Dark Star Hophead

Brewed by Dark Star
Style: Golden Ale/Blond Ale
Horsham, England

Serve in English pint, Shaker

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(Rating 500) Gravity, served by Fin at the Merton BF. Warm gold pour, small but sticky white layer of foam. This is just a gorgeous smelling beer, full of sunny early-summer citrus perfume. Delicate crisp citrus bitterness--a wonderful expression of the hop actually being a flower! A touch of round biscuit warmth in the finish adds depth and balance. Clean, bright palate. An elegant full-flavored but delicately balanced beer. Any fool can brew a hoppy pale beer--it takes an artist to brew something like this.

UPDATED: AUG 27, 2008 Cask at Oliver Twist, Stockholm. Golden yellow color with a small white head. Hoppy, citrusy, fruity and fresh aroma. Taste of bitter hops, citrus, fruit and some bready malt. Light bodied and light carbonation. I could easily drink a lot of this one. Excellent session ale!

UPDATED: MAR 8, 2011 Cask @ Brasserie 4:20 (Rome) - What an elegance! This is the kind of beers I love! Aroma of hops and fruits with honey and caramel notes. Taste of hops, fruited, quite bitter, a little bit sourness, perfectly balanced with caramel, malt and honey. Low-medium body. Great!!

One of my favourite beers, the hoppiness changes with the seasons but is always very pronounced.

Cask at major oak 27/12/11 poured a crisp golden yellow with white creamy head, masses of citrus and grapefruit on the nose witch follows through in the taste with a bright hop aftertaste excellent ale wish I could get it everywhere as a session ale

Cask at The Harp at Charing Cross. Lovely light beer easy drinking session ale. Lovely flavours

Cask Conditioned at The Evening Star, Brighton. Light in colour, this is a little beauty of a session bitter. Packed with tasty light hops, refreshing to drink, would be great for a full session.

Considering the style, Scores ranging from 1 to 5, 5 being the most intense
Appearance:
Body:   Clear(1)->Murky(5) : 2     Pale Yellow(1)->Dark brown(5) : 2     Still(1)->Sparkling(5) : 2
Head:   None(1)->Large(5) : 4   White(1)->Tan(5) : 1   Lasting: 3   Lacing : 4
Aroma:
Intensity : 3  
Yeast : 2   Bread : 2   Apple : XX   Tropical Fruits : 1   Soap : 2   DMS : XX   Diacetyl : XX Sulfur : XX  
Malt : 3   Biscuity : 3   Hay : 2   Toasty : XX   Caramel : XX   Nuts : XX   Honey : XX   Cereals : 3   Grainy : 3
Hops : 4   Noble(1)->American(5) : 2   Leafy : 4   Spicy : 1   Floral : 3   Lemon/Lime : 3   Grapefruit : XX   Orange : XX   Herbal : XX   Grassy : 1   Pine/Spruce/Resin : XX  
Notes :   Peach/Apricot : XX   Earth : XX   Mint : XX   Butterscotch : XX   Smoke : XX
Flavor:
Initial Flavor : Dry(1)->Sweet(5) : 2   Finish Dry(1)->Sweet(5) : 2   Sourness : XX   Bitterness : 3   Complex : XX   Length : XX
Palate:
Light(1)->Full(5) : 3   Flat(1)->Fizzy(5) : 2   Clean : 3   Sharp : XX   Watery : XX   Oily : XX   Chalk : XX   Astringent : XX   Alcohol : XX   Mineral : 2   Oxidation : XX   Metallic : XX

Comments: Extremely drinkable, smooth bodied, foamy and hoppy, leafy ale. The quintessential tasty and drinkable session golden ale and probably the one with the best mouthfeel.

UPDATED: JAN 6, 2009 <i>2008-11-10, Gravity at The Doric Arch, London, 8-5-7-5-16</i>
Hazy blond color, thin head, nice lace. Wonderful hoppy aroma, citrusy. The body is thin, with good toffee flavor and an extreme hopping, grassy and citrusy. Wonderful.

<i>2005-12-04, Cask at Seven Stars, London, 7-5-7-5-15=39</i>
Blond color; creamy head. Very nice hoppy aroma, grassy. Fresh; correct malt, strong and aromatic hopping. Excellent!

UPDATED: OCT 7, 2011 Hand pulled at the Head of Steam, Euston. Yellow, with a medium head. Fresh aroma. Very tasty Blond ale, full of hoppy, dry notes. Crispy throughout the pint, gently becoming more rounded. Less juicy than I remember, but still one of the best of the style and a great session ale. (6/12/2004). RE-RATE: To make up for my low original rating, I wish to acknowledge the blisteringly good pint of Hophead I greedily supped on Wednesday. What a way to roll back the years: bright yellow, squelchy citrus freshness, with beautiful hop length. This deserves a 4.1, so that’s what it can have. (original score was 3.7).