A revisit: Goose Island Sofie Belgian Style Saison (2026)

In 2013 Labatt brought ABInBev's Goose Island brand to Canada, and they were planning on promoting the heck out of Sofie and Matilda... but they really just used it as a brand for their IPAs and other meh beers. I reviewed it with excitement, thinking it would be permanent.. Nooope! Today I'm revisiting the beer after almost 12.5 years.

Sofie is a Belgian Style Saison, 6.5% ABV - my parents brought this back for me from a trip to Mexico a year ago, so with this having a window of five years, the best before date is coming up just about now. 

Appearance: Deep hazy orange body with a light to moderate amount of white carbonation on the body. The head diminishes after a good moment or so with a bit of a "rim" of foam attached to the glass on top of the beer and a small pool of bubbles on top in the middle of the beer.

Aroma: A bit of a barnhouse funk to it, it has a bit of a leather presence to it, tad bit of woodiness, but also a great sweetness that is giving off a bit of apricot, a tad bit of sourness, lemon. 

Taste: The first thing I get is aa certain flavour from the water, like when you go to a chain restaurant and a glass of water and it tastes a bit chlorinated - that's exactly what I'm tasting. Well, eventually I get over that and I get a good amount of sweetness that's got a peach/apricot presence to it, followed by a bit of a Belgian yeast zestiness to it, lemon, a tad sour, but pretty much the peach/apricot vibe as it's quite a sweet Saison, but still has that barnyard funk I got 12.5 years ago as well. 

Overall Thoughts: Not as sour/barnyard funk as it was when I first tried it. It's still good but Goose Island isn't a brand I'd ever buy ever again.. except for a Bourbon County Stout, but I've heard they've shrinkflated the bottles in the last year or so, so meh. I'll live, sampling other boozy stouts. 

https://www.gooseisland.com/beers/sofie-belgian-style-saison