Dogfish Head Golden Era (Shower)

Formerly brewed at Dogfish Head Brewery
Style: Strong Pale Lager/Imperial Pils
Milton, Delaware USA

Serve in Lager glass

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Sampled at Neil’s Rare Beer Stash tasting. 2006 Shower Bottle. Dull golden pour. Has an old bitter grassy character, along with some honey and sweetness. Still has a decent amount of alcohol heat even after 6 years. Meh, not really all that special, but I’ve never really like imperial pils...

Pours amber with a white head. The aroma and flavor both are sweet malt bombs being that the bottle is about 5 years old.

Golden Shower Imperial Pilsner, 750ml, Bottled on: 03/22/06. Poured into a DFH signature glass at fridge temperature. "The continually-hopped Imperial Pilsner. Brewed (against our better judgement) in strict accordance with the Bavarian Purity Act of 1516". Huge thanks to bobbypaulson for this! A - Dark copper/amber body. Very cloudy and thick looking with a lot of rising bubbles. Looks very similar to an apple cider. A dirty yellow/off white head with an impressive amount of lacing. Just tons of tiny little bubbles and it has legs when given a swirl. S - Holy faded hops! This smells like a tamer version of an aged raison d’extra, fort, olde school or 120 minute. Its just this very unique aroma that I always attribute to these "green capped" DFH beers. Very barley wine like. Mildly bitter hops, figs, brown sugar, and sweet caramel malts. The finish is slightly grassy, almost medicinal. Very interesting aroma, however its not super inviting. T - More of the aged DFH hop flavor. Faded hops and sweet dark fruits. There really isn’t a whole lot else going on. The finish is slightly alcoholic but its consumed by that huge sweet profile. Syrupy and thick with low carbonation. O - An interesting beer that I’m glad I was able to try. I would imagine that this beer tasted completely different when fresh..perhaps it actually resembled a pilsner. But at its current age it drinks like a lighter version of an aged 120 minute. Which isn’t a bad thing at all. I would love to have another on hand as its actually help up pretty well over the 5 years.

poured into a snifter. pours a straw yellow color with a solid white head. really nice lacing. Aroma of golden raisins, a very sweet bouquet, with a hint of high alcohol. Sweet malts with a great amount of hops in this imperial pilsner. Mouthfeel is a little dry with a nice warm sensation. Confuses the palate. This has probably been my favorite imperial pilsner so far. Great job as always, Dogfish Head.

Found some old ratings on paper that I never posted. little head on the pour with the dark hazy orange body. aroma is strong hops like an IPA that tingle the nose. flavor is suprisingly smooth with sweet hops and mild oats and bitter aftertaste. Smooth brew indeed.

Bottled in 2007. What do you know, while rifling through the pockets of an old suit coat (mine, not a dead man’s), I found these notes for Golden Era from either late ’07 or early ’08. It leaves me wondering where else I’ve randomly stuffed away beer notes. Appearance: Pours a clear, appropriately golden-hued body with an inch and an inch alone of snow white foam. Smell: Sweet-scented pilsner malt aroma yielding some honeyish tones, along with notes of orchard fruits and zesty Continental hops. Taste: Generous addition of pale and pilsner malts, developing some flavors of honey and grain to culminate into a taste reminiscent of the honey variety of Teddy Grahams. Hint of Honey Crisp apples. Spicy, floral, subtly herbaceous Noble hop character with a moderate amount of bitterness. Increasingly dry as you head towards the finish, though the beer still finishes a bit sweet and heavy. Mouthfeel: Medium-plus body. Medium-plus carbonation. Slightly sticky mouthfeel. Drinkability: A bit heated, a bit heavy, though years later from these old notes, I’ve had hotted and heavier. Ah, Golden Era/Shower... back in a simpler, bygone time when the notion of a Double or Imperial Pilsner was really quite a novelty. Now, they’re pretty much mainstream, but is the world a better place for that?

Aroma - fruity, caramel and vanilla, lots of malt present, citrus, acidic, pear, brown sugar Appearance - golden orange amber, cloudy liquid, thin frothy head that is small in volume high in density Taste - very sweet, nice balance between the sweetness and hops, nuts, dried fruit (apricots maybe?), caramel malt Palate: lively, medium bodied, oily texture, bitter finish

Poured into a pint glass. A: As in the name, this beer is gold, very gold. Quarter inch head upon pour, but falls quickly. S: Malty, sweet as hell. Nice smell. T: Strong sweetness, bitter aftertaste. Not quite woody taste, but something similar. I just can’t put my finger on it. M: Thick and a bit syruppy. Carbonation tickles tongue. D: Sweetness alone makes this beer less drinkable. One beer, however, is a good amount for this beer so I can’t complain too much. Though not Dogfish’s best, it’s still a beer I would buy from time to time. Maybe they should bring it back, but that’s for them to decide. Serving type: bottle

Dogfish Head Brewing Company--Golden Flower Imperial Pilsner--2006 25.6 oz. Bottle. 9.00% ABV--80 IBU’s. (4.75 / 5.0) Pilsner--Imperial--Rich lacy head. Clear thick dark golden color. Rich floral hoppy front. Thick sweet earthy caramel butterscotch body with hop infused tanginess. Mild hot EtOH rich hop spice end. WOW! Sampled 5/18/2006.

Tasted from a 12oz bottle. Bottled in 2007 Appearance - Pours a cloudy, golden orange. The head is a rocky, lasting off-white. Aroma - There is a very distinct lemon curd aroma. I also get the almost sweet brown sugar malty aroma that I am beginning to associate with higher alcohol beers. It also has a slightly metallic smell. Taste - The lemon comes through along with an orange pith bitterness. The mid-palate is much lighter on flavor, showcasing only a biscuit flavor. The back of the palate and the aftertaste are dominated by a very pleasant brown sugar malty flavor. Palate - The beer is full-bodied, and coats the palate as I expect the higher alcohol to do. The carbonation is average. Overall - This beer is great. Very fun to drink, and I think that the age has really helped the alcohol to integrate and to harness the bitterness of the lemon present when it is young.