing good beers and good people together.
As always you can check out the video on-line at the WILK Friday BeerBuzz page by clicking HERE
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