Oxford Gold
W.H. Brakspear & Sons plc

 

L: Golden amber colour, good lacing
S: Leathey, malty, cirtusy,
T: Lemon, vanilla, zestiness, herbs
F: Medium-well bodied, nice carbonation

O: 4.25

 

 

Setting: I just finished a surf and it's a stunning summers evening at home. I was thirsty and needed something cold/fresh and this beer delivered. Zesty, fruity (citrus?), smooth (not carbonated), easy drinking. Went down extremely well and complimented the lovely summers evening. Nice easy drinking summer beer and a 4.5 based on this. The label must have been updated as it's different from the one displayed here.

 

 

 

 

 

L:
-pours a clear deep golden with a small to medium,foamy,white head
-medium carbonation visible
S:
-orange zest,biscuity,honey,mushrooms
T:
-spicy,zesty,clove
F:
-medium carbonation
-light to medium body
O:
A pleasant, if not terribly complex English Bitter.

Pours clear gold in color with half inch head. Taste is Earl Grey tea, English malt, and honney. Light bodied, moderate carbonation and bitter. Makes for an above average English pale ale.

 

 

 

Gold honey. 10mm head. Cloudy. Smell some mint. Not to hoppy and bitter. Dry taste.

 

Looks beautiful when poured, nice thick head. It has a pleasant hoppy smell. The feel is decent, relatively thick with medium carbonation. The taste I wasn't too keen on. I found after a few sips the hoppiness overpowers it leaving a strong bitter -a little- unpleasant taste in my mouth.
It's a shame, I guess the saying 'don't judge a book by its cover' really applies here.

 

 

 

From Costco. In Ikea's pint glass. Playing Electronic Super Joy. Very refreshing, with smooth, creamy body that although a bit watery is very well compesated with a good dose of english hops. The more I drink the better it becomes

 

 

 

500mL bottle (best before 30 June 17). Date stamp B6153. Served in a collins glass.

Appearance: Bright gold, approaching amber. Thin sudsy white head, fine strands and some thin sheets of persistent lacing.

Smell: Hint of fruit, little bit of butter,

Taste: Very much to style, but a bit hoppy. Herbal/leafy English-style bittering hops dominate, accented with a hint of butter and tea. Some underlying malt mixed in with some fruity esters.

Mouthfeel: Nice thickness with a prickly carbonation.

Overall / Drinkability: A nice English pale ale - probably one of the better ones I've had in the past few days. Nicely hoppy accenting the English style of hop. I suspect it would be even better on cask. I could have another if available.

Best before 28 Feb 17

A: Pours an amber/red with a tall, fizzy white head. Good retention with thin, thin walls of lacing.

S: Huh, a nice crisp citrus fruitiness and the sulfur of pilsner malt.

T: Flowery up front, very much so. Citrus rind and a honey sweetness. Get that typical little punch of bitterness in the finish with another flourish of flowers.

M: Light and crisp.

O: Not bad. Never had this style before. Tastes a lot like an english pale ale, just watered down a bit. Very flowery at points but the honey balances it out a bit. Crisp and drinkable.

 

 

Bottle from Ramstein BritShop. Gold? In color, yes. Else wise, this beer comes off kind of weak and watery. Tastes more like a pale lager than a bitter. A little disappointing....

 

 

 

From a 500ml bottle into an imperial pint glass.

Clear, dark copper colour with light carbonation and a large, creamy, off-white head that leaves plenty of lacing. Looks fabulous.

Smells of light honey, malt, and lemon flowers.

Taste is of a first-rate English golden ale with grass, lemon and florals atop a solid, semi-sweet malt base and a bitter finish.

Medium body. Extra smooth with a little stickiness and a dry, bitter finish. Gentle carbonation. Light coating of the tongue that lasts a while after each mouthful.

Great example of an English pale ale that delivers exceptional flavour for 4.6% ABV. Smooth, refreshing, bitter. Best served chilled.

 

Brakspear is the Shakespeare of English Beer... not really but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to enunciate that statement, it was like part of my brain was thinking “Brakspear, Shakespeare” whilst another part was going “please no, don’t put another terrible pun in a review” too late, I did it and there’s no changing it now sucker! [err, yes, there is a button called ‘backspace’ that could work wonders for your reviews]... *brain-to-brain murmurs* OK I’ve worked it out with myself - I will keep telling terrible puns and I will also keep plying the dignity self-censorship portion of my brain with alcohol - as far as I can see it’s a win-win situation.

Poured from a 500ml bottle into a nonic pint.

A: Butter-Menthols (Google it) is the exact colour of the body of this beer, I can’t even describe it to you - you just have to Google it. True story: Butter-Menthols are so good that as a kid I looked forward to catching a cold just so I could have some, of course now I simply drink a beer that is heavy in Diacetyl when I’ve got a cold and make it even worse but as they say: with age comes wisdom (teeth). The head was gone in a flash, typical English head, I believe it was cream-coloured. 7/10.

S: Aroma is quite floral with a medicinal note and some cider apples thrown in... colour me “what-the-f__k-is-this?” which is a purple-brown hue. Hint of lemon in there as well perhaps? Indeed. Malt, where are you hiding today? 8/10.

T: The flavour is floral, like a potpourri, my mouth has never been so much like an air freshener, with hints of the following: Citrus, biscuit malt and apple ester with an astringent dry finish - it’s the classic dry gin martini equivalent of a beer - you can feel this brew evaporate turning your tongue into the Sahara. Not bad, if you’re into that sort of thing. 7/10.

M: Mid to light bodied with a light carbonation and the aforementioned astringency dominating the palate here... the Japanese are totally jealous. 7/10.

D: I like Brakspear - so far I’ve tried two of their beers and they’ve been completely different unlike another certain brewer whom I just reviewed (I’ll give you a hint: sheep, possibly a herd, managed by someone named “Neame”) for whom it is difficult to pick their brews apart from each other. But I digress (my favourite activity) as this Brakspear is a brew I recommend with a caveat - do you have another drink handy because this is one dry MOFO. 7/10.

Food match: WARNING: DO NOT CONSUME WATER CRACKERS WITH THIS BEER.