Swinckels Superior Pilsner

This is a bright golden yellow pilsner with a loose, frothy off-white head that retains a patchy layer of foam.  It has a surprisingly strong aroma for a pilsner with lovely fruit and hop notes.

It has a lovely clean and refreshing taste of tangy hops, sweet malt and citrus fruit.  It's really well balanced with sweet notes at first followed by a light bitter finish.  It has quite low carbonation and a thin body so it feels pretty smooth in the mouth.

This really is a lovely pilsner and I was pretty impressed.  If gold had a flavour it would taste something like this.  Ale Be Seeing You again.

Brewed by Swinckels Brewery, Holland
5.3% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4/5

Find out more at Swinckels Brewery

Buxton Brewery Buxton Blonde

Buxton Blonde is a deep golden yellow ale with a frothy, reasonably tight off-white coloured head that dissipates to leave a nice layer of foam.  Aroma is biscuit, caramel and yellow fruit.  It's not a strong aroma but it is pleasant.

Malt, caramel, honey and hops dominate the flavour with a slight bitter citrus finish that isn't pithy at all.  It's thin bodied but not watery and has good carbonation that's fizzy enough without being harsh.

Incredibly refreshing and easy to drink, i's a lovely biscuity blonde ale with a bitter finish.  It's not currently brewed by Buxton but if it was, Ale Be Seeing You as it's a lovely summery ale.

Brewed by Buxton Brewery, Buxton, Derbyshire
4.6% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 3.5/5

Find out more at Buxton Brewery

York Guzzler

Guzzler from York Brewery is a crisp and refreshing golden ale and it certainly lives up to that description.  It's a beautiful golden ale with a small, loose off-white head that disappears quickly to leave a thin layer.

With an appealing aroma of hops, sweet caramel and zesty citrus fruit I couldn't wait to have a guzzle of Guzzler.  It seems quite lightly flavoured at first; it's a hoppy ale with a tang of bitter citrus and a hint of caramel but it becomes more malty as you drink it.  I really like the crisp bitterness, it's in between metallic and citrus but it isn't too overpowering as there's an added sweetness from hints of fruit and caramel that smooth out the bitter kinks.  With medium carbonation and a medium body, it feels quite smooth to drink and lives up to its name as it quickly disappears from the glass.

Light in flavour and ABV, Guzzler is a very refreshing and easy drinking golden ale.  I picked this up from Lidl and although I can't remember the exact price, it'll have been around £1.50 so it's an absolute steal.  Definitely one where I can say: Ale Be Seeing You again.

Brewed by York Brewery, York
3.6% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4/5

Find out more at York Brewery

Hawkshead Lakeland Gold

 

Hawkshead have brewed the most perfect looking golden ale in Lakeland Gold.  It's a deep golden colour with a small but loose thin head that does leave a bit of lacing, even though there's not much of it.  It requires a careful pour as there is a bit of sediment in the bottle and I like to keep my beer as clear as I can.

Oh it smells so good with an aroma of hops, malt, some fruitiness and a slight floral hint.  It tastes pretty good too with a smooth, sublime taste of toffee and malt followed by an ever so slight lemon citrus bitter aftertaste.

It's perfectly carbonated to give a hint of fizz without too much gas and it has a good medium body, giving it a wonderfully smooth mouthfeel.

Lakeland Gold is a delicious golden ale with a lovely bitter finish and Ale Be Seeing You again!

Brewed by Hawkshead Brewery, Cumbria
4.4% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.25/5

Find out more at Hawkshead Brewery

Andwell Gold Muddler

 

This is a dinky 275ml bottle of Andwell's Gold Muddler and it's certainly gold by name and gold by nature.  It's a deep golden blonde ale with a crisp, white and frothy head; it's a pretty lively one as it almost exploded out of the bottle.

It has a lovely hoppy, sweet and slightly citrus aroma; what I would refer to as a traditional beery smell.  The notes in the aroma are replicated in the flavour resulting in a lovely hoppy ale with a subtle citrus bitter finish.  It's a very traditional tasting beer and it actually reminded me of watered down Stones Bitter.

Very softly carbonated and a bit watery in body, it's a crisp, dry and refreshing blonde ale.  The liveliness experienced on opening results in some excellent lacing as that robust head clings on to the side of the glass.  At only 3.9% ABV, it's not a strongly flavoured ale but it's a very good thirst quencher that will appeal to many palates, especially those just starting their real ale journey.

Brewed by Andwell Brewery, Hampshire

3.9% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 3.5/5

Find out more at Andwell Brewery

Guinness Rye Pale Ale

Created for the innovative Brewers Project, Guinness brewers created Rye Pale Ale as a gift for their families but it was so popular that they very kindly decided to share it with everyone.  I've always been a big fan of Guinness; they can do no wrong in my beer-goggled eyes so let's have a look at their Rye Pale Ale.

It pours a deep golden colour with a white head that has the tight, milky appearance of the Guinness head we know and love.  Unfortunately, the head does disappear to a thin foam despite the ale appearing quite fizzy with bubbles reminiscent of a fast-flowing lava lamp.  What head remains tries its best to lace the glass.

The aroma isn't terribly strong but it's predominantly grapefruit and hops with a hint of spicy pepper.  I didn't really get any peach smell but my nose tends to get overpowered by citrus aromas.

A lovely malty flavour comes through on my first sip and then a little kick of grapefruit but there is no citrusy bitterness at all.  It has a very subtle fruit flavour that is perfectly balanced with the malt to produce a crisp, dry and refreshing ale.

It has a good, medium body and bubbles I noticed at first glance are quite harsh at first but they do settle down and it becomes a lot smoother, leaving a nice fuzzy feeling on the tongue.  

A very easy drinking ale that feels light enough to drink by day and strong enough to drink by night.  It's a good all rounder from Guinness, which is nothing less than I'd expect.  Although I remain firmly planted on the dark side, this is one pale to which I'd say Ale Be Seeing You again.

Brewed by Guinness Brewery, Dublin
5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 3.75/5

Find out more at Guinness Brewery

Allendale Pennine Pale

Pennine Pale is a traditional looking pale ale from Northumberland brewers, Allendale.  It's a lovely golden yellow colour with a thick, bright white head that leaves thick lacing on the side of the glass.

It has an intensely fruity aroma, mainly citrus but with some tropical fruit notes and a hint of hops too.  The flavour is unsurprisingly citrus initially but it combines with the hops and malt flavours to take the edge off the bitterness. It's zesty and refreshing without being too pithy and is one of the few citrusy ales I find palatable.

Quite softly carbonated, it has a smooth mouthfeel with little bubbles of bitterness bursting on the tongue.  Pennine Pale is another quality ale from Allendale and a cold one would be perfect to quench your thirst on a hot summer day.  When I fancy something a bit zesty, Ale Be Seeing You again.

Brewed by Allendale Brewery, Northumberland
4% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 3.75/5

Find out more at Allendale Brewery

Badger The Blandford Fly

I love anything with ginger in it so I was really excited to try The Blandford Fly from Dorset brewers, Badger.  As much as I love a ginger ale soft drink, what could be better than a real ginger ale?

This is a beautiful golden ale, that you can see through the clear bottle (oh what a shame, I had to buy two for the photograph), and it pours with a loose and very rapidly disappearing cream coloured head.

As I was pouring there was a very strong smell of hops but as the ale fills up the glass there is a lovely warm spicy aroma of ginger and a hint of toffee too.  With such a lovely ginger aroma, I couldn't wait to dive in for a taste.

Oh heavenly ginger!  Badger have got this one spot on with a lovely sweet and spicy combination that doesn't let the ginger overpower the taste yet remains gingery enough for us ginger lovers.  The initial flavour is sweet toffee followed by a spicy ginger kick and rounded off with a lovely dry finish.  Despite the lack of head, it's well carbonated and has a good medium body for a golden ale.

So very dry and refreshing, The Blandford Fly is definitely one for the ginger lovers!  The ginger spice catches the throat nicely without being too harsh; that's the perfect amount of ginger in my opinion.  I loved it and Ale Be Seeing You again!

Brewed by Badger Brewery, Dorset
5.2% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.25/5

Find out more at Badger Brewery

United Dutch Breweries Oranjeboom Premium Strong

A 7.5% lager beer with a traditional golden yellow body and a bright white head.  It pours crystal clear and has an aroma of hops and sweetness.

Now for a 7.5% ABV beer, I was expecting strong tastes to come through but it's all very subtle.  The initial taste is sour and sweet but this is replaced by a metallic aftertaste and an almost wooden whisky cask or cheap vodka flavour.  Due to the high ABV, you can actually taste the raw alcohol but I would have preferred a bit more beery taste.

I bought it half price from the local shop, so it's not bad for £1.25 but I wouldn't buy another one.

Brewed by United Dutch Breweries, Holland
7.5% ABV

My rating:

Find out more at Oranjeboom

Brutal Pistonhead

I was really surprised with this one.  I'm not usually a fan of golden yellow ales, never mind lagers, so I put off drinking this for a while; a can with a skull on the front can't be good - how wrong I was!  It's a crystal clear traditional looking lager with a bright white loose frothy head and a delicious aroma of hops followed by sweet pineapple.  

It is not at all what I expected.  I can only describe it as sweet and sour and lip-smackingly good.  It is so bubbly, like a glass of champagne but very easy to drink and so refreshing. For a lager, it is full of flavour and so very unusual.  Top marks!

Brewed by Brutal Brewing, Sweden
4.6% ABV

My rating:

Find out more at Brutal Brewing

Brains Welsh Golden Ale

A traditional looking beer - a lovely deep golden body with a frothy white head.  The head does disappear but it leaves just enough to remind you it is there.  There is a bit of sediment in this one, so I poured carefully to minimise the cloudiness.

It smells of citrus fruits and hops, kind of like an IPA mixed with a bitter.  The carbonation is excellent, with bubbles bursting on your tongue to leave bitter grapefruit notes.  It has a subtle hop flavour, resulting in a crisp, refreshing beer.

Brewed for Marks and Spencer by S.A. Brain & Co, Cardiff
4.6% ABV

My rating:

Find out more at S.A. Brain & Co Brewery

Black Isle Organic Scottish Beer with Heather Honey

You can smell the honey as soon as the lid comes off and I wasn't sure if I was going to like this or not.  Me?  Not like a beer?  Of course, I needn't have worried - I loved it and Ale be sure to See It Again!

It's a delicious pale golden colour and has a really robust head for a golden coloured ale - what you see is what you get, it doesn't disappear at all.  There are loads of golden bubbles bursting to the surface but it's surprisingly smooth on the tongue.  The head remains until the last drop, lacing down the side of the glass as it refuses to disperse.

What an incredibly unusual flavour; the honey taste is definitely there but it isn't overpowering at all.  There is a hoppy aroma when you're drinking it and a slight bitter aftertaste which has the edge knocked off with the honey.  I really like it.  It is smooth, palatable sunshine in a glass that, when I closed my eyes, successfully transported me to the Scottish Highlands with purple coated mountains and fluffy white clouds.

Brewed for Marks & Spencer by Black Isle Brewery, Scotland

5% ABV

My rating:

Find out more at Black Isle Brewery

Wychwood Hobgoblin Gold

A golden IPA for a chilly Northern day!

A good head on this one.  At 4.5% it doesn't feel like an IPA and has a nice strong taste almost as if you are drinking molten gold itself.  It does have a slight hoppy aftertaste but I put that down to the 4.5%.  It has bursting, almost fruity, bubbles on the tongue and a light head that lasts almost to the last mouthful.

Brewed in Oxfordshire

4.5% ABV

Check it out on Wychwood.co.uk