Pure Gold
Itchen Valley Brewery Ltd

 

28th April 2012: half pint, cask in The Craft, London.

Pale gold, clear and clean (lager-like): on top a thin coating of white foam.

Next to no smell, slight citrus hop wafts maybe, but not much really, of anything.

Thin and struggled to give off any strong flavours in the mouth: might be fine on a hot day after cutting the grass, but not on a cold, wet London evening in April. Didn’t float my boat at all, couldn’t even find the alcohol in the taste.

Bottle-conditioned, 500ml brown bottle. BB April 2009, served in a straight imperial pint glass.

A: golden-hued, with semi-lively fizziness full of large bubbles, supporting a fluffy white head that lasts quite well.
S: the nose is slightly grassy, mildly earthy, as well as mildly citric - smelling a bit like a "little brother" of Hopback's golden ales... Fruity and soothingly hoppy overall, with a rather low level of maltiness.
T: the slightly phenolic touch of yeasts is an enjoyable addition to the soothing and mixed flavour of hops, a touch of dried grass, on top of a rather timid malt platform... A restraint bit of salty-sweetness lingers in the aftertaste as well, leaving just a mild flow of hop bitterness to entertain the back of the tongue.
M&D: quite refreshing and med-light bodied, this ale has shown a certain level of cleaniness on the mouthfeel but overall not living up to the high expectation of a truly hoppy/delicious Golden Ale. Nevertheless, one can't deny the ever-improving bottle-conditioning efforts of the Itchen Valley as demonstrated by this bottle.

Golden color, not really limpid. White, average head.
Fresh hop in the smell, malt, tea leaves, light fruitiness grape-fruit like.
The grape-fruit is more strong in the taste. Malt.
Good beer, with a good drinkability.
Hoppy, pleasant.
Grape-fruit, citric and some peppery note in the aftertaste.
Quite balanced.