Moylans Celts Golden Ale

Brewed by Moylans Brewery & Restaurant
Style: Golden Ale/Blond Ale
Novato, California USA

Sampled April 2007
This beer is pretty well carbonated, it easily produces a four-finger thick, pale tan colored head that sits atop a hazy, light gold colored brew. The aroma smells of soft, fresh milled grain a berry like fruitiness and a touch of green herbal notes. Something in the aroma makes me thing of green grapes, perhaps even of the Sauvignon Blanc variety (though unfermented of course).

Dry, with a nice biting bitterness to it up front. The bitterness continues on through to the finish where it picks up some lightly sharp, astringency. Quite light feeling, in fact this is quite light bodied. Herbal, green flavors abound in this beer; they add a bit too much sharpness as it seems to make this beer a touch unbalanced. A bit more perceived malt character might help. At times a touch of sweet malt is noticeable, but it soon gets washed out by that sharp, almost vegetal, herbal note. This clearly has character to it, but I find it a touch too unbalanced.

Very nice aroma of crisp hops and some corn flake sweetness. Appearance is a blonde ale. Flavor is nice cereal sweetness followed by some crisp hoppiness and ending with a dry and creamy smoothness. Incredibly smooth on the palate. This is one of the better blonde ales I have ever had.

Bottle from Capone’s. Turbid deep gold pour with aroma of corn flakes, slight honey, hopcit, and some bready notes. Tastes corn flakey, crisp and clean, with some hopcitric and bready notes. Very quaffable.

Courtesy of Pailhead. Cloudy, dirty yellow, huge highly carbonated head. Big grass and aged hop aroma. Flavor very harsh, hard to pinpoint anything, but none of it good regardless. Mostly grass and lemon, very acidic.

Bomber $2.89 from ledgers, Berkely, CA; Nose is grassy and grainy, with some citrus and funk. gold with a small but bubbly white head, flavor of grain and lemon, with some sweetness mixed with flowery hop bitterness, which lasts to the finish. Not a Depuration but decent!

Bottle: Courtesy of cbkschubert via trade. Aroma is yeaty and fruity with some light banana, orange, and lemon. It pours a hazy pale yellow with a large white head. The flavor starts with some faint banana, yeast, and lemon. It finishes with a moderate flowery bitterness and lots of acidity. The high acidity really hurts.

22 oz bottle. Poured slightly cloudy golden to amber with a big foamy head and nice chunks of lacing. Nose is mostly malts and hops, with a small amount of citrus. Mothfeel was crisp and clean. Flavors are a bit on the odd side, with a slightly metalic tinge. I found this isn the section of my local store usually reserved for closeouts. May be past its priime.

22 oz. bottle Pours a slightly hazy light golden color with an average white head. Decent carbonation. Light lacing. Has a soapy, citrus and grassy aroma. Has a light citrus (lemony) flavor. No unpleasant aftertaste. Light to medium body. Not bad.