Beer 119/365 – Goose Island Honkers Ale

Style: English Bitter

Purchased at: Sicilianos Market – Grand Rapids MI

What makes this beer different: Not very bitter for an English Bitter

Will I be drinking this again: If I’m ever in Chicago yes.

Grade: B+

3/7/2010: I remember passing on drinking this on tap last time I was in Chicago, why? I don’t know. It seems to be very popular as it was on tap at every bar we stopped at (this was over a year ago before I rediscovered my love for craft beer).

Honkers Ale is my first “English Bitter.” With a style named English bitter you would expect a lot of bitter hops right? Well I didn’t really get that from this beer. Which is weird because a lot of the reviews on this beer say its perfectly balanced… Maybe I got a goofy batch? Anyways the smell is very hoppy, but the taste is not. The taste is almost like a sugar candy, very malty, with some hops in the background. I would say the mix was 75% malty flavor, and 25% hops. A lot heavier than I thought it would be for a beer with 4.2% alcohol content. Overall a pretty decent beer, a bit too sweet and not really what I was expecting.

Picture of the day: Kanye West hates hugs.