Black Gold (a.k.a. Dark Ale)
Copper Dragon Brewery

Black Gold (a.k.a. Dark Ale)Black Gold (a.k.a. Dark Ale)
Beer Geek Stats
From:
Copper Dragon Brewery
 
England, United Kingdom
Style:
English Dark Mild Ale
ABV:
3.7%
Score:
Needs more ratings
Avg:
3.77 | pDev: 9.28%
Reviews:
7
Ratings:
8
Status:
Active
Rated:
Aug 31, 2014
Added:
May 22, 2005
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
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Recent ratings and reviews.
Ratings by moneyfunnel:
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Rated by moneyfunnel from California

4.5/5  rDev +19.4%

May 03, 2012
More User Ratings:
Photo of safaricook
Reviewed by safaricook from Netherlands

4.05/5  rDev +7.4%
This my first dark mild and I really like it. There is of course very little alcohol and with that it is quite difficult to get much taste into it. This beer is not bold but true to its name, mild. There is a gentle roastiness in the aroma reminiscent of coffe, choclate and nuts with a buttery component. The taste is likewise. Carbonation is smooth and though the low alcohol body feels just a bit watery. Looks like a stout, maybe not as black. I great drinker. This one could lubricate a long evening conversation without getting boring (at least the beer).
Aug 31, 2014
Photo of StJamesGate
Reviewed by StJamesGate from New York

3.43/5  rDev -9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
On cask at the Belfast Beer Festival.

Pours chestnut red with a frothy white head. Smoke and nuts on the nose. Mulch, red apple, red currant malts with tea and autumn leaf hops. Crisp, light to medium and dry.

Fruity and dry and not much else. Shouldn't have "black" in the name. A bit blah altogether.
Dec 04, 2010
Photo of FreshHawk
Reviewed by FreshHawk from Illinois

3.43/5  rDev -9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
A - Dark brown, probably closer to black. Little less than average sized foamy beige head.

S - Chocolate and coffee roasted smell. A bit of nuttiness.

T - Mostly roasted malts with some coffee and dark chocolate. Some nutty flavors along with subtle dark fruit. Slight hop finish. More bitter than sweet, but it is balanced.

M - Smooth and light body. Decent carbonation.

D - Easy to drink beer with its light body and the flavors are decent and balanced.

Notes: A lot of stout like flavors but lighter and less creamy. Slight bitterness but pretty balanced. Not my favorite but easy to drink.
Feb 24, 2010
Photo of Sigmund
Reviewed by Sigmund from Norway

3.73/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5
500 ml bottle, bought at ICA Middelthon, Stavanger. Probably not bottle conditioned. ABV of the bottled version is 4.0%. Very dark brown colour (nearly black), creamy beige head. Moderate but pleasant aroma, fruity (plums/prunes) with a moderate roastiness, notes of mild coffee in the background, hints of chocolate. The flavour is smooth and nice with subtle notes of roast malts, chocolate and mild coffee, balanced by a certain fruitiness and moderate hops in the finish. A decent dark mild this one.
Jan 19, 2009
Photo of Jeffo
Reviewed by Jeffo from Netherlands

3.94/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Picked this up at the Bierkoning in Amsterdam.

Into my pint glass.

APPEARANCE: Near black, opaque, with basically no head. Whatever head was there quickly levels out into a thin film. Minimal carbonation evident and some lacing as well. Looks flat after a couple minutes. Seems to be standard for the style.

SMELL: Strong roasted smoky malt component. Chocolate on the initial nose as well. Nose becomes stronger and more pronounced as it warms.

TASTE: A strong roasted smoky flavor. Some chocolate and black bitter coffee in there as well. Aftertaste lingers ever so slightly, good timing really, with very little bite. Nicely done. Enjoyable.

PALATE: Medium body with medium carbonation. Goes down pretty smooth and finishes pretty dry. No bite.

OVERALL: On the label it says something like, "We hope you enjoy our efforts." Well, I certainly did. A tasty brew with a strong enough nose to make you notice. It seems, unfortunately, that most of these dark mild ales look kind of lack luster after a couple minutes, but this one made up for it with a nose and taste that counts. Enjoyable. Definately a drinkable session beer. Well done.
Nov 02, 2008
Photo of wl0307
Reviewed by wl0307 from England

3.53/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Tasted by a half-pint at the Hillsborough Hotel, a Sheffield brewpub; hand-pulled w/o a sparkler.

A: dark brown hue with elegant and dim ruby glows, coming with a very thin, dark beige foam and rather low carbonation.
S: Munich malts or med-roasted malts abound, nice yet also settled in aroma; behind the malty façade there’s abundant bitter-sweetness as from caramelised nuts and brown sugar with a winey touch. Overall, just like what a Dark Mild should show, sweet-roasty malts dominate, yet slightly lacks a necessary hop element in the mix.
T: upfront comes a rich roast-nuttiness and plentiful earthy hops, fast introducing a moderately but lingering dry-ish palate; in the aftertaste, an increasing bitterness is echoed by a smack of dried leafy, tangy hoppiness.
M&D: very light-bodied, slightly thin but not flat; overall, this is an easy-drinking, decent Mild with a desirable hop bitterness to linger.
Dec 18, 2007
Photo of TheLongBeachBum
Reviewed by TheLongBeachBum from California

3.51/5  rDev -6.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Presentation: Sampled at the Castle, Bradford during my Easter Trip back to the UK. Thankfully the short walk from the New Beehive resulted in a much wider choice of Guest beers. I have been impressed with the beers of the Copper Dragon Brewery the few times I have sampled them so when I saw that the Dark Ale (37.%) was listed on the Guest Beer Board, I quickly opted for that.

It seems that Copper Dragon 'Dark Ale' is actually a Free-Trade name for the 'Black Gold'; they are in essence the same brew, so I list it here under the Brewery name of 'Black Gold' with the alternate name in parenthesis.

The Copper Dragon website states that Black Gold “….is a recipe recreated from restored brewing records from the 1800s. The use of traditional coloured and roasted malts gives a unique rich and luscious flavour.”

Appearance: Thick dark brown body on the bar, with some ruby hues when held to the light. Light brown head that took a wile to settle, definitely a fresh cask as this one was quite lively. The light brown milky appearance soon disappeared to reveal a ½” creamy head atop the dark brown body. Creamy lacing slides down the glass back into the brew after each drink.

Nose: Roasted malts, dark chocolate and a hint of burnt toast mixed with dark fruit hint. Lovely nose yet the strength levels are depressed, you have to inhale deeply to get the best from this.

Taste: Pretty much akin to the nose. Roasted malts and a caramel center-piece, which has a dark chocolate burnt finish benefiting from a low bitterness. Delicate fruit balance in the middle with a dry roasted finish. Nicely put together, a solid Dark Mild that has a little extra.

Mouthfeel: Reasonably full bodied for a Dark Mild. Creamy feel, slick and clean, it slides down easily, yet it doesn’t have a heavy filling feel at all.

Drinkability: This was the 4th Pint of the days drinking; I usually slow down after the first couple and take it easy when I am out all day. Yet even so, this ended up being a relatively quick Pint. I could have managed a few more of these with no effort at all.

Overall: A little higher in gravity than most Dark Milds, and it obviously benefits from the extra ‘oomph’ in that department. Recommended.
May 22, 2005
Black Gold (a.k.a. Dark Ale) from Copper Dragon Brewery
Beer rating: 3.77 out of 5 with 8 ratings