Sunsplash Golden Ale
Sunday River Brewing Co.

 

Oh Sunday River Brewing Co., how I miss seeing your products on the shelves. I've had this can for quite a while now and finally decided to open it up for lack of better options. Not their finest beer, but it was the only Maine craft beer in a can.

Pours a golden color with a tinge of orange, good sized head but it fades fairly fast, doesn't leave any lacing, looks unfiltered as there's some floaties in there.

Mostly sweet malt on the nose, nothing too complex, unoffensive at best.

Taste is watery with only a slight beer presence, mostly malt with a weird grassy aftertaste.

Good thing I still have a few 1260's left in my collection, pretty much the best and last beer they put out.

I saw this Rastafarian-colored can in a convenience store and thought it was a soda! Upon closer inspection I discovered it was a Maine craft brew in a can so... into my glass it poured a slightly hazy gold with some orange hues. White head one finger thick displayed pretty good retention and good lacing. The aroma was mostly floral hops with some mustiness. The flavors were golden-like, an earthy malt first hits my tongue closely followed by crisp hops. Hint of apricot became more clear when it warmed up a little. Light carbonation and a light bodied mouthfeel. This one proved to be easy drinking, refreshing and above average for a canned brew; totally check it out.

Single 12 oz can purchased from Nikki's Liquors in Providence...
Nice appearance for an American Blonde Ale... Pours a light golden hue with rising carbonation and an impressive frothy and foamy head that exhibited impressive staying power...
Aroma: Golden, faint, unassertive, slight corn and grain essences... Nothing much going on here...
Taste: Similar to the aroma... Very crisp, clean, and smooth, not heavy on flavor...
Light, watered-down mouthfeel...
Easy drinkability, however definitely lacking flavors...
Average-at-best...

Tried this beer returning from skiing at Sunday River Resort in Maine. Unless you're a skier, this would be difficult to get to.

Served in 3-oz tasting cup, it was difficult to evaluate what the head might be like, but the remnants lasted and left decent lace. Gold in color and crystal clear.

Given the glass, this gave off good hop aroma.

This is a hoppy golden ale. Some apricot in the background. The malt portion is dry. The body is thin and the carbonation as to be expected.

IMHO, this is one of the better golden ales that I have had.

Appearance- Pours with a surprising amount of carbonation, the side of the glass is full of bubbles, beer itself has almost no head and is a hazy yellow color.

Smell- Some malty sweetness here, also just a hint of mustyness.

Taste- Not a very sweet beer, not overly bitter either, some fruity notes in here as well as a solid backup of grain.

Mouthfeel- A little watery on the tongue, reminds me of a macro.

Drinkability- Perfect for a light refreshing beer or a session brew.

Presentation: 12oz can in a Shaker pint glass

BAside: to my knowledge the only Maine craft/micro in a can....cool

Poured light, crisp & clean. Faint, dull citric quality (orange) aroma muted with some metallic undertones and dulled malts, perhaps a wisp of some spice and some sweetness. Head was a pencil's worth of tight pearl white foam that faded rather quickly to a thin sheeting with a edge ring that laced nicely. Pale straw gold in hue, its hazy, almost clouded, a nice parade of bubbles rising thru it.

Initially there is that unmistakable metallic quality that most cans add, but that does fade, leaving a crisp, semi-dry ciderness (ciderness?) with a somewhat earthy maltiness. Barely spiced with a peep of pepper, the dryness has a nice crunch to it. Any citric notes are echoes at best. It grows more bitter on the palate with a noted creaminess rising on the mouthfeel, finally finishing with a mineralistic aspect to it, slightly chewy, a little filmy, not unpleasant but also not noticeably enjoyable, and finally disappearing clean.

To be brutally honest, its pretty decent for canned beer. Given a cooler full of canned offerings I would pick this hands down above any macro product. It was incredibly easy to drink, and on a hot day I could see this going down even better. As far as the genre its above average, but there are many better examples. However, those examples are also not in cans. Beers like Sunsplash have their place. I could see this being great for outdoor activities (hiking, rafting, etc.) and could also be a great transitional beer for that "I only drink Bud" friend of yours. As far as parings this one wants to hang out by the grill and go with any simple fare that comes off it. I would definitely put this in the class of a Blue Moon as far as a transitional and would recommend it for that reason as well as its travel-ability. A good canned craft beer. Check it out.

12oz can bought as part of a 6-pack from Ryan & Casey's, Greenfield, MA.

Poured into an imperial pint glass, formed a 1" white head over the slightly cloudy golden brew. Head lasts nicely for the style, with lots of dwelling lacing. Aroma is sweet pale malts, with a good presence of fruity hops. Taste is pale grains upfront, with lemon tinges in the middle, and a clean close. Mouthfeel and drinkability are both very pleasing. Glad I got the six-pack.

Interesting beer! This "golden ale" has the hazy yellow-orange appearance of a witbier, and the tanginess to match it. The fluffy bright white head holds fairly well and leaves some nice lace about the glass.

The nose is spicy and tart (lemon) with yeast, and grassy from the hops over a light straw maltiness. Or are the hops spicy? It's gently earthy and mineralish, which is great, but not exactly what I'd expected of a "golden ale". Still... I'm pleasantly surprised and quite excited to find a witbier of this caliber in a can (Wittekirk is just a little too soft and sweet for my taste).

The flavor offers more of the same with lots of hay and grass cut through with a tart, lemony acidity. It's mineralish and earthy from the yeast as well, and it finishes in that way with a kurt dryness despite the restrained bitterness.

In the mouth it's somewhat effervescent with a very fine-bubbled standard carbonation and light body.

Nice beer!!!! I'd be glad to have one (or more) of these on a sunny day of canoeing, sailing, fishing, camping, hiking, tennis, or whatever suits you. It'd be perfect at a back yard barbeque, and still welcome at a sit-down holiday dinner with sweet potates and ham. Very nice!