Goose Island Demolition Ale
Recipe Information:
Style: Belgian Style Golden Ale
Alcohol by Volume: 7.2%
International Bitterness Units: 40
Color: Golden Straw
Hops: Saaz, Chinook
Malts: Pilsen
The new incarnation of Demolition.
Style: Belgian Style Golden Ale
Alcohol by Volume: 7.2%
International Bitterness Units: 40
Color: Golden Straw
Hops: Saaz, Chinook
Malts: Pilsen
The new incarnation of Demolition.
3.4
152 reviews
Chicago, United States
Community reviews
(bottle - 22 oz - 2010 vintage) Cloudy orange with a white head. Lightly spiced aroma with a ton of hops and some light fruity hints. Flavor is predominantly hop bitterness with a very light sweet and yeasty spice at the end.
2007 vintage (!). Unfortunately, the hops have faded over time, resulting in a brew with a rich palate, but a flavor that left me wanting more. I’m adding an extra 0.1 to my rating because I’m sure a fresh bottle would be better.
22oz bottle, at Coles, Buffalo NY 2011 edition. golden pour, very citrusy, lemon heavy, notes of dill too. spritzy mouthfeel, nice
Clear gold, with a small white head.
Light fruit scent...Belgian yeast.
Taste is lightly fruited, ginger and lemon.
Very nice.
Bottle. Fruity barley malt, yeast, alcohol, and light hop aroma. Cloudy honey gold with a small white head. Sweet fruity malt and very heavy clove flavor. Medium body, soft/flat carbonation.
Reviewed 12/21/10
22oz for $5 @ Bottles in Spokane, WA
Bottled on: 9/21/10
Poured from bottle to New Belgium tulip.
A: 1-2 fingers loose cream colored head fades before beer is set down. Cloudy brass ale with continuous ribbons from etching. The ale blends through thin sheet over ale which laces the glass as the ale falls.
S: Belgian yeast enveloped into light grainy, straw scent dances with hints of coriander, grass; whiff of eucalyptus. Sweetness of nougat accents near the end as well.
T: As ale rolls over palate, find myself thinking of lemongrass, hay, peppercorn, coriander helps compliment the sweetness of the yeast and bread flavors. Lightly bitter hop flavor at finish.
M: Billowy on tongue with fine ticklish carbonation helps preserve the aroma and translate the collaboration into the mouth from the nose. Velvety when swished in mouth, dissipates and falls to stomach with ease.
D: This is a nice, pleasant version of a Belgian Style Golden. Cheers for keeping the look nice and straw toned. Backbone appears to be in the hop and yeast for this brew. Worth a try. Maybe a second try.
Serving type: bottle
12-21-2010
Bottle. Musty yeast and lemon malt aroma. Pale yellow with moderate head. Yeasty lemon malt flavor. Moderately bitter hay finish. Very good.
A: Mildly Hazy Golden Straw Hue, Passes Lots of Light, White Head that eventually dissaptes into a ring, Mild Lacing
S: Lemons, Floral, Earthy
T: Bubble Gum, Pineapple, Mild Belgian Sugar, Mild Malts, Mild Citrus
M: Decent Carbonation, Light to Medium Bodied, Mildly Bitter
Overall, a really nice belgian pale that was very drinkable and well balanced. Especially for 2.50 per bomber, a great score.
Goose Island Demolition, aged 2 years 3 months in my beer cellar, 7.2% ABV. A 22oz bottle and poured into an old school challis.
Appearance: Poured pale gold with a creamy but faint head and little lacing.
Smell: Funk, that’s it.
Taste: Lemon meringue, a hint of pepper, and the musty barnyard. Once that all goes away, a nice toasted malt flavor remains.
Mouth feel: Light body and good carbonation. A slight funky, savory aftertaste and a warming alcohol effect.
Overall: When Goose Island announced it would no longer brew Demolition, I bought a bottle wherever I saw it. This was one of the first in a long line of GI specialty beers. When young, it was a nice attempt at a Belgian-style Golden ale. With aging, the hops are long gone and it has become more of a farmhouse ale. Still enjoyable, but it has definitely reached maturity.
Bottled 5/18/11. Pours straw golden, quite a bit of sediment present, with a thin eggshell head that’s basically just a ring and some spotty foam. Some lacing present. Nose has a fresh floral, citrus, and stone fruit aroma, some herbal tea notes, light phenols, some dust, plenty of honey. Pretty sweet, touches of bitterness and tartness. Medium to full bodied, softer carb, somewhat crisp with a drying herbal tang on the end. An interesting brew, some good things, some not so good things. Certainly past its prime, but not wildly so. I imagine fresh it would have been more vibrant. Still not bad.
Sample, brown bottle, 12 ounces, bottled on 022007, from and with Luc Bourbonnière, savoured on March 1st 2013; eye: caramel with an orangey hue, semi-hazy, no effervescence, tiny ring of beige head; nose: malt, caramel, Madeira, basement; mouth: malt, water, Madeira, finale in Madeira with presence of malt, medium body, average carbonation, mildly sweet, thin; overall: too old
FRANÇAIS
Échantillon, bouteille brune, 12 onces, embouteillée le 022007, de et avec Luc Bourbonnière, savourée le 1er mars 2013; œil : caramel avec une teinte orangée, semi-voilée, pas d’effervescence, petite anneau de mousse beige; nez : malt, caramel, madère, cave; bouche : malt, eau, madère, finale en madère avec présence de malt, corps moyen, carbonatation moyenne, moyennement sucrée, mince; en résumé : trop vieille
Bottle. Pours hazy golden with a small white head. Aroma of fruit and yeast, malty sweetness. Taste is moderate sweet, fruits and alcohol, some yeast and pepper at the end.Rather slim body.
Bottled in early 2011, I was a bit apprehensive about this. Pours a fairly uninspiring golden shade with little to no head. At first the taste was incredibly disappointing, but I think it was slightly too cold because it really came alive half way in. The main thing that struck me was that there’s an unusual floral hoppiness here that is actually quite pleasant. Good roasted malt backbone, and it’s nice and light. It would have been nice to try this ’fresh’ but even as discontinued stock, it was a decent belgian style ale.
0,65 L bottle, kindly shared by GrOve. Low blond head. Hazy yellow golden body. Aroma of bakery and grainy malts, grass and herbs. Dryish, medium full malt body. Citrussy fruitiness. Hints of flowers, grass and herbs. Lively body. Dry, light acidic ending. [09.02.13]
Pours cloudy golden with a clinging white head and a fruity aroma. There is a carbonated pilsner flavor with a huge Belgian yeast presence and a dry slightly bitter finish.
A clear golden colored beer, with a thick foamy white head. The aroma of sweet fruits like orange with a little citrus and apple. There are hops. The taste is sweet fruity, several fruits like orange with apple and citrus with a little touche of hop. The aftertaste is smooth bitter with fruits.
bomber shared by jsprime. hazed golden with a white head. simple pils malt and belgian yeast nose. slightly fruity and spicey flavour. a touchto sweet, but pretty good overall.
22 oz. bottle. Pours hazy bright orange with a tight soapy white head that rests to a thin film. Aroma has citrus biscuit yeast, slight funk and tartness. Taste is bitter sweet with tartness and funk along with good citrus lemon notes and pepper. Palate is medium fizzy and drying. Not bad for being bottled on 08/10/11
Bottle @ home... It pours cloudy golden with a medium white head.... The aroma is fruity, yeast and sweet malt..... The flavor is sweet malt, yeasty, caramel, citrus, hops and fresh fruit like mango.....
[2010] Lightly hazy golden color with a small, white head that left light lacing on the glass. Aroma of light oxidation, honey, toasty malts, citrus, spices, and yeast. Taste of citrus, spices, toffee, toast, and alcohol with a semi-sweet finish.
2010 bottle, over 2 years old at this point. Pours golden with an orange hue and quite a bit of sediment floating throughout giving a hazy outlook. The aroma is my favorite part - sweet Belgian yeast with a bit of toffee and vanilla. Flavor brings some pilsen malt crispiness with blond malty sweet notes and a bit of the bitter hops held on to ride out the palate.
Bottle@home. Small head. Yellow hazy. Honey melon aromas. Dry smooth slight spicy tobacco taste. Short dry sweet finish. Low carbonated. So so.
Starts well. Nice sharp deepish colour and some (damp?) delicate sweetness on the nose.Nice little head which is retained throughout.
Unusual palate reflecting a number of layers which don’t just all ccome together. starts slightly acidic leading to a subtle metallic quality followed by a somewhat distant thin (runny?) diluted citrus quality. Some unpleasant rubberness too.
Afraid this beer just doesn’t get my engine funning. With a name like this it should be more NASCAR instead of just being a bit of a fender bender.
Very nice golden ale, honey color and a fair head, nice level of carbonation, flowery and smother than some, not so muc pepper, but very nicearomatic notes
22oz bottle. Rating #111. This seemed a little bit off, slight butterscotch in the aroma and flavor. I wasn’t a fan of this, I will have to revisit and re-rate in the future. (2556)
June 23rd, 2011 - Golden Ales are always happy return to my first glass of Duvel. I never knew the billowing head on a beer could reach such extremes! Your basic pale ale fizzles and pops on top, but the Golden ale makes art. Any brew that lets me mold and sculpt the foam, or go cloud watching in my glass, is always a welcome drink. Goose Island’s Demolition is a nice, light beer, exhibiting the quality that make this style such a treat to sip on summer days plagued with lingering heat. True to form, the brew is light yellow in color, like faded dandelion petals, and a slight haze from the chill, pierced and punctured by bubbles. Cornmeal and honey, like a great slice of polenta, fill my nose, with some light flowery notes, perhaps from the surgically delicate addition of floral hops. My first thoughts: the Demolition is light, quenching and perfect for summer, with a strong carbonation to cut through afternoon snacking, more gentle flowery notes, and a nice mild hops bitterness in the aftertaste, leaving a light gaze of honeyed sweetness in its wake.
Golden cloudy pour with a frothy white head, good lace. Aroma: hops, orange, grass, pine, slight caramel. Sweet, slightly tart, pine, citrus. Medium carbonation.
pours a semi-cloudy lemon yellow with a small white head that dissipates quickly.
smell is of yeast, citrus, some floral, and some wheat.
taste is fruity, yeast, a little sweet, and malt. ends a little oily.
Bomber. Pours a golden hue with a big white head and good retention. Nose is fruity yeast and malt. Bread, malty and spicy yeastiness on the palate. Good stuff, but I probably shouldn’t have drank this after polishing off a few IPAs. ;-)
22 ounce. Golden. Sweet Belgian. Candy sugar. For some reason not rated here. I also thought this was retired as well.