Belgian Golden (Abbey Ale)
Portsmouth Brewery

Belgian Golden (Abbey Ale)Belgian Golden (Abbey Ale)
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From:
Portsmouth Brewery
 
New Hampshire, United States
Style:
Belgian Pale Strong Ale
ABV:
7.7%
Score:
85
Avg:
3.73 | pDev: 10.72%
Reviews:
14
Ratings:
21
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jan 09, 2014
Added:
Jun 11, 2010
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by joepais:
Photo of joepais
Reviewed by joepais from Maine

3.92/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
I liked this beer I wish it had a little more hops ;-) but it was a nice brew none the less.

Served in a strait pint glass it had a light white head to it when it came to me the body was a rich golden yellow in color. The aromas were sweet and fruity I didn't get any hops there. The flavor was toward the sweet as well tons of tropical fruits with a slight dryness in the finish it had light carbonation with a medium body and came off a little syrupy in some ways. I have had a few of these this week and enjoy it. I even had a few of these in a row so the drinkability is there
Jun 13, 2010
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.5 by REVZEB from Illinois

Jan 09, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by ajcormier from New Hampshire

Oct 31, 2013
 
Rated: 3.25 by SalMineo from Massachusetts

Sep 20, 2012
Photo of mdaschaf
Reviewed by mdaschaf from Indiana

3.59/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Review from notes.

A: The beer was a golden/orange color with a small white head with no retention or lacing.

S: Some Belgian yeast, pear, apple and some candied sugar.

T: Some light honey, more pear, light spice and Belgian yeast, with a hint of floral hops.

M: Medium bodied with low to medium carbonation.

O: It was pretty good. I probably wouldn't get it again unless I had had everything else that was on tap.
Apr 04, 2012
 
Rated: 4.25 by Miamilice from Virginia

Apr 01, 2012
Photo of u2carew
Reviewed by u2carew from Massachusetts

3.83/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
22oz bomber.
A) Pours with a finger thick, off-white head. Settles to a thin lacing at the edge of the glass. Clear, rust colored body. Semi-sticky lacing on the drink down.
S) Fruity esters. Banana. Clove.
T) Clove. Caramel. Tree fruit - apple and bananas. Some subtle German grain characteristics in the finish - nutty and dry.
M) Mellow fizz. Medium body. Some tannin leaves the tongue slick. A subtle alcohol warmth.
O) A nice, heart warming beer with a good taste profile - complex and tasty.
Apr 01, 2012
Photo of GarthDanielson
Reviewed by GarthDanielson from Virginia

3.88/5  rDev +4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured on-tap and served in a chalice, the beer is a bright, vibrant, golden-yellow color with a filmy ring of foam around the edge of the surface. Good cling along the glass as you drink. The nose is spicy and floral, with cloves and jasmine. Spicy and bready body, with buttery and old world fruit sweetness throughout. The beer is smooth, and slightly tangy, with a spiced aftertaste. Clean, crisp finish. This is a decent beer, and very easy to drink.
Mar 29, 2012
 
Rated: 3.75 by funkel81 from Colorado

Mar 18, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by phingdong from New Hampshire

Feb 01, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by rab53 from Washington

Dec 02, 2011
Photo of stakem
Reviewed by stakem from Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Bomber into a matching Portsmouth snifter. This brew appears a hazed golden orange color with some yellowish tint around the edges. A creamy white cap appears a finger strong and slowly recedes leaving a coating of lace atop the brew and a collection of bubbles around the glass. A light swirl release some bubbles from solution and energizes the cap back to less than a finger's strength.

The smell of this brew is sweet with an immediate scent of belgian candy sugar notes. Some yeasty spices like clove, bubblegum and banana are evident mixed with some fruit like orange rinds. Lightly grassy hops are lingering across the back mixed with an almost creamy smelling grain sweetness.

The taste is spicy with yeast flavors countered by candy sugar sweetness. Spices akin to clove, bubblegum, pepper and banana are evident with a mild caramel grain sweetness. Some grassy to herbal hops are there to balance things out along with a light warming touch of alcohol in both spicy flavor and warmth down the back of the throat.

This is a medium bodied brew with a moderate level of carbonation. For an offering that is creeping up on 8% abv the alcohol is very well incorporated and hidden well even at higher than ideal serving temperature. All in all this is a fairly well balanced and easy drinking offering. Like many of the other Portsmouth offerings, this isnt a style I reach for often but this was a well made example of the style and I had no problems finishing my glass.
Jul 28, 2011
Photo of MasterSki
Reviewed by MasterSki from Canada (ON)

2.66/5  rDev -28.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
Thanks to Aliza (naproxen) for this one. Served in a Kuhnhenn tulip.

A - Pours with an extremely thin white foam that settles to...nada. Transparent copper body with streams of bubbles rising up the middle.

S - Herbal and medicinal hops and spices, estery Belgian yeast, candi sugar, some buttery pale malt. Reminds me of the really bad ESB I had from Portsmouth, actually.

T - Taste has more brown sugar sweetness and less of the spicy Belgian yeast. Some buttered biscuit malt character. Not as bad as the aroma, but still has an unpleasant medicinal finish.

M - Slightly grainy texture, medium in body, with extremely low carbonation - almost verges on slimy. No alcohol is present, and I never would have guessed 7.7%.

D - I struggled through the first pour, but the second one largely ended up in the bathroom sink. Just not a very good beer here. Yet another Portsmouth disappointment.
May 14, 2011
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Reviewed by jakeaustin from Maine

3.02/5  rDev -19%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3
Poured from the bomber into a large tulip. Color is as advertised. Bright golden amber. Even with a vigorous pour there is no head whatsoever. Very small amount of lacing.

Smell is quite pleasant and complex. Classic belgian yeast smell dominates. Coriander, clove, and quite a bit of banana. All of this on top of some light caramel.

Taste falls short unfortanetly. There's some spiciness from the yeast but it's overpowered by a strong banana/bubblegum flavor. There isn't much else going on and each sip hints at some really good flavors but just doesn't deliver.

Despite the sweet flavor, the beer finishes fairly dry. Flavor disappears from your mouth a little too quickly. Carbonation is on the low side leaving the beer feeling kind of lifeless. A decent beer but not one I would buy again.
Mar 31, 2011
Photo of DavoleBomb
Reviewed by DavoleBomb from Pennsylvania

3.69/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Big thanks to andrewinski1 for this. Poured into a snifter.

3.0 A: Lightly hazed medium orange color. One and a half fingers of frothy white head that falls quickly and leaves no lacing.

4.0 S: Smells like the first tripel I ever brewed. Clove is the dominant spice along with black pepper and corriander secondarily. Good amount of bubblegum and candi sugar as well. Lots of fruits in this, starting with peach and apricot and ending with pear and something along the lines of mandarin orange.

3.5 T: Clove and corriander stick out immediately. Not as much bubblegum or black pepper as in the nose and also not as fruity. Pear is the dominant fruit component with just a touch of peach and orange. This is much more earthy than the nose suggests. A bit musky and funky.

3.5 M: Medium body. Good amount of carbonation, but it isn't quite as spritzy as I like in a Belgian beer. Otherwise, smooth.

4.0 D: Solid beer. There were a few categories that could just as easily been half a point higher. I would buy this if I had easy access to it. No real faults and good all around.
Mar 11, 2011
Photo of ThirstyBird
Reviewed by ThirstyBird from California

3.65/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Thanks to Enron CFO for the bottle!!
Pours a slightly hazy golden color with a nice off white head that falls to a blanket. Smells lightly spicy with a faint bubblegum note. Sweet malt and

The taste starts off with a spicy introduction that slowly fades into the softer fruity, slight bubblegum canter which then goes to a dry slight bitter ending.

My bottle is nicely carbonated with bit over light body. A slightly watery feel I get.
Overall interesting drinkable but not the best offering that I've had from Portsmouth.
Jul 25, 2010
Photo of albern
Reviewed by albern from Massachusetts

3.39/5  rDev -9.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
I'm not sold on this Belgian. It pours a clear golden hue with a small white creamy head, no lace, not much retention either. The nose is very good and very Belgiany. You get the nice coriander and clove smells, the nice sweet malts, the candied sugars, and some yeasty florals too. I only wish the taste followed the aroma.

The taste is compromised somewhat because the beer is quite flat and lacking carbonation. More fizz would have helped, even some of the mouth prickly yeasty fizz would have helped. There is also a sharp spiciness and bite in the finish that is really the undoing of the coriander, clove, and Belgiany midsection. The spice tartness in the finish is this beer's undoing. There is a touch of herbal floral in the finish too, but that spicy bite just slays everything otherwise worthy. The 7.7% ABV is hidden a bit, but it is more noticeable by the finish. I'm not sold on this beer at all and I find it a tad disappointing.
Jun 26, 2010
Photo of steve8robin
Reviewed by steve8robin from Massachusetts

3.87/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
Got this one at the brewery last weekend. Away we go...

A: Nice golden rust color that is perfectly transparent. Small white head that quickly fades to a murky lace atop the brew. Decent.

S: Sweet boozy malts upfront blended with some sugars. Hints of dark fruits mixed in. Good.

T: Sweet dark fruits upfront blended with a cherry soda type flavor. Kind of metallic malts in the middle with grassy hops hidden on the backend. Good.

M: Too heavy on the carbonation. Ok.

D: Goes down easy. A little heavy from the boozy bready malts. but otherwise good.

All in all, This was an ok brew. Don't bother hunting it. KTG is an awesome brew, but that does not mean that all the brews will be. This one does not live up to the KTG reputation. Ok to try if you're in town, but not worth shipping.
Jun 26, 2010
Photo of MrDanno96
Reviewed by MrDanno96 from New York

3.97/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Picked up a bottle of this at the brewery the other day.

A: Pours a dark golden yellow color with very little lacing. Disappointingly, almost no head formed, even after a decently vigorous pour. My girlfriend got a glass of this on draft and I recall it having some head, so I'm not going to take off too many points here.

S: Some nice spiciness, a lot of coriander, some orange and lemon zest, and lots of bubblegum.

T: Very strong Belgian yeast and bubblegum flavor dominates the flavor overall. A little of the nose spiciness comes through in the flavor as well and the finish is just a touch bitter.

M: A nice medium body that goes down smooth. The 7.7% is hidden quite well.

D: Drinks pretty well, especially considering the high abv. Not an extraordinary brew, but another solid effort by Portsmouth.
Jun 23, 2010
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Reviewed by Duhast500 from Rhode Island

4.5/5  rDev +20.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Got a growler to take home since I liked that tasting I had of it at the Portsmouth brewery.

Poured from a 64oz. growler into a stemmed glass.

The color is a hazy orange/gold with a slight finger of head that disappeared quickly, no laving.

The smell is pretty sweet and has a bit of a bubble gum flavor. It also has a slight citrus fruit flavor as well.

The taste is sweet with a little tart flavor. Some sugary flavor that seems a bit candy-like with some orange or tangerine flavor.

The feel of the beer is pretty light and really drinkable. It does down nicely and leaves little aftertaste. It help cool off my mouth from the spicy calamari that I had.
Jun 14, 2010
Belgian Golden (Abbey Ale) from Portsmouth Brewery
Beer rating: 85 out of 100 with 21 ratings