Shepherd Neame Goldings (Bottle)

Brewed by Shepherd Neame
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Faversham, England

a bronze color with a bubblie foamy head. a nice short hoppy start with a sweet malty aftertaste

Bottle: Poured an orangish copper with a creamy off white head. Aroma was fruity herbal hop, caramal and cookie malt aroma. Bitterness was soft and subtle behind a caramal malt flavour, slightly dry herbal bitterness in the finish, a little buttery. A bit underwhelming overall, or perhaps I’ve just had my palate desensitized by west coast Double IPAs, or I expected some hoppy monster from a beer named after a hop variety.

Bottle. Darkamber body, big creamy off white head (3+). Pleasant hoppy aroma, very English, bit earth and grassy. Pleasant grassy bitterness with an earth note to it, malt is supportive and doesn’t oft take the spotlight. Average palate. Decent but not particularly exciting.

500ml Bottle: I’ll fully admit I’m not the world’s biggest bitter fan, but this is beyond even a reasonable expectation for a bitter. Starts off alright with a decent pour complete with minimal frothy head and an aroma heavy in hops with a light scent resembling wet grass and flowers. Flavour is just hops. Tons and tons of strong, strong floral hops. It’s just overwhelming; I split it with a friend and both of us found it difficult to get through 250ml worth. Oh well.

[Clear bottle] Amber coloured with a firm head. Aroma is butter, hops and salty liquorice. Flavour is hops, salty liquorice and bitter almonds. A decent ale.

Clear bottle shared with Tipsy and ChineseHercules. Minimal head on amber liquid. Light hop aroma with very little malt. Strong hops carry through in a metallic finish. Possibly light struck. Flavour comes off as metallic and hops.

Bottle. Pours a clear, bubbly, orange-amber with a small lasting off-white head. Aroma’s very lightly skunky due to the clear bottle but thankfully it’s not too bad. There’s grain, caramel malt, light floral hops, honey and fruit in there. Semi-sweet flavour of mild floral hops, grain, some bready notes, caramel malt and fruit with a light, dry bitter finish. Light to medium bodied. A decent light summer beer, it went down easy.

500 mL clear bottle: Dark orange/amber bitter from England. Both armoma and taste has lots of grass. More medium than light body. Lots of hops give this a real bite. Bitter mouthfeel and finish. Would have liked a little more fruity & floral bitter with softer feel and finish. You can taste the bitterness for a LONG time: very, very dry. Almost acidic at times. Malts seem bitter and not sweet enoug to round out the flavour. Slightly softer & more palatable as it warms but not enough. Disappointing for a "summer ale," feels more like a autumn beer. No rush to have this again. Better, smoother more balanced bitters out there (i.e. Fuller’s London Pride) or even lighter ales (St. Peter’s Organic or Mill Street Stock).