Golden Host
Purchased at the Waitrose supermarket, BB 15/01/09, served cool in a straight imperial pint glass. A: pours a dark orangey golden hue, a thick layer of off-white froth sustains very well, on top of semi-lively carbonation that goes smoother in time. S: syrupy and sweet tangerine-like citric-fruitiness abounds, while pale malts take the form of malt-syrupy as well as burned sugar-cane-like smell... some date-jam, saltiness, a little grassy note of hops also at presence in the background, while a swirl would bring out the more pronounced aroma of Goldings hops (or something similar)... Overall, all elements intertwine rather smoothly, but the sweet-sugary edge seems to lead the chorus rather loudly. T: mildly honey-ish pale malts lead towards floral and zesty bitter&hoppy main theme, occasionally showing a syrupy edge of toasted sugar-cane and a touch of boiled-yum-like root-veggie-sweetness, but never too much... the texture is rather chewy in the end, where the bitterness of citrus hops quietly intensifies and the citric tartness also lingers. M&D: slightly too fizzy for the balance, this golden bitter shows a light-body and a decent level of hop-bitterness and hop-fruitiness on the palate, but the sweetness on the nose seems to be slightly too much. The cask version is better.