Goose Island Beer Company flocked to Philadelphia this week as part of its “Migration Week” campaign. The Chicago-based company has been traveling the country, bringing its best beer offerings to 32 cities throughout the United States.
This week, Goose Island flew into the City of Brotherly Love to host several events, including tap takeovers, a cheesesteak tour and a soft pretzel-making class at MANNA (2323 Ranstead St., Philadelphia), which I attended earlier this week.
Brewery reps collaborated with the co-founders of Philadelphia’s City Food Tours to create a pretzel batter containing Goose Island’s 312 Urban Wheat Ale—a crisp, fruity beer that got its name from the notorious Chitown area code.
We rolled out the dough and twisted (or, in my case, attempted to twist) it into classic pretzel shapes. While the dough baked, we whipped up a cheese sauce made with with Goose Island’s Honkers Ale, a heavier beer inspired by visits to English Country pubs.
Samples of two of the group’s Vintage Ales, Sofie and Matilda, were passed around and enjoyed by all. I can say with full certainty that Sofie, a light sparkling Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale that is wine barrel-aged with orange zest, is my new favorite beer.
Next, we were treated to a taste of the company’s ultra-exclusive Bourbon County Vanilla, a barrel-aged stout that rings in at 13% ABV. The brewers revealed that ridiculously long lines often form in anticipation of this beer, which was first brewed in 2009.
After the pretzels were out of the oven and consumed, we “migrated” to a few Goose Island-friendly Philly bars, including The Bards (2013 Walnut St.). Here we sampled one of the brewery’s IPAs and learned a little more about the company.
Many beers later, we ended our tour at Pub and Kitchen (1964 Lombard St.) with a myriad of appetizers including rabbit meatballs, spicy chicken wings and deviled eggs and, of course, another delicious Goose Island beer.
Find out more about Goose Island Beer Company on its website, and follow the brewery on Facebook and Twitter.
