Brisk ‘summer salad’ utilizing fresh-chopped herbs maintains fruity regalia. Tropical pineapple, mango, melon and peach tang inundates sharp lemony orange-peeled grapefruit bittering. Earthen dry-wooded oaken pining seeps into tea-bagged thyme-basil retreat. Ascending alcohol burn deepens ultimate complexity of richly balanced step up from usual moderate-bodied golden ale contenders.
Too tame and pallid to be offensive, unenthusiastic ‘session ale’ will please less finicky ale heads yearning for an inexpressive light-bodied refreshment. Peculiar earthen fungi yeast and cardboard-y vegetal nuance take away from muted orange-oiled sour-candied tartness to cracked wheat spine. Blasé.
Easy-plowing summertime poolside light-body maintains understated sweet-watered fizz and mild marzipan-caramel creaminess lost to phenolic astringency. Slick honeyed malt pungency becomes diacetyl, deadening gentle hop-fizzed lemon bitterness. Sunny beach fodder for softer, indiscriminate tastes.
Heady Belgian-styled golden-hazed medium body (brewed for Florida’s Gordash Beer Company in South Carolina) brings vanilla malt creaminess to fungi-soured Belgian yeast endurance. At midst, peppery Saaz hop bitterness and musty barnyard funk counter durable cotton-candied butterscotch rummage, wavered apple-apricot-pear fruiting and clove-coriander-spiced banana bubblegum whim. Delightful maraschino cherry ripeness, zippy cinnamon-gingerbread dalliance, and supple Cognac finish prove affirmative. Busy mix never falters. On tap at Plantation’s Hurricane Grill & Wings, sweeter honey-fruited thrust receives herbal twinge.
Wayward golden ale with acetous lemon-soured Seltzer fizz inundated by spoiled orange-grapefruit compote, pungent sulfuric funk, and vegetal carrot-maize-asparagus slunk. Bottled version needs to get vinegar-y yeast-contaminating brettanomytes under control.
Complex blend of bitter-hopped curacao orange briskness, buttery white wine-like effervescence, and delicate floral spicing provides busy template for refreshing fluffy white-headed tawny ale. Billowing artisan water softens citric load. On tap, sour wheat-backed banana sweetness and mild lemon tang greet mint-y clove freshness.
Ill-defined ruddy-clouded moderation balances bittersweet honey tartness with lackluster sourdough dryness. Poor, undeveloped finish lacks honey essence to set it apart and earn its moniker.
Relegated fruited malt tang slowly dissolves as countering piney hop uprising embitters backend. But sterile finish needs better grain insistence and sharper citric bite.
Grainy golden ale is casual fence-sitter, lacking adequate overall sweetness to counter emergent molded rye bittering. Brown-sugared honey biscuit nicety overlays maize-flaked corn-buttered dryness. As rye influence diminishes, orange pastry illusion caresses thin floral-spiced hop tingle.
Post-Katrina hurricane relief came from flawed cumulous-headed golden ale, October ’05. Murky sourdough tongue, sulfuric waft, and dank gluten-free remnant override barleymalt retreat as innocuous cinnamon wisp fades.
Opaque light-bodied amber-hued blonde ale moderates fuzzy carbolic acidity with subtle citrus-cherry sweetness and slim grain trim. Toasted barleymalt continuance fades quick, leaving wee vegetative, herbal, and floral respite to supplant fruited plain.
Rye malts, spicy hops, and heavy yeast sediment inform bottle conditioned limited edition (batch #23 and #44) 1-quart 18-ounce wine-bottled champion honoring beer historian Fred Eckhardt. Peach ambrosia mouthfeel and sweet Scotch insistence usurp honeyed cognac warmth. Chewy molasses undertow, creamy malt elegance, and cookie dough ‘heaviosity’ similar to highly praised Ipswich IPA. Arguably the best and most complex golden ale available.