St. George Golden Ale

Brewed by St. George Brewing Company
Style: American Pale Ale
Hampton, Virginia USA

Bottle (12oz). Well golden ales aren’t exactly my fave, but here goes. Hazy deep amber-orange with an average foamy-creamy white head. Light toasty caramel malt, fresh natural honey, with dry floral/herbal hop notes and some dry wheat - good balance of honey/malt sweetness and dry grain - maybe a little light, but pretty good naetheless. Taste of fresh ripe and sweet cereal grains, hop bittering starts slow and finishes long, quite herbal - this is no shrinking violet golden ale, well done. Pretty robust body for the style, dry and astringent mouthfeel, not much carbonation, but with the bitter, longish finish and drying action on the palate, it’s not missed - very nice. And two-for-two from St. George, I’m impressed with how well made these are.

Bottle: Courtesy of Immy via trade. Aroma is mostly floral hops with some light caramel and grapefruit. Pours a transparent amber with a moderate off-white head that fades somewhat quickly. Moderate caramel up front that lasts throughout. Finishes with a well balanced floral hoppiness with light grapefruit. There is a light acidity I could do without in the finish. A solid APA with an overall score that seems a little low.

Bottle. Pours deep gold with light, white head. Aroma of citrus, apricot, sourdough, and woody vegetable stems. Up-front malty taste, (light, pasta-like malts) with dry, hoppy finish and cereal aftertaste. Even-handed, not too exciting.

Somewhat better than the lager, this one is a little more yellow in color. Has a pretty nice hop kick to it. Goes pretty good with the fish I ate, but as far as I can tell these beers are mostly just mediocre and not really outstanding. Drinkable, but not worth getting again.

Bottled. Golden to orange with a rather short white head. Aroma is a bit spicy and citrus. Thin body and taste are somewhat reminiscent of mainstream lagers, but with more hops. Clean finish with some pine in it. This would be a great beer to go with BBQ. Strong enough to hold it’s own with spicy food but still refreshing; and with enough hops content to keep your brother-in-law the Bud Lite drinker away from your beer.

Bottle courtesy of Numenor: Pours a clear bronze copper with a thin, wispy white head. Aroma of lightly toasted pale malt, some earthy hops and a touch of sugar. Body starts lightly sweet and malty, balanced with a decent amount of bittering hops. Finishes sticky and bittersweet. A decent APA, but could use more flavor and aroma hops.

12-ounce bottle. Nice forward malt attack of no particular distinction; clean hop finish. Another brick in the wall separating us from megalagers, but probably about my 750th favorite beer of all time. Looked at another way, it’s a nearly flawless beer that suffers only by dint of such adventurous, interesting competition for drinking time.

Excellent gold coloring for the body, medium ivroy head. Malt accents in the aromas with a strong cirtus flavoring.