Cambridge Golden Ring Abbey Pale Ale

Brewed by Cambridge Brewing Company
Style: Belgian Ale
Cambridge, Massachusetts USA

GABF 2005. Deep golden body and a fading white head with some legs. Floral and spicy aroma with touches of tropical fruit, sweat, barnyard, old peaches, and mild oak. Unusual flavor features wild flowers and brett. Semi-dry with light acid notes. Wild and very distinct.

Dark dulled gold to amber bodied, producing an eternal white film. Immediately charming nose where the funky yeast shines a wild fruitiness ranging from passion fruit to juicy bananas and vinous grapes or kiwis. At the same time, the typical honeyed Belgian malts procure biscuity undertones that befit the limey, leafy hops. Not so expressive in yeastiness in mouth, but it compensates through a woodiness I had not seen coming. Well controlled sweetness, light-medium bodied, oily texture, tanninc mouthfeel. An absolutely delicious offering, thanks to a stupendous wild yeast nose.

On draught at the brewpub, 6/14/2005. Deep cornfield golden color, light white-gold tinges throughout. Lightly creamy off-white head sits atop, very small, but some retention and lacing. Lightly hazy body. Aroma of honey, light graham crackers, hints of earthy bitterness and bits of bubble gum. Belgian yeast is discernable, and there is a good dose of fruitiness (starfruit, tangerines). Some vanila notes. Flavor is moderately malty, honey and dough, not too much vienna huskiness, though it has a lightly grainy, moderately carbonated mouthfeel that is pleasing and holds out any watery feel it might otherwise have. Notes of vanilla, light tangerine and dry yeast on the end. Bits of floral notes throughout, with some light lemon zest mixed in with the sweet malt. Drinkable, with a definite Belgian yeast character lingering on. I enjoyed the thicker, more pronounced malt sweetness in this, as compared to the lighter, more attenuated L’amour du jour. 7/4/7/4/14

On draught at NEBF, 10/29/05. This is the only Brett version. All other brewpub versions were not brewed with brett. This was a very good beer to start with, and the brett makes it in to an excellent beer. Spicy and yeasty, with the appropriate tartness from the B. Bruxellensis variety. Like usual, the nose is more expressive than the flavor, being an American version, as they can’t quite seem to nail the flavor and saccharomyces balance, but this is darn near close and probably tastes better than the GI Matilda. And that’s in an absolute sense, since they have no real relation other than the brett. Great texture and very drinkable. 8/4/7/4/16

On tap at the brewpub. Light, clean Belgian ester nose. Almonds and citrus. Pours a clouded amber, thick and meaty with a rim in off-white. Wow. Intense hop flavor, actually very forward and mixed with delicious phenols. Really grassy and parchingly dry in the hops. Fresh and dank. Reminiscent of marijuana strains. High carbonation actually lifts this a lot. The malt is hidden beneath a wonderful blossom of hops and yeast flavor. A nice beer. Maybe a touch out of balance, but something I’m really digging.

[draught @ the brewpub] Hazy golden yellow color. Aroma is slightly sweet, with some citrus and slight acidity. Flavors are full of herbal bitterness and some smooth, grainy malt character. Refreshing, funky complexity. Lingering bitterness in the finish. Awesome stuff.

Lightly funky, herbal hop nose. Clear golden body is topped by a low white head that recedes to ring. Somewhat funky brett character with herbal, earthy, grassy hop character and pleasant cereal malt flavours. Light body with refreshing strong carbonation. Sampled at GABF 2005.

GABF ’05 Golden in color with a slight haze. Aromatic, fruit,spice,yeast,brett funkiness. Bitter,hoppy with sublte sweetness,oak character..a lot going on here. Very complex, wish i had the time and a full snifter instead of a one ounce serving.

Really interesting mix of Belgian style and IPA boldness. One of my favorites from this brewpub.