Goose island where to buy

Doughy, fruity nuance earned Urban Wheat Ale four medals between and That beer has been reduced to a one-note shrug. Many have been scaled back or discontinued completely. Almost every large national craft beer brand saw growth in due to pandemic-related changes in how we bought and drank beer.

One of the few exceptions? During the last decade, it has pushed Goose Island relentlessly — into those ballparks, stadiums, arenas, airport bars, chain restaurants and countless places Anheuser-Busch outmuscles the competition. The story in Chicago is a bit different, though not entirely. Better still, and I admit I was surprised, is Sox Golden Ale, an easy drinking golden ale crafted with the local South Side baseball team in mind after Goose Island forged a sizable marketing deal with the team in the exact kind of thing Anheuser-Busch ownership begets.

I could drink it all summer. Though the Bourbon County lineup has had its ups and downs in recent years, the crop was a particularly strong effort.

It can be argued — and I would make the argument — that Goose Island has maintained much of its relevance in Chicago during the last decade primarily with its marketing budget. That, too, is straight out of the Anheuser-Busch playbook. A field goal kicking competition outside the brewery on a snowy January day in attracted news coverage from coast to coast.

Its marketing deals with cultural touchstones such as the Cubs, the White Sox, Taste of Chicago and Pitchfork Music Festival, among others, have guaranteed an outsize presence at those places and events. Goose Island is seemingly everywhere at times simply because it has been able to afford it. The beer still holds some relevance, but not a lot. For years, Goose Island was the biggest story in Chicago craft beer.

When buying Goose Island, there were fears that Anheuser-Busch would strip the brand to its studs and corrupt or even shutter the Chicago operation that had made Goose Island an icon of innovation and quality. It has promoted from within repeatedly, including the current brewmaster, Keith Gabbett, who was a Goose Island shift brewer at the time of the sale.

Ten years later, we can conclude that Anheuser-Busch executives were largely transparent about their reasons for buying Goose Island: a need to get into the craft beer realm, to learn how to innovate and to be able to supply its national network of distributors with legitimate craft beer. The biggest loser during the last 10 years, arguably, has been the consumer.

Blurring the line between Goose Island as a Chicago brand and Goose Island as an Anheuser-Busch subsidiary has been a constant sleight of hand during the last 10 years. Several times in recent years, Goose Island has promoted a beer as being available only in Chicago and then quietly transferred production to Anheuser-Busch. Even savvy bar managers have been duped along the way. But Goose Island sees enough value in tradition to keep making the beer for its two Chicago taprooms.

Ultimately, Goose Island has achieved what John Hall wanted from the sale, which is extraordinary growth while maintaining its Chicago roots. Anheuser-Busch has gotten what it wanted from the deal, which was a credible craft brand to fire into bars and stores near and far. And after Goose Island, it kept on buying.

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Goose Island.