Goose Island beer review, and the best beer selection at Toronto LCBO's

Consider this number 2 of 5 on my recently posted "Things to do in Toronto this spring" post. I've been waiting a long while for this beer to arrive in Toronto, ever since BlogTO gave us all a heads up a little while back. It's imported from Chicago, and has a great reputation for being great beer - and the first time it's been in Ontario.

After checking stock, for literally 2 weeks straight, every day, on the (actually pretty well designed) LCBO app, I finally saw Goose Island's 'Matilda' belgian ale, and 'Sofie' farmhouse ale start popping up at locations. Unfortunately, there were like 2 bottles in Sudbury, 1 bottle in Brampton, and 1 at the Summerhill location (which I was always told has the best selection). One day though, out of nowhere - there were 80 or so of each at the Front/Jarvis LCBO (the one that's pretty much built into St. Lawrence Market. So I hopped on it.

***Side note: Like I mentioned - a lot of people say the Summerhill LCBO has the best selection all around, and I can't disagree with that beauty of a store - but after talking to some of the guys down at the Front/Jarvis location, they told me how the ordering for each location is done by individuals. Apparently, the guy down there is a beer 'connoisseur' and is always on top of ordering what's new and what he'd want to try. So, if you're a beer person - check there from time to time.*** 

I took the King car down, and picked up a bottle of what I thought would be the most unique - the Farmhouse ale.

For $9.95 it feels expensive for a beer - but keep in mind that it comes in 765 mL bottle (like wine), and is strong (at 6.5%), so it's pretty fair.

I read up on this beer before trying it, and if there's one thing I'll pass along, it's that this beer is meant to be treated like a wine, in the way it's bottled, and in the way it's drunk.

The first thing I noticed, was the quality of the bottle and the label. You know when you just feel like something is expensive, but worth every penny? This had that quality. I don't know if you can see it in the photos, but if you're in an LCBO that has this - pick it up, and feel it (that sounds creepy).

The beer itself is extremely carbonated - and you can chalk that up to the fact that the beer is "developed in the bottle for up to 5 years". From making beer at home myself, I know that the carbonation from naturally carbonated beer (which most big places don't do now - that's right, they add in the bubbles), comes after you bottle it. In fact, if you don't have the right amount of sugars and yeast inside, the bottle could shatter (it's why they tell you to use plastic bottles the first time you home brew). Anyway, this beer had more bubbles than Sprite (which I find way too bubbly).

It tasted wheaty, yeasty, and very...craft brewed. To be honest, all I can say is that it tastes like a homemade beer. Not in a bad way - I think that's what they were going for - but because I know first hand, it tasted that way.

I finished a whole bottle in one night (albeit, the Leafs game was on...), so I must have liked it enough - but to be honest, I was a little underwhelmed. The experience of it was great - but the taste? Nothing as exciting as I'd hoped. Verdict: I say try it out - it might not be often that you see this stuff. At the very least, the label feels nice against your face (maybe I did drink too much that night...)