Golden Ale
Legend Brewing Co.

Golden AleGolden Ale
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From:
Legend Brewing Co.
 
Virginia, United States
Style:
English IPA
ABV:
7.2%
Score:
84
Avg:
3.63 | pDev: 13.77%
Reviews:
13
Ratings:
24
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jan 10, 2015
Added:
Aug 05, 2007
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  1
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 3.27 by DrJay from Texas

Jan 10, 2015
 
Rated: 3.25 by RedneckBeerz from Massachusetts

Nov 17, 2012
 
Rated: 3.5 by ncaudle from Virginia

Oct 13, 2012
 
Rated: 3.75 by NumberNone from Maryland

Aug 11, 2012
 
Rated: 3.25 by SlaughteredWolf from Virginia

Jul 29, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by Hallce2 from Virginia

May 31, 2012
 
 
Rated: 5 by Moses1313 from Tennessee

Feb 04, 2012
 
Rated: 3 by AndrewMichael from Virginia

Jan 09, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by cheapswiller from Virginia

Dec 08, 2011
 
Rated: 4 by DoctorB2B from Virginia

Nov 20, 2011
Photo of CuriousMonk
Reviewed by CuriousMonk from District of Columbia

3.53/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Light amber copper/amber color. Many bubbles hold a thick, frothy, foamy head very well. Pecan, maple malt aroma. Plum, barley, and grassy hop taste. Trickle down lacing. Mouthfeel is fairly thick. Finish is woody, and has notes of apple peel. Its almst like this beer was aged in wooden barrels.
Feb 04, 2011
Photo of SaCkErZ9
Reviewed by SaCkErZ9 from South Carolina

3.63/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Served on draft at the Legend Brewpub in Richmond, VA.

Comes to the table a, well, a deep golden color with a decent sized eggwhite colored head.

Aroma is quite fruity with a bit of straw and grassiness. Almost a beery sort of aroma that, surprisingly, is refreshing and not an irredeemable quality.

Very nice flavors as well. Seems to be well balanced between the light toasted malts and the fruity hops. There is actually a bit of hop bite in the rear end that sticks to the palate. Sweet up front and bitter in the back; just the way I like it.

I really liked this one. After the debacle that was the Oktoberfest, this was a welcomed reprieve.
Sep 28, 2010
Photo of LuthersMug
Reviewed by LuthersMug from Virginia

3.71/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
I picked up a 22oz bottle at the local co-op in Roanoke to drink with a friend at dinner that night.

A - Clear and beautiful golden/copper hue with a huge frothy head. Very appetizing. The label has a white unicorn with a golden mane and horn, reared up on 3 legs. A golden chain is draped on its body. Behind the unicorn is a shield-like emblem with wheat and black berries. A well done label.

S - Faint hints of sweet caramel and grains.

T - Slightly sweet and malty caramel, but lacking a flavorful punch. The hops balance the beer nicely. Smooth.

M - Carbonation was good, however, a slightly watery feel.

D - A good beer, one which I would definitely have another.
Jul 31, 2010
Photo of bamadog
Reviewed by bamadog from Ohio

2.27/5  rDev -37.5%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2
Came across this beer on a relatively recent trip to Virginia. It looked interesting so I thought I would give it a shot, turns out, I got a little burned on this one. Such is life and we all live and learn. Review is from notes taken on 6/23/2010 and poured from the bottle to a pint glass.

Appearance: Pour is a light golden coppery color and starts with a one finger off-white head; body is very clear and shows moderately strong carbonation bubbling throughout; head fades to a thin and full cap and only leaves a few spots of lacing here and there as it gets drank down.

Smell: Smell is very faint; there are some slightly toasty grains in the back as well as a passing vinegary scent... Not really looking too forward to this based upon the vinegar in the nose.

Taste: Looking back to the nose, this one has pretty weak flavors and very much a watered down beer; the toasty grains are barely presence, there is a very (VERY) faint citric hop presence and sadly, the vinegar presence.

Mouthfeel: Thin, and very much watery with a fair amount of carbonation and a thin skim left behind on the roof of the mouth; carbonation is lively and fitting, and would really be refreshing if there was more of a flavor profile.

Drinkability: I won't be looking for this one again based upon the very weak flavor and scent, and where there are flavors and scents present, they are "off" and vinegary.
Jun 25, 2010
Photo of NJpadreFan
Reviewed by NJpadreFan from New Jersey

3.18/5  rDev -12.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Legend- Golden Ale

A- Bright yellow, bubbly, with a huge frothy white head.
S- Huge lemon, hay, straw, wet musty grassy hops.
T- Light cereal malt with a tart lemony touch. Grassy, straw, and slight vegetable hoppy finish.
M- Very sweet with a touch of booziness. Dry earthy grass hop feel and finish.

Overall- Light and crisp with a slight vege/ grassy hop touch, slightly boozy also.
Aug 26, 2009
Photo of clayrock81
Reviewed by clayrock81 from Florida

3.8/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours a clear golden body with large head and lace everywhere on my glass. The nose is hoppy and springy with some light malts also tucked in there. Medium-bodied beer that retains smoothness and a little creaminess, with a delicate balance of light and bitter hops with faint malty sweetness while finishing with a drying backbite. Everything keeps itself in check as this beer gives off faint citric, herbal tea, roasted, bread and caramel malts. Not the most powerful beer but a great one to session.
Jul 01, 2009
Photo of Clydesdale
Reviewed by Clydesdale from District of Columbia

3.48/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
A: Pours a slightly hazy yellow-orange color. The off-white head is quite tall, densely foamy, and somewhat rocky. Retention is nice, with very attractive lacing.

S: Some doughy/bready malt aroma. A bit of fruitiness as well; tart - I want to say some granny apples. A weird perfumy yeast character is also present. Some herbal hops in the nose.

T: The malt is less bready than the nose suggested, and more pilsnery. Hop flavors are decidedly herbal and slightly floral. Again, mild notes of tart fruit: mostly green apples, perhaps some grapefruit also.

M: Medium bodied, with some moderate carbonation. Dry, and slightly mealy at times.

D: This is definitely an interesting take on a pale ale. That said, I'm not really sold on where they've taken this. The herbal hop flavors and the perfumy nose somehow add up to a vegetable undertone that's hard to ignore. Others have mentioned that this seems to combine traits of many different styles, and I agree. Worthwhile for the novelty, but it has some flaws.
Jun 06, 2009
Photo of BeerSox
Reviewed by BeerSox from Virginia

3.8/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
22oz bottle into nonic.

The appearance is true to its name - a very rich crystal clear golden hue with a thick two finger white head that seems to last forever. This one almost has the appearance of a pilsner. Rings of solid lacing along the glass.

Very clean and subtle malts, almost undetectable. They add a slight breadiness to balance the light amounts of bitter hops. The hops have a bitter aroma, but also a little bit of honey-like sweetness.

The malts start out with a slight drying flavor, then transitions to a light toastiness in the finish. The hops add a balancing bitterness, but also some light fruity esters. Full bodied.

Sort of a hard beer to pigeon hole. It has the characteristics of a good Pale Ale, along with the toastiness of an amber ale. I guess Golden Ale is the best way to describe this. Recommended.
Jan 25, 2009
Photo of asabreed
Reviewed by asabreed from New York

3.41/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Bomber into a pint glass.

Appearance: Copper-yellow body with a 1/2" head that seems to stick around, leaving a small sheet of lacing about 1" above the body throughout. Nice carbonation initially surging toward the top, and even later that sticks around nicely.

Smell: When it was right out of the fridge I got a bit of metallic funk, so I let it warm up a bit, which wasn't long since it's close to 90 degrees right now in Richmond. Mild hops at the forefront, along with subtle hints of fruit and dough with malt aromas. I'm working really hard for not a lot of payoff. It's balanced enough, but so mild I can hardly get as much as I'd like.

Taste: Initial hop bite, backed by a bit of diacetyl, caramel malt, mild fruit, breadiness, and into a hop-bite kick of a finish, with an interesting bitterness that's almost toward the grapefruit side, but doesn't quite employ as much citrus as I wanted. Seems, like a few folks are saying, that this is a blend of a few different styles, and I'm wondering if that's hindering it a bit. Finish is certainly long, though, and the oily hops do linger.

Mouthfeel: A bit oily, in a good way, with nice bursts of carbonation in a more medium than light body overall.

Drinkability: One of the weaker offerings from Legend, and this is coming from someone who's a pretty big fan. It's an interesting brew, with seemingly a lot of styles coming at each other, but for me I'd rather enjoy a bomber of the lager. Then again, if you want an off-kilter hop fix, this may be the way to go. A decent one for a hot day, but I'm not sure I'd go for this again.
Jun 05, 2008
Golden Ale from Legend Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 84 out of 100 with 24 ratings