Is this a Belgian Golden Ale you're talking about? If so, it's nothing like a bitter--a bitter is smoothly malt-based with just a bit of bitterness to offset the malt. A Belgian Golden Ale is much stronger in terms of % ABV and has much stronger estery flavors--it's also golden in color, but bitter is a caramelly color. If it's not a Belgian, then I'm not sure what it is, exactly. Maybe the brewer just called it a 'golden ale' and it's something else? Now I'm curious, I'll Google it.
Edit: I just looked it up, you mean the Tire Bite Golden Ale? They list some of the specs for it:
Alcohol content: 5.1% ABV
Original Gravity: 1.046
IBU's: 17.5
Specialty Malts: Malted White Wheat, Munich Malt
Hops: German Perle, Hallertau
The ABV is closer to a bitter (which is usually 5% or less), but the hops and grain bill are very different. Bitters are usually made with Kent Goldings or Fuggles (or whatever English hops), and definitely not with wheat malts. But anyway, hope that the stuff off their website helps!
Edit Again: It won an award in 1998 in the Kolsch category--that explains why they called it a golden ale.