Last updated:
Goose Island IPA is a classic American IPA from Chicago that helped define the Midwest craft beer scene, a 5.9% ABV IPA with a balanced hop bill that leans citrusy-floral without the aggressive resinous bitterness of West Coast extremes. Cloning it produces a thoroughly drinkable IPA that works for both hop enthusiasts and drinkers transitioning from lighter beer styles. I’ve brewed this clone multiple times and it’s consistently one of the most crowd-pleasing IPAs I produce.
Goose Island IPA clone recipe (5 gallon / 19L batch)
Target stats: OG 1.059, FG 1.012, ABV ~6.2%, IBU 55, SRM 7–9, clear golden-amber. Grain bill: 10 lbs (4.54 kg) American two-row pale malt. 0.75 lb (340g) Crystal 40L, medium caramel sweetness and body for a rounded IPA character. 0.5 lb (227g) Victory malt, biscuity, toasty malt depth. 0.25 lb (113g) Munich malt, slight malt richness. 0.25 lb (113g) CaraPils, head retention. Hops: Bittering (60 min): 0.75 oz Centennial, 35 IBU. Flavor (30 min): 0.5 oz Cascade. Flavor (15 min): 0.5 oz Centennial. Aroma (5 min): 0.5 oz Cascade. 0.5 oz Centennial. Dry hop (7 days): 0.75 oz Cascade. 0.5 oz Centennial. Total dry hop: 1.25 oz. The Cascade-Centennial combination produces the balanced citrus-floral-caramel character that defines Goose Island IPA, it’s less aggressive than Stone or Pliny and more approachable than most West Coast DIPAs. Yeast: White Labs WLP001 California Ale or Fermentis US-05, clean American ale fermentation. Ferment at 18°C (64°F). Water: Chicago’s Lake Michigan water is moderately soft and low-mineral, target: calcium 75 ppm, sulfate 120 ppm, chloride 80 ppm. Process: Single infusion mash at 67°C (153°F) for 60 minutes. 60-minute boil. Ferment 12 days. Dry hop at terminal gravity for 7 days. Cold crash 48 hours. Package at 2.4 volumes CO2. Consume within 8 weeks.
Common Questions
Is Goose Island still a craft brewery after the Anheuser-Busch acquisition?
Goose Island was acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev in 2011 for $38.8 million, one of the earliest and highest-profile craft brewery acquisitions that signaled the beginning of the multinational buyout wave in American craft brewing. It is definitively not an independent craft brewery by the Brewers Association’s definition (no brewery owned more than 25% by a non-craft industry member qualifies as craft). AB InBev has expanded Goose Island production significantly, moving much of the high-volume production (including Goose Island IPA) to large AB InBev facilities outside Chicago while keeping limited-production beers (Bourbon County Stout, specialty releases) at the original Fulton Street brewery. Whether the recipe and quality have been maintained is debated: the mainstream IPA and 312 Urban Wheat are considered largely unchanged in character by most assessments, while some longtime Goose Island consumers report subtle differences from the original independent-era beers. For homebrewers, the ownership context doesn’t affect recipe accuracy, this clone targets the commercial Goose Island IPA profile as it exists now. If you prefer to support independent craft brewing while enjoying Chicago-style IPA, alternatives from genuinely independent Midwest craft breweries (Half Acre, Revolution, Pipeworks in Chicago) offer similar accessible IPA profiles brewed by independently owned operations.
