Grand Ridge Yarra Valley Gold
Grand Ridge Brewing Co.

Grand Ridge Yarra Valley GoldGrand Ridge Yarra Valley Gold
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From:
Grand Ridge Brewing Co.
 
Australia
Style:
American Blonde Ale
ABV:
4.9%
Score:
83
Avg:
3.59 | pDev: 15.32%
Reviews:
27
Ratings:
32
Status:
Active
Rated:
Nov 15, 2021
Added:
May 28, 2002
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  1
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by dgilks:
Photo of dgilks
Reviewed by dgilks from Australia

3.55/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Pours deep hazy bronze with virtually no head and no head retention.

Sweet malts and resiny hops are the main aromas with a definite emphasis on the malt. Hints of honey.

Good balance of hop bitterness and malt. I get nice earthy hop flavours in the start which flow easily into a sweet, tasty malt backbone with some fruity yeast characteristics. Not bad.

A solid medium body and crisp but not overpowering carbonation cuts through what could be a slightly cloying beer for good effect.

A drinkable beer but not one I'm going to keep going to. There is good flavour but a few notes don't quite meld more me and while not bad, aren't to my particular tastes.
Aug 06, 2009
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.26 by Daneve76 from Australia

Nov 15, 2021
 
Rated: 3.56 by life_of_agony from Australia

Feb 16, 2016
 
Rated: 5 by Harvie

Sep 27, 2014
Photo of wordemupg
Reviewed by wordemupg from Canada (AB)

3.56/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
330ml bottle poured into pint glass 25/3/14

A clear amber liquid with streams of tiny bubbles going up the side with giant fast movers popping off the bottom, a hard dump only pumps out a short lived finger of foam that leaves just a couple polka dots of lace

S slightly sour apple, plum, rum raisin and a hint of nutty chocolate, strong caramel, almost smells like sticky date pudding

T a little citrus and herbal hops to go with what I smell, slightly more nutty chocolate, not a whole lot going on but decent flavors

M little syrupy, quite slick on the palate, enough bubbles to give it some life, herbal tea lingers on the finish

O nothing spectacular but easy enough to drink, I doubt I'd finish a 6er of it with out getting board though

another shot it the dark and although it wasn't a complete miss its nothing memorable
Mar 25, 2014
Photo of SmashPants
Reviewed by SmashPants from Australia

3.66/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Bottle: good 330mL brown bottle, decent label - refined and somewhat classy.

Appearance: a dullish brown colour with some gold/ruby highlights, a decent off-white head with good retention and lacing.

Aroma: plenty of caramel and toffee, almost too much. A bit overpowering and certainly not well-structured.

Taste: caramel malts certainly lead the way, followed by unripened plums and those light spices again.

Aftertaste: tasty bitterness reminiscent of quality hops and a surprisingly tasty metallic.

Mouth feel: medium in body, reasonably smooth and quite well balanced. A moderate carbonation carries the flavour well.

Overall: pretty darn good beer. Good for a sweeter tooth English-style ale strong on caramel malts. Still not sure if it's worth AU$65 a case (2012) though.
Jun 17, 2013
 
Rated: 2 by pin from Australia

May 21, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by mungus from Australia

Jan 29, 2013
Photo of soju6
Reviewed by soju6 from Missouri

3.58/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
A: Pours a hazy amber color with a decent head that fades to some lacing.

S: Aroma of citrus and pine with a bit of malt sweetness and a hint of chocolate.

T: Taste of citrus with some caramel sweetness with a bit of chocolate and fruit in the background. Bitterness that lingers a bit and a fairly dry finish.

F: Medium body, smooth and quite well balanced.

Enjoyable beer that goes down easy. Reminds me more of an English Pale Ale than a Blonde Ale.
Aug 29, 2012
Photo of dansmcd
Reviewed by dansmcd from Australia

3.47/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
A - Pours a red/burnt orange amber under a thin film of head and reasonable lacing.

S - Mild on the nose, golden syrup, yeast and crunchy red apples.

T - Sweet dark fruits, peach and plum, apples and caramel malts.

M - Medium body, medium carbonation, quite dry.

O - Nice enough session beer under 5% abv. Nice flavours.
Jun 07, 2012
Photo of LittleCreature
Reviewed by LittleCreature from Australia

3.5/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Appearance - 3.5
The copper-red colour suggests that the proposed style of American Blonde Ale is well off. Pours a finger of cream coloured head which quickly falls back to a thin layer over a body with lots of fine suspended sediment.

Smell - 3.5
Fudgy, caramel malts stand out, fruity and earthy notes coming from the yeast and hops.

Taste - 3.5
Rich malt base tastes of toast, biscuits, fudge and caramel. Prominent yeast imparts the flavour of underripe plums, followed up by an assertive hop bitterness and metallic twang which lingers through the dry finish.

Mouthfeel - 3.5
Full bodied, becoming a little syrupy as the beer warms. Moderate carbonation is quite sharp over the tongue, despite small bead.

Overall - 3.5
I feel this beer is closer to a Best Bitter or English Pale Ale in spirit. A little too rich and full bodied for easy drinkability, but better with a few degrees warming from the fridge. An above-average ale that I wouldn't say no to.
Jul 01, 2011
Photo of heygeebee
Reviewed by heygeebee from Australia

2.78/5  rDev -22.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
My first of this style.

First notes the label catches the eye being a foil affair. Nice. I am still 100% wholly unconvinced re their claim to be the Worlds Most Award Brewery tho....

Pours a one finger head, which hangs around but not too long.

Medium aromas of hops with maybe a little malt sweetness to offset - not much tho.

Taste is a surprise, after the moderate aromas, its quite full bodied. Full hop after palate backs up a real between-style initial hit. Ain't a Pale Ale, ain't a lager, its all in between and not particularly integrated either Quite carbonated and sharp in the mouth. Full bodied.

Not bad, not good..
Jun 09, 2011
Photo of xylophonica
Reviewed by xylophonica from Australia

3.7/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
A - Nice pillowy head. Dark brown/ruby colour ale.

S - Sweet sugary malt with some fruits. Big hit of mango/apple & pear flavours offsetting the caramel malt.

T - Mildly sour at first on the palate. Some astringent, tart flavours dominate - again the apple-pear fruit combination is coming through. Otherwise this is a fairly smooth fruity ale.

M - Good level of carbonation leaves a nice vibrant feel on the tongue. Slightly sour yet malty taste lingers.

D - Nice beer but not quite what I was expecting. Given all the facsimile beers made by Australian brewers it's good to experience something a little different. Looking forward to trying more from this brewer.
Feb 18, 2011
Photo of juju7
Reviewed by juju7 from Australia

2.77/5  rDev -22.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
Hadn't had this for years and thought it might warrant a revisit. Honestly, I can't remember what it tasted like before but I'm sure it was better than this. Firstly, it isn't gold it's more red/bronze.No head retention to speak of. Nose brings biscuity malt and a niggling pine-like aroma in the back. On the palate it lacks any real bitterness and seems to lack identity. It's not refreshing and it's not a beer to warm you up either. There is definite malt presence but the hops on the this seem quite dull and unfortunately there is a presistent soapy kind of sourness at the back. I seriously doubt the freshness of this beer but if a brewery doesn't put the freshness date on their beers they've only got themselves to blame.
Nov 03, 2009
Photo of CrazyDavros
Reviewed by CrazyDavros from Australia

3.58/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Pours garnet/pale copper with a creamy somewhat persistent head.
Quite a powerful aroma of resinous hops, sweet caramel malt and a bit of citrus.
Lots of caramel flavour with what might be some sweet crystal malt later on. Hop profile is limited, but finishes with a prominent green hoppy bitterness.
Good mouthfeel with a great laid-back carbonation.
Really loving these malty English pale ales I've been having lately.
Aug 02, 2009
Photo of Superduck
Reviewed by Superduck from Australia

3.63/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
A dark amber ale with a decent lightly tanned frothy head, small tight carbination on the side of the glass. Nice lacing.
Aroma was of earthy hops with creamy caramel malts & toasted nuts.
Flavor was a decent earthy hop bitterness with a light woody/nutty Finish.
A dry/creamy mouthfeel and a good finish
Nov 01, 2008
Photo of laituegonflable
Reviewed by laituegonflable from Australia

3.4/5  rDev -5.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5
Darkish red mediciney colour, fizzes up nicely upon pouring and makes a good light foamy head. Looks quite pleasant but perhaps a bit lifeless after a few seconds.
Fair generous hit of floral hops with a toffee sweetness on the nose, has a celtic quality about it. Slightest hint of chocolate but it's very faint. Could be more aromatic but what's there is very pleasant.
Taste - wow, talk about hops. That totally caught me off guard based on the slightly underplayed nose. A musty and dulled malt hit on the front palate progresses quickly into a fairly short but intensely bitter palate with slight hints of lemongrass and dry wood. Its very pleasant characters could last longer but it's nevertheless very drinkable and refreshing. Slightly dry mouthfeel, could go down smoother.
Feb 01, 2008
Photo of Kulrak
Reviewed by Kulrak from Australia

2.82/5  rDev -21.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 2
Pours a cloudy dark orange color with plenty of chunky tan head that sticks around and laces the glass. Smells yeasty and malty sweet. Some raisin there as well. The taste is drier than I expected from the smell, too much carbonation, I think. Foams up on the tongue so it's hard to taste much in the way of sweetness. The sweetness that I can taste is estery/raisiny, yeasty and a little of roast malt. Mouthfeel is too carbonated, there's scraping on the tongue, and it's really a lot of foam. Seems to be a theme with Grand Ridge beers, as their porter was the same way. Overall, I'm not terribly impressed, everything is pretty tasty, but the carbonation is so over the top, it throws off the whole beer
Nov 27, 2007
Photo of brendan13
Reviewed by brendan13 from Australia

3.85/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A - Amber colour with a nice thick off white head. Big lacing is left down the glass.
S - Biscuit malt backed up with some nice floral english hop notes.
T - More like an IPA which is alright in my books. Rich biscuit maltiness and some good bitter hops to balance it out.
M - Quite a full mouthfeel with light carbonation.
D - Tasty beer with a not too high ABV% makes this a beer that should be consumed by the 6 pack.

I don't know how this is listed as an American Blond Ale. English Pale if not English IPA would be closer.
Jun 10, 2007
Photo of rjimlad
Reviewed by rjimlad from Australia

3.66/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
I poured this one a bit too cold so the head dissipated immediately and the initial aromas were faint. However, the initial appearance was an attractive deep tea colour, bright but cloudy. I left it in the glass for some time and a caramel aroma became apparent. One reviewr said it was like a caramel milkshake and this seems right. Tastewise, there was a roasty, almost vegemite on toast flavour but not overpowering and there is very little mid-palate to speak of. There isn't much length of flavour and the toasted malt quickly gives way to an enjoyable bitterness. I think there is a big hole in the middle of the palate and there mouthfeel is a bit watery. It's still a fair beer but not very complex and I don't think it can hold my attention for very long.
Apr 03, 2007
Grand Ridge Yarra Valley Gold from Grand Ridge Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 83 out of 100 with 32 ratings