Dogfish Head Golden Era (Shower)

Brewed by Dogfish Head Brewery
Style: European Strong Lager
Milton, Delaware USA

Bottle 355ml
Appearance: Clear amber with hint of vintage gold , rocky white fizz on top 3-.
Nose : Light fragrance of euro hops a la meadow. Great mixture of malt and classic fresh hops.8-
Flavor/Palate : Medium-full bodied with gentle sticky qualities. Clean edition of sweet sugar malts as main theme blended bitterness pairs quiet well. Hops are better exposed as well Golden Era is smoother, silkier than most Mocnes yet its less malty than typical bock.

Pours dark golden into the glass with a lightly retentive foamy head that leaves soapy lacing. Airy-sweet bouquet, with some clean (Saaz?) hops. Very sweet, almost candy-like light malt upfront. This transitions quickly into a dry-hopped back-palate, without a lot in between. Not bad, by any means, and MUCH better than the majority of American (ahem... macro) interpretations. For 9% ABV, the mouthfeel is a bit thin, and lacking of (a lot of) complexity. The palate is medium-light with a slightly zesty body. Overall, it’s ok, but a little less-than-expected from Dogfish Head.

Bottle: Poured a deep golden color ale with a small foamy head with some retention but no lacing. Aroma of sweet malt with some dry European hops. Taste is a weird mix between a very sweet malt base with some dry hops at the end. Body is quite full with some good carbonation and no apparent alcohol. I thought this was way too sweet and not the best form this usually interesting brewery.

Not surprisingly, the pour was nice and golden. Very floral to my palate, and better the second time around than the first. Slight bitter/metallic finish curbed by sweet floral taste. Probably the best imperial pilsner I’ve had, but that’s not saying much. Not a style that I love. Glad they changed the name.

A very nice pilsner with a strong grainy-malty presence. Nicely balanced with lots of hops, but not overpoweringly so. Nice.

Pours a golden yellow color with thin head. Aroma is mostly malts. Flavor was surprisingly well balanced. I was expecting it to be more of a hop bomb (nothing wrong with that in my world), but it turned out to be a grainy, malty, somewhat creamy pilsner with a great hop profile. Chewy malts up front followed by a not too bitter hop finish. Very enjoyable and drinkable, but watch out for the 9%, it will sneak up on you!

Ahhh Golden Shower, I mean Era. 12oz bottle. Pours a somewhat dark yellow color, on the clear side. Thin, but fluffy white head that laces down the glass. Smells sweet and light malty. A little bit of spice to the malt as well. Tastes like a pilsner on ’roids. Pretty sweet up front with a nice grainy, malty taste to the finish. Pretty thick palate for the color, subdued carbonation. Great beer, I think after a while the sweetness might get sickening.

Dogfish Head is always sure to please, so I was excited to dive into my new 4-pack of golden era. As it’s labeled an imperial pilsner, I was expecting something akin to the sam adams hallertau imperial pilsner, however I felt this beer was closer to 90 minute IPA. Their was a lot of pine and citrus. i didn’t really detect much pilsner quality to it. However, I really did enjoy the golden body and cascading, mouth-tingling palate. The flavor was good, but ending in a mildly unpleasant bitterness, unlike their IPA’s which I think have a satisfying bitter finish. Overall, a pleasant beer, but nothing special.