Front Row Golden Ale
Starr Hill Brewery

From the neck of the bottle in blue ink: "PKG ON 05/28/20A"

Appearance: The body is deep amber with gold highlights at the edge. It has beautiful color. There is a short white head that leaves no lacing and has very little retention. The head quickly fades to a thin white ring and a faint film of bubbles on the surface. The body has excellent clarity.

Aroma: There is a light, sweet-smelling cereal grain aroma.

Taste: The beer has a light bready flavor throughout. It tastes a bit like honey towards the middle, and it finishes with a sweet nutty flavor.

Mouthfeel: It is light and easy to drink. Carbonation is good. It finishes with a smooth texture.

Overall: The beer is a simple and well made Golden Ale. The neckerchief states that this is a "balance of Honey malt and Cascade hops." The honey malt definitely made an appearance, and while the hops didn't really stand out at all, it felt balanced. I would drink it again and I would recommend it.

From a bottle with a golden amber body, mild effervescence, and a slight, soft foam head. Scent aligns well with the expectation of a golden ale with grain and a slight malt backbone (with a touch of caramel or honey on the nose). Taste matches with a well rounded flavor profile and a touch of hop to keep things interesting, but definitely on the sweet side. Effervescence comes through in the feel, as does a touch of alcohol. A solid golden ale.

I got a late start on this past Sunday's NBS (Week 774) & I did not finish up my DelMarVa (+ DC) adventure as planned. 8=( Further, I have promised that next week's NBS (Week 775) will be dedicated to the wonderful beers sent to me by @jkblr who seems to have a real handle on my drinking habits. CANsparency is key in these things! As a result, I am going to CANcentrate over the next few days on eradicating everything that would have CANbined to form the finale of the DelMarVa (+ DC) adventure. Sit down, strap in & hang on. It's gonna be a wild ride!

Speaking of wild, I am now shifting over to a couple of bottles! Nice add, BTW! That guy really seems to know what he is doing. ;=)

From the Bottle: "This light and refreshing beer is the perfect balance of Honey malt and Cascade hops for a smooth body and clean finish."

I Pop!ped the cap & started a slow, gentle C-Line pour into the awaiting glass. I may have been a wee bit too gentle as there was an initial lack of head. I then resorted to a vigorous in-glass swirl that raised just over a finger of fizzy, foamy, rocky, tawny head with modest retention, quickly reverting to wisps. Color was a gorgeous Golden-Amber (SRM = > 5, < 7) with NE-quality clarity. It resembled honey as The Gelt Gang of Croesus, Midas & Mammon came rolling in for a taste. Nose smelled like freshly-baked biscuits drizzled with honey! Mmm. It takes me back to my childhood & summers spent at my maternal grandparents' house. Mouthfeel was thin-to-medium, not watery, but not terribly far beyond it. The taste was prevalently honey & biscuit malt with a modicum of pine resin to keep me on my toes. Why is this not being rated more highly? It is not only as advertised, but it is also to style. This would make an excellent Summer cooler filler! Finish was semi-dry & highly refreshing. I could crush these at the beach. If only they put it in CANs … YMMV.

Haha! Fooled you! I had a CAN in abeyance for a back-to-back/side-by-side review. The CANQuest (tm) used to enable me to do this all the time, but with bottles falling out of prominence, it is not as easy as it once was.

From the CAN: "Founded 1999 Charlottesville, VA".

Well, I did not realize how much I miss the sound of the Crack!ing open of the vent on a CAN until I was precluded from doing so by a pesky Bottle! I guess that in addition to my ongoing hophead jones, I also have an auditory jones. 8=( I beCAN a slow, gentle C-Line Glug into the awaiting brewery's glass. I sat back in stark CANstonishment as it puffed up to form two-plus fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, tawny head with excellent retention, leaving a load of lacing in its wake. Color was a lightly-hazy Yellow-Gold (SRM = 4 - 5). Nose had the same honeyed-biscuit scent as its bottled CANterpart. Mouthfeel was thin-to-medium, not quite watery, but not much beyond it, either. The taste had the selfsame honey-biscuit with light pine. Mmm. This was darn good & stylistically, it was just what I expected. Finish was semi-dry & highly refreshing. Watch for this in my beach-bound cooler this Summer. YMMV.

I'll call this one a draw in the immortal battle of Bottle v. CAN.

From the bottle, it pours a golden amber color with a large white head that lasts a bit. In the nose, it is a touch malty. In the mouth, it is caramel malty. Nice!

 

 

I tried this at the Roanoke location and was very impressed. It poured a clear golden with thin white head that did not leave much lace. The scent had hints of grain and malt. The taste was nicely balanced and easy to drink with malt base and citrus hop presence. The mouthfeel was lighter in body with good carbonation. Overall it was a good beer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poured from a 16 oz. can. Has a deep, rich golden color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is mild, a bit of grains. Taste is malts, light grains, some sweetness, highly refreshing. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall is a good summer thirst quencher.

Poured into a grip shaped goblet: color is gold, head is off white made up of fine bubbles and presenting about 1/2 inch thick, head dissipates to solid top and some lacing on the glass sides.

Smell is neutral malt, light sweetness, maybe some cracker like notes and some grassy hops.

Taste is simple with neutral malt then some light sweetness, breadiness, crackers; hops are lightly grassy and maybe some herbal character.

Mouthfeel is crisp, moderate carbonation, but a dry finish on the tongue that lingers a bit.

Overall a simple golden ale with some neutral but pleasant grain notes but an over dry feel.

Tad too sweet - needs to idle back honey malt. Aroma is very subdued. Good hop balance but pretty nondescript beer overall. Easy drinker which is what they were probably aiming for.