Dogfish Head Golden Era (Shower)

Pours a mostly clear medium golden body with a dense, foamy, pure white head. Quickly, the head fades to a bubbly film, leaving behind intricate patterns of ribbony lace. The aroma is sweet and malty up front, with toasty bread, yeast, biscuit, and light toffee scents comprising the bulk of the malt base. Surprisingly ample grassy and floral hops complete the nose. The flavor is well balanced, with sweet, buttery biscuit malts battling grassy and herbal hops for top billing. The fight ends in a stalemate, with both components exerting themselves equally. The mouthfeel is substantial and creamy, which enhances drinkability. Finishes medium-long, with a nice bitterness on the roof of the mouth. Solid imperial pils. Rivals Sam Adams Imperial Pils for top billing in this style.

Another name change, another day. It seems like thats the standard with Dogfish Head and Rogue. At least I hadn’t reviewed it officially yet. Nice strong pilsner. Definitely a good mix of hops and malts.

I didn’t really care for it but this beer has alot going for it that those that like the style. Looks terrific in the glass with a nice white head that leaves substantial lacing. Smells terrific with hints of citrus and herbs. Strong hoppy bite with some bitterness. Finishes dry and extremely clean. Notes of sweetness and spicyness from the hops and malts nicely balance. Has a very nice aftertaste but alas not my thing.

Sampled at 2007 Brewnosers’ Christmas Gathering. Golden colour with an ample and lasting creamy white head. Herbal, lightly grassy, toasty, and more herbal aroma. Nice toasty malts with abundant herbal, grassy, and almost juicy hops. Full bodied yet easy drinking. Very enjoyable Imperial Pilsener, dripping with herbal hops and very drinkable.

[909-20071205] 12floz. Mildly soapy pine resin hops and mild fruit aroma. Clear, dark orange body with a medium-lasting creamy white head. Rich piny resin hops flavour. Medium-full body. Interesting hoppy characters.

The beer was golden in color and poured a thich head that dissipated but always left lacing. The nose is dominated with citric hops followed by carmel and orange peel. In the mouth it is medium to full-bodied with an extremely inviting rich, soft and round mouthfeel. Just a wonderful texture. Nice length with a dry finish. This is a very easy drinking and full beer that has the flavors of Summer matched with the palate weight of Fall. While extremely nice I’m not sure if it is worth $4 a bottle.

750ml bottle thanks to CaptainCougar. Text printed on the glass reads "bottled on 3/21/2006", and the label reads "Golden Shower", not "Golden Era". Foam spewed forth from the bottle from the simple act of popping the cap. The beer then poured a very deep and quite cloudy orange with gold highlights. Despite the volcano of suds from the bottle, the beer poured with a nearly-white head only one finger thick. The head is wavy and pillowy and consists of a very small bubbles - almost like whipped egg whites. The aroma is intense with malts. There are heavy tones of caramel and hints of soft fruit - more like the aroma of a barleywine than an imperial pilsner. From the aroma, you certainly wouldn’t know that the beer was dry-hopped; it has only a subtle, perfumy smell hinting of aroma hops. The flavor starts very sweet with caramel and malts, but it also has a nice, balancing level of hop flavor with a perfumy and citrusy character. The middle of the palate continues to find chewy malts with some notes of perfumy hops. The finish is clean with a nice balance of spicy, noble hops and sweet malts. The mouthfeel is thick and full-bodied. The texture is mostly creamy with a slight zing on the tip and sides of the tongue from the carbonation. Overall, I think it could use more hops (it is very rare that I say that when talking about a beer from Dogfish Head...)

Pours a beautiful gold with a good frothy head that dissipates to a thin cap and leaving lacing down sides of the glass. Nose of sweet malt, honey, and faint hops. Taste is not of a pilsner, heavy on sweet malt and light on the hops. Definitely atypical, but tasty. Smooth and clean mouthfeel. Low on carbonation. Good drinkability, but for a brew more typical of this style try Morimoto Imperial Pilsner or Sam Adams Hallertau Imperial Pilsner.