Ballantine Brewers Gold Ale
Pabst Brewing Company

 

(12 oz bottle, packaged on 08/23/16... purchased warm, then chilled, then bottle sat out for about 40 min while I finished something for work... poured into a nonic)

L: clear, medium-light amber liquid with an inch-high, soft and smooth pad of foam atop... surprisingly, a lovely, wide, webby band of lace draping down the glass

S: relatively dense, toasty, honey-kissed malt with delicate aromas of flowery hops - but the malt is huge here - smelled it right away upon papping the cop

T: notably bright, almost spicy-acidic bitter hop character, subtle herbal and tangy aftertaste carried above the brawny, crusty grain of the malt... nearly a malt-liquor malt profile, but with more of a nutty-toasty, medium-dark caramel - pretty well balanced altogether... not really all that sweet, but a bit of residual sugar lingers, despite a relatively dry finish

F: light-medium-bodied, leaning toward medium, soft viscosity in finish... carbonation has a light, refreshing sizzle to it... very subtle alc/spice warmth... easy to mindlessly knock back

O: about what I anticipated, aside from the malt flavors being more robust... not a broad palate of flavors but, as I suggested, it's bold and balanced for what it offers and very much sessionable with some pub grub... I would have this again

 

Poured into a narrow pint glass: color is transparent gold, bright white head, presents about 1/2 inch thick with mixture of bubble sizes; head lingers well and leaves a solid top with lacing on the glass.

Smell is light toasted malt, hint of biscuit, minor grassy hops, pleasant and enticing.

Taste is grainy, less prominent barley malt qualities more adjunct graininess, moderate hops with grass and floral qualities with light bitterness.

Mouthfeel very sharply carbonated with a sharp bite on the tongue.

Overall a solid golden ale, a little grainy but some noticeable hoppiness and barley malt.

Pabst Brewing Company "Ballantine Brewers Gold Ale"
12 fl. oz. brown glass bottle, "Packaged on 08/23/16" and sampled on 02/13/17
$1.99 @ Total Wine & More, Cherry Hill, NJ

Following Pabst's release of Ballantine IPA and Burton Ale I was hoping for something special in their Brewers Gold Ale, but what I found is simply a basic golden ale.

It's a deep gold in color with a frothy off-white head that holds well and leaves some very nice lacing behind. The aroma displays sweetish, grainy, and delicately toasty malt with some yeasty fruitiness and a touch of floral hops. It's clean, fairly bright, and welcoming.

The flavor follows with the emphasis clearly on grainy and lightly toasty malt, but with some hops present as well as the floral note remains along with some lesser grassiness and almost piney spice. It's medium bodied and lightly crisp; and balanced by a median bitterness that's listed at 23 IBUs. It finishes drying as the malt slowly erodes, lingering with the aforementioned yeasty fruitiness and floral hops, and in that sense it's very much exactly the same from start to finish with just a few minor changes in what hits you first.

It's nicely done, and both the malt and hops have a certain depth and charm, not unlike what you might find in a well-made British bitter. If one were so inclined, it would not seem odd to enjoy more than one or two of these in a row, even at 5.5% ABV.

Poured from a brown 12 oz. bottle. Has a dark golden color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is of bready malts, a touch sweet. Taste is malts, floral hops, some lemon, a hint of honey. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall is an easy drinking beer that I would probably enjoy more during the summer.