Hook and Ladder Golden Ale

Brewed by High Falls Brewing Company
Style: Golden Ale/Blond Ale
Rochester, New York USA

Bottle. Pours a medium gold that is transparent and holds a two finger head of creamy froth. Aromas are of biscuity malts, cornish grain and a little lemon or light floral and citrus hops. Flavor is pretty simliar, but pretty bland. Kind of a creamy and grainy maltiness with a little bit of a grassy hops finish. This is pretty sweet and a little thicker than I guessed.

Pours a clear pale golden yellow with even more clarity of vision along the sides and bottom of my glass which she now resides in. A darker tinge of orange glints in the middle of her visage while a small head lingers as a thin film with a wee bit thicker ringlet around her neck. Her nose wafts towards mine upon a gentle breeze of sweet honeycomb, wet grains, and a wisp of candied sugar. I instantly have flashbacks of the hard-rock candy of youth that came in a multitude of rainbow-colored artificial flavors. Ah, the blissful ignorance of youthful pleasures. Moving on, orange and mango mingle with bitter lemon skin even as buttery creaminess makes them glide effortlessly through my senses. Seeing as I am off to a reasonable start, albeit a bit on the weak side, I dive deep into her golden depths to see how she holds up. Sweet and lightly lip-coating, butter and honeycomb lingers with an essence of sweet rolls and butter rolls. Her bitterness hits in the middle of the palate and teases in the back of my throat with some rather lively lemon skin rinds, hold the wax please. Sweet and a bit cloying, her palate is definitely heavier than her nose implied. Further into the Golden Ale, her sweet side starts to show a bit of a hard mineralistic tang, but other than that, she maintains her balance fairly well. She finishes with neither a flourish nor a bomb, but just a silent farewell.

Ok. She isn’t going to win any beauty pageants or awards, but overall, the Golden Ale from Hook & Ladder faired far better than I was expecting her to. While not the greatest or best balanced Golden Ale I have quaffed to date, she stood her ground under my merciless scrutiny. You go, girl.

Smells kinda sweet and mild. Looks like a pale lager with an ever so slight haze. Some ale attributes on an otherwise mild citrus lager background. Sparkles nicely on the palate. Ale bitter character builds thru the session. Some thin rings of lacing. Finish sends taste from a 5 to 4 because the bitterness really starts to develop for a few minutes once the brew is gone. Could be a bit more polished.

This poured a weak gold color with a white head. Aroma was grassy and corny. Flavor was much the same, some adjucts, a bit sweet, and grass. Not Good.

12 oz bottle Clear dark yellow with a quick disappearing white head. Aroma is practically absent and the flavor is sweet with touches of malt.

Bottle (12oz). Clear bubbly gold, foamy white head - looks like macro. Smells of corn, pvc and peanuts - seriously. Tastes like straw and leaves, a littles sweet, a little corny - ehh. Light body, soft and lightly carbonated mouthfeel, quick finish, popcorn aftertaste. Pretty meh.

Clear Orange, very, very thin white head. Bready, toasty aroma, with a few fruity notes. Flavor is mellow and sweet, with a corn note slipping in. Fairly refreshing, with a mild hop bite slipping in at the finish.

Pours clear medium gold with a thin, creamy white head that has good retention. Aroma is cereal grain, ferment, a little grass and some planty hops. Flavor is buttered white bread, biscuit, a little sweet grain, some cereal, planty hops and a little earth. Palate is light, somewhat oily, but mostly dry and has a mild yet sharp carbonation. Really not bad for the style, nice bbq-on a hot day-brew.