Golden Valley Red Thistle Ale

Draft at the brewpub. A hazy amber beer with a thin white head. The aroma is sweet malty with light notes of caramel. The flavor is sweet and very malty, but also with notes of berries, leading to a dry bitter finish. Nice.

Date: 10/12/1996
Source: Brewfest, Newport, OR

deep mahogany, thin head, slightly sweet malt aroma, balanced flavor, slight bitter finish
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Date: 10/15/1996
Score: ii to iii
Words: Draft
Words: B Muloch
Words: Portland OR

clear redish amber, whispy head, slight sweet malt aroma, lots of sweet malt flavor with just a hint of bittering

Aroma: 5/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 3.5/5.0
Score: **4
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The score was calculated based upon the notes and an old scoring system.

Deep amber color, lots of creamy white head, sticky lacing. Hoppy notes, lightly medicinal & malty with some diactyl thrown in. The flavor is somewhat astringent & dry but still balances the flavors well. Finishes medium bodied. Overall not bad. I had this out of a bottle at the brewpub as opposed to draught because they were out of it.

Bottle. Strong malt odor, deeper than caramel, backed by some hop. Malt confuses the hop aspect, so maybe this will be really malty. Slightly hazy amber color (maybe a slight red tinge) with a frothy off-white head that does a bit of lacing. Thinnish body. A bit of carbonation bite. The malt and hop tend to come together, I’d say the primary hop characteristic is citrus. [so it wasn’t super malty] The finish is nicely balanced, but as the malt sugars finally leave, the lasting impression is desireably bitter. I say this one is being underrated. But that’s just me.

Deep Red color, small head. A light bodied red ale. Lightly caramelized malts. Mild yet spicy hops. Good flavor. Smooth taste. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is malty with a very slight bitterness

Bottle poured a clear reddish amber with a lingering ring of amber foam. Aromas of butterscotch, carmel and fruittiness. Palate was light to medium bodied and smooith. Flavors of butterscotch, light carmel and light fruittiness with a smooth slightly astringent finish.

On tap at the brewery. Pours a very clear copper with a smooth off-white head. Malty throughout with a kinda earthy/dry flavor to the malts and a light toastiness. Finishes with a nice blend of hops to balance it out.

For a flagship beer I expected more from this. It was just too light for my taste. That does not mean it is a bad beer, I just expected more from it. A nice malt complexity and some nice hop varieties are showcased here, and it is very easy to drink.