Belgian Golden Strong Ale
TailGate Brewery - Headquarters

On tap at Tailgate Murfreesboro, into a becher pint.

Pours a rich dark gold, not much foam and no lacing. Aroma is sweet apples, bubblegum, and a little banana. Flavor is similar. Tons of sweet apple juice and bubblegum with a bitter hint of herbal hops on the back end. Overall very very sweet, and this style should be sweeter, but this just tastes like an ungodly sugary hefeweizen. There's very little pear or dry white grape which I look for in a golden strong ale, and low bitterness overall. It has a distinct lack of ethanol however, and is still drinkable even with the high sweetness. Feel is OK, it should be more lively and less syrupy. Body is still appropriate though; it's not overly boozy or hard to drink.

Belgian golden strong is a style I love and will order whenever I see it, but is an impossible task for a brewer. It should be focused on the bubblegum and pear esters alongside some white pepper, appropriately dry on the finish, and drinkable at a huge abv with big flavors and a ton of carbonation. Fait la Force in Nashville does a great version of this style that is properly crisp and overwhelmingly dry while still having a complex flavor profile and being great for a hot day.

This is not that. This is overly sweet and approachable with a decent Ester profile, but no dryness and the wrong feel overall. I drank the whole pint and enjoyed the good parts of it, but this didn't feel up to style at all. Decent, but not anything I'd drink again.