Stone Coast Sunsplash Golden Ale

Brewed by Sunday River Brewpub and Restaurant
Style: Golden Ale/Blond Ale
Bethel, Maine USA

(draft) Clear straw body topped by white head. Aroma is medium sweet, lemon, biscuit. Taste is medium sweet, biscuit, light lemon. Light body.

12oz, cool looking can (gotta get me one of these cans). Poured a medium golden color with a smaller sized white head. Aromas of lemons, grass, and grains. Tastes of grass with some citrus. Thinner body. Not bad for a Golden Ale.

Pours gold with a white head. Smells of some fruit, floral hops, dry pilsner malt. Tastes of toasted malt, some crisp hoppy notes and a floral finish.

12 ounce can from the Beverage Warehouse in Winooski, VT (July 2007) served at cellar temperature in a Samuel Smiths pint glass. Huge, creamy-foamy white head erupts from the can, slowly decaying about the very bright, lightly hazy golden body and leaving thin spidery lacing....honey-biscuity aroma, light floral-perfumy hops, a touch of jasmine and lavender and then on a second nosing, beautiful ripe apricots.....not nearly as entrancing upon tasting, however: very thin and watery, with pale malts barely distinguishable in the bitter, slightly burnt and somewhat chemical-adjuncty flavor profile; at the finish a fuesel plasticy quality dominates and the experience is basically ruined....light to moderate carbonation, some mineralic and metallic notes also evident at the finish. This brewery has been frustrating to me, a couple of very high quality beers and everything else quite mixed....this one I’ll try again based mostly on Clark’s rave, but for now it’s not worth it.

On tap at David Copperfield’s in NYC. A minimum head on yellow body. Lace and creaminess, drinkable but a high carbonation. No aroma to speak of. Drop of cirus taste, more malt than hop.

I’ve had numerous six-packs of this over the past year (2006) as it has been distributed in MA recently.
Medium amount of white head shows moderate retention, light lacing. Bright, honey-golden body shows plentiful carbonation and a high clarity.
One (at least) batch has been unintentionally infected with wild brett. That one smells of medium-tart pear and apple skins, with a little bit of peachiness from the malt combo. The brett version shows more attenuation and a more dry nose, obviously, but is quite fragrant. I believe the beer is hopped with styrian goldings or hallertauer. It gives a tremendously grassy, herbal and highly aromatic nose. Touch of light breadiness on the finish.
The infected cans are deliciously ripe with brett. I’ve honestly had bottles of Orval that taste worse than these. The combination of the noble hops, which are mostly flavor/aroma additions, with only a light bitterness produces a charming recreation of Orval. Somewhat sweeter, and the non-infected bottles are much sweeter, but still very well-attenuated and with plenty of spiciness from the hops to cut the sweetness. Furthermore, I found the carbonation and mouthfeel to be the best I have yet encountered in a canned beer. Lower levels of carbonation do not pester the palate. No alcohol apparent, no flaws that I found.
Easily the best canned beer I’ve had and probably my favorite readily available drinking beer. This must be exquisite fresh on draught. Too bad I’ve never found it in my many travels through Maine.

12 oz can. Sweet label design, which is why I bought it without knowing or caring if it was good or not. Stone coast usually makes some pretty solid beers, so I figured this would be nice. Not to be the case however. Pours a nice cloudy straw yellow, kinda like a wit or hefe- nice fluffy lasting white head and good lace. Aroma is actually slight brett character- possible infection? Lemony and grassy aroma with light straw, malty hints and spicy hops. Flavor is more light brett, wild yeast, hay, grassy and herbal hints and a tart lemony finish. Mouthfeel is fizzy and high carbed- possibly from infection. The more I dirnk it, the more sure I am that this has to be infected- although I kinda liked it toward the end. Weird golden ale.

20061007 After Kennett. Clear and pale gold. Big white head. Aroma it tinny and bretty, mineral, touch of bandaid. Flavor is mostly bland, mucho dry, seemingly infected. Late metallic notes and funk. Very thin and dry. Something I oddly enjoy with the flavor.