Golden Ace
Feral Brewing Co.

Golden AceGolden Ace
Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Feral Brewing Co.
 
Australia
Style:
Belgian Pale Ale
ABV:
5.6%
Score:
81
Avg:
3.47 | pDev: 11.24%
Reviews:
15
Ratings:
24
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Aug 14, 2014
Added:
Mar 20, 2011
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  1
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by foles:
Photo of foles
Reviewed by foles from Australia

4/5  rDev +15.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Interesting beer new on tap at the Feral Brewery. It has some of the hallmarks of a belgian blonde ale - belgian yeast character on the nose and in the body, pale colour, etc. But where it differs is that it is strongly bittered, and there is a crazy new lemony hop used in excess here. Its almost harsh and sour in its lemony twang that hits you like a ton of bricks. I think its Sorachi ace - apparently a very dominant hop. Maybe the batch just needs mellowing.

Ill try this again in a few weeks...
"18 months later"
This beer is growing on me. It appears they have tweaked the aggressive, unusual sorachi hop to sit in nicely with the this beer. I like the lemon/pine/sherbety/bushy character that this hop provides. Well balanced off-centre version of one of my favourite beer styles.
Mar 20, 2011
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.45 by Dirtywaltzer80 from Australia

Aug 14, 2014
Photo of doktorhops
Reviewed by doktorhops from Australia

3.62/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
I decided for this review I would do the whole thing Dr. Seuss-style with rhymes: Next up for a taste is Golden Ace, don't worry though I won't drink it with haste, I shall keep myself paced... yeah I couldn't be f__ked doing continuing the review in this way, sorry people.

Poured from a 330ml bottle into a nonic pint.

A: Golden Ace? More like Hazy Saffron Ace, which actually sounds like a cooler name for a beer if you ask me. There was also a head. A big foamy off-white head, like the foam on a cappuccino you would buy at one of those crappy tuck shops in an industrial estate that all the tradies go to for lunch.

S: Upfront hops, citrus lemon hops, with something else that's difficult to nail... perhaps it's a hint of pine needles, hmmm. Then it's a typical malt grain base with some bread yeast and pepper notes in the background.

T: Bitter lemon from the hops adds a sharp refreshing twang to the overall taste of this. Kind of dominates the flavour a bit really. Apart from this a sweet malt grain base settles in and does its thing, followed by some nice dry yeast at the end competing (but losing) to the bitter hop finish. It's a fairly balanced drop flavour-wise and no more aggressive with hops than anything from the US.

M: Body is mid to light with a slightly gassy carbonation that helped me rip out a decent belch halfway through the bottle [note: in certain Eastern European cultures a burp is considered a sign that you appreciate a hosts offering of food/drink - i.e. not rude at all Steven].

D: The more I drank the more I liked this Golden Ace, it was full of citrusy delight, not unlike a bottle of Schweppes Bitter Lemon. Only thing I would suggest is not drinking this in the presence of royalty or the easily offended as the burps will come hard and fast with this brew. Other than that I will definitely purchase a 6-pack of this next time I am at the emporium of delightfully dispensed liquor.

Food match: Lemon flavours always make me think of seafood, predominately fish, shark or octopi. Any of the above, or for Lacto-Ovo vegetarians: grilled Haloumi.
Feb 18, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by Vanz from Australia

Jan 27, 2014
Photo of SmashPants
Reviewed by SmashPants from Australia

3.15/5  rDev -9.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Bottle: standard brown bottle with a pretty chincy label. Pretty tacky.

Appearance: a slightly hazy mid-light yellow colour with a small fluffy head that drops to a film quite quickly. Very little lacing.

Aroma: not brilliant on the nose - quite demure and not particularly balanced. Just some lemon citrus and some off-smelling Belgian yeasts. Unimpressive.

Taste: quite a dry flavour, with the lemon citrus again taking the forefront. Some malt and those bitter yeasts around too. Quite drinkable, but still very awkward.

Aftertaste: drops away quickly leaving an odd bitterness. Meh.

Mouth feel: just enough carbonation with a medium body. Very dry but crisp. Not a bad mouth feel at all.

Overall: a drinkable but overall unimpressive attempt at a Belgian pale ale. Certainly not worth the price - get a proper Belgian instead for the price.
Nov 13, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by SouthCrescent from Pennsylvania

Oct 25, 2013
Photo of admiral
Reviewed by admiral from Australia

3.99/5  rDev +15%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
another great beer from Feral - easy to drink and full of flavour

Aroma - nice and fruity: citrus, mango, peach with some grapefruit, slight spice and some slight Belgium yeast

Taste - Grapefruit, citrus, spice, passionfruit, slight honey and Belgian yeast

An excellent session beer that seems ideal for the hotter months (and excellent anytime of the year). Nice fruity aroma and taste along with some nice Belgian flavours coming through.
Oct 06, 2013
 
Rated: 3.5 by Jason_Tyler from Australia

Sep 23, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by magpieken from Australia

Sep 14, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by mungus from Australia

Feb 15, 2013
Photo of soju6
Reviewed by soju6 from Missouri

2.68/5  rDev -22.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
A: Pours a hazy golden color with a big fluffy head that slowly fades to good lacing.

S: Aroma of citrus, mostly lemon with a bit of spice.

T: taste of citrus, primarily lemon. Not much else can get through, just a bit of grain. Bitterness seems to be mostly tart lemon with a slightly sticky finish.

F: Light body, Crisp with plenty of lemon tart. Not quite balanced.

Not really enjoyable.
Aug 21, 2012
Photo of MrKennedy
Reviewed by MrKennedy from Australia

2.9/5  rDev -16.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3
330ml bottle thanks to sinkas, poured into a Lost Abbey tulip.

Light glowing golden appearance. Decent foam on top and lacing after swirling and the foam recedes.

Has a touch of pepper early in the smell before the lemon and lemon zest kicks right in. Later some yeast emerges, but lemon is what the hop variety is all about.

Taste has a mix of lemon and yeast, both noticeable, but neither dominating, nor really working together.

Oily body, some lemon tang and a little warhead like bitterness as opposed to traditional hop bitterness. Long back end to it, which loses sessionability.

Decent Belgian style beer. Much better from the bottle than I remember on tap, where the Sorachi Ace was really obtrusive. Ok, but not something I'd really recommend given the polarising ability of the hop variety.
May 10, 2012
Photo of bylerteck
Reviewed by bylerteck from Canada (ON)

3.25/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Tap at Biero in Melbourne. From notes.

A - Poured a hazy light golden colour. Good carbonation with one finger of white head. Spotty lace and a film of retention.

S - Tropical fruit, citrus, oranges.

T - Orange is much stronger, light malt, citrus hop, tropical fruit.

M - Good carbonation, light to medium body. Some crispness.

O/D - Had no idea this was supposed to be a Belgian style. Didn't seem to fit the profile but was still tasty. Nice and smooth with good hops, light and refreshing but fair.
Feb 26, 2012
 
Rated: 3.5 by Taphouse_Traveler from Florida

Feb 03, 2012
 
Rated: 3.5 by Texasfan549 from Texas

Jan 23, 2012
Photo of vancurly
Reviewed by vancurly from Australia

2.53/5  rDev -27.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
I'm not a fan of this beer. I get some bitter lemon and an awkward note of pawpaw or some other tropical fruit. Combined with the fleshiness of the Belgian yeast, I find it lacking balance, and difficult to enjoy.
For me, this is a rare miss from one of Australia's best brewers.
Dec 27, 2011
 
Rated: 4 by koolk from Australia

Nov 19, 2011
Photo of dansmcd
Reviewed by dansmcd from Australia

3.5/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
A - Fluffy white head perches on a cloudy light yellow-orange amber body. Nice lacing.

S - Lemon peel, Belgian yeast and some spice.

T - Quite tart and funky. Lemon is the overwhelming flavour here. Some bready malt and coriander.

M - Crisp. High carbonation and a light to medium body.

O - An interesting and refreshing beer. A decent option for a summer session.
Oct 28, 2011
Photo of dgilks
Reviewed by dgilks from Australia

3.62/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Cloudy golden colour with a smooth, fluffy, dense white head. Good head retention.

Bright, phenolic aroma with a touch of estery stonefruit. Light spicy notes. Very interesting.

Spicy and a touch fruity with some interesting, musty notes from the Sorachi Ace hops. Moderately-high bitterness for style.

Medium-light body with moderately-high carbonation. Decent.

I find this beer to have a really nice yeast character but the hop character is a killer. I can understand what Brendan has tried to achieve with this beer but it would go down much better as a more traditional take on the style.
Oct 10, 2011
Photo of LittleCreature
Reviewed by LittleCreature from Australia

3.63/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5
Appearance - 4.0
Pours a finger of white head over a cloudy, peachy yellow body.

Smell - 3.5
Yeast driven aroma is spicy and dusty with a pleasant hint of lemon and bubblegum thanks to the Golden Ace hops.

Taste - 3.5
Less dry than the earlier released cleanskin, but still a very dry beer. Crisp, dry malt, sherbety lemon hop flavours and a suggestion of white pepper. Moderate bitterness, finishes dry with a lingering subtle hoppiness.

Mouthfeel - 4.5
Light, fine carbonation, light body, creamy mouthfeel.

Overall - 3.5
This is a hard beer to place in terms of style, sitting somewhere between being a Saison and a Belgian Blond, but with Japanese hops. Regardless, it is pleasant and quite drinkable, if not quite as memorable as Feral's best offerings.
Sep 03, 2011
Golden Ace from Feral Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 81 out of 100 with 24 ratings