Deschutes 19th Anniversary Golden Ale

Bomber. Pours clear gold with a lacy pale yellow head. Soft, sweet aroma of fruit, spice, citrus. Sweet taste is much the same as the nose. The spice shows up again on the finish, but it still feels a little flabby.

A happy, sudsy anniversary. This is number 19 for Deschutes which, only recently, penetrated the Colorado market. The thin mottled white head conceals a standardly gold body (not a commentary on the gold standard), with copious bubbles. The smell is very watery and diluted, with musk and honeydew melon, yeast notes, a low rumbling of hops, honey, sour apple candy, a puff of cotton candy and the general appeal of a trippel. The taste is deeper, starting with a cough medicine and hops flavor burning and coating the throat, and then the beer is thrown into a revitalized taste of candied beets. As the beer warms the taste of bubble gum becomes more apparent, but generally I’m getting a bit sick from this beer. Good smell, but the flavors are bit too sticky and off-set for my gut.

Orange-amber in colour, thin quickly dissipating white head, very light lacing. The aroma is of alcohol, some citrus, light yeast, perfume, quite sweet. The flavour is again of alcohol first, some spice, flowers, moderate sweetness, light citrus. Hot mouthfeel, medium body, medium/high carbonation. Finishes hot and lingering.

This went nowhere fast. Kind of hard to enjoy this when the alcohol is the first thing that you notice in the aroma and flavour. Everything else takes a backseat.

650ml bottle obtained in a trade with JohnnyJ, thanks John.
Opened on December 31, 2007
Vintage 2007.

Bottle. I love golden ales but what a miss. Aroma is light sweetness and some spiciness. Flavor was weak and over sweet. pass!

Bottle from Liquor Barn in Redding, CA. I liked this one as a light, yet full Belgian. Some hops there.