Dark Star Hylder Blond

Brewed by Dark Star
Style: Golden Ale/Blond Ale
Haywards Heath, England

Gravity, at the excellent Merton summer festival. Pale yellow gold, lots of clean fine white head. Smells like really good soap. Peaches, melons. An electric herbal quality to the bitterness. Hops distincly present but not aggressive. Lemon finish. The main trouble with this beer was that I kept finishing my pint before I could get decent tasting notes down. Didn’t realize this had elderflowers in it until adding these notes. Actually didn’t think I liked those in beer, but maybe the saaz/elderflower combo is what it takes to avoid hop clash. At any rate, it’s magic here. Perfect summer ale, and my beer of the festival.

A Mes rate: Gravicask at Fin’s excellent Merton Beer Festival.
Bright gold with a very good white head and a super snowstorm when swilled. Glorious fresh and fruity grassy hoppage, some orange and strangely some strawberry. Less strawberry in the flavour. Lovely bitterness in the finish with some eventual malt that balances it beautifully. Another belter from Dark Star.

Cask, gravity dispense at Merton Summer Beer Festival July 18th and 19th 2008 This was always going to be one of the stars of the show, Dark Star rarely ever let you down and a betting man would have probably had pre beer fest odds of this being either favourite or in the top 2-3 beers. It never won beer of the festival, that particular accolade went to the equally excellent Marble JP Best but nonetheless it was loved by all who tried it, I can’t recall anyone commenting that they didn’t like this or that it was just ok, anyway enough of the rambling on with the rating. This beer poured golden and of all the beers looked the best, simply stunning in appearance a lovely perfect white head sat proudly on a crystal clear golden body. There was a nice but subtle lemonyness going on here and knowing about the elderflowers I tried to detect them, they were there but only just. The taste reminded me of the way your senses are aroused as you wander through a wood on a summer morning following a small rain shower, it was quite lovely., delicate, fresh, clean, floral, crisp, just wonderful. The elderflowers came through in the mouth more than the aroma (IMHO) but this was just summer in a glass, excellent and difficult to top, but topped it was in my opinion by two other even better beers.

Draught at OT. Nice Englich hop aroma and elder flower. Taste is fruity and elder-lemonade also present. Low bitterness but a very refreshing summer ale.

Cask conditioned at Merton Summer B.F ’08. Gold to yellow with white head. I think I have begun to appreciate the sharp, dry lemon character of good Saaz hops after my trip round Bohemia, because I certainly enjoyed them in this beer. The body was quite yeasty and floral, must be elderflower, but what it delivers is important and that is Saaz at their best. Nice.

Cask conditioned - gravity dispense - Merton Summer BF. A pale blonde coloured beer with a lovely white head and lacing, served in excellent condition. Some elderflower and lemongrass in the saaz dominated aroma. The taste is nice and light with leafy hops. Smooth as silk and very tasty.

Cask at Oliver Twist, Stockholm. Clear golden. Citric nose with vanilla and elderflower. Medium sweet with light-medium body and rounded mouthfeel. The elderflower acts as a spice in the background. Together with hay and citrus it provides refreshment and some late bitterness. One of the more succesful spice beers from Dark Star.

Cask at Oliver Twist, Stockholm. Pours out in a hazy golden colour with a small creamy white head. Dryish aroma of lemony hops, grass and elder with undertones of cookies. Medium to light-bodied with notes of crackers, lemon-zest, elder and orange-peels. Crisp medium-bitter finish of lemon-zest, cookies and grass.