Golden Session Ale (circa 2001)

[65C]

in 2001'ish I used to drink at Market Tavern in Altrincham

they would always have one or two 'golden' ales on the board - usually in the 3.7-4.5 band

clear, light, some bitterness, above average hoppyness, medium carbonation

it was a bit of a style at the time - but I've not found anything like it recently - anything close seems more extreme in one way

I can probably recreate the hops, but don't know where to start on the grain bill - I can't even remember the names of the beers - if anyone has any pointers it would be much appreciated

 

[eyebrau]

The 2015 BJCP style guidelines have a British Golden Ale, is this what you're looking at?


12A: British Golden Ale

Aroma
Hop aroma is moderately low to moderately high, and can use any variety of hops-floral, herbal, or earthy English hops and citrusy American hops are most common. Frequently a single hop varietal will be showcased. Little to no malt aroma; no caramel. Medium-low to low fruity aroma from the hops rather than esters. Little to no diacetyl.

Appearance
Straw to golden in color. Good to brilliant clarity. Low to moderate white head. A low head is acceptable when carbonation is also low.

Flavor
Medium to medium-high bitterness. Hop flavor is moderate to moderately high of any hop variety, although citrus flavors are increasingly common. Medium-low to low malt character, generally bready with perhaps a little biscuity flavor. Caramel flavors are typically absent. Little to no diacetyl. Hop bitterness and flavor should be pronounced. Moderately-low to low esters. Medium-dry to dry finish. Bitterness increases with alcohol level, but is always balanced.

Mouthfeel
Light to medium body. Low to moderate carbonation on draught, although bottled commercial versions will be higher. Stronger versions may have a slight alcohol warmth, but this character should not be too high.

Overall Impression
A hop-forward, average-strength to moderately-strong pale bitter. Drinkability and a refreshing quality are critical components of the style.

Comments
Well-hopped, quenching beer with an emphasis on showcasing hops. Served colder than traditional bitters, this style was originally positioned as a refreshing summer beer, but is now often brewed year-round. Although early on the beers were brewed with English hops, increasingly American citrus-flavored hops are used. Golden Ales are also called Golden Bitters, Summer Ales, or British Blonde Ales. Can be found in cask, keg, and bottle.

History
Modern golden ales were developed in England to take on strongly-marketed lagers. While it is difficult to identify the first, Hop Back's Summer Lightning, first brewed in 1986, is thought by many to have got the style off the ground.

Ingredients
Low-color pale or lager malt acting as a blank canvas for the hop character. May use sugar adjuncts, corn or wheat. English hops frequently used, although citrusy American varietals are becoming more common. Somewhat clean-fermenting British yeast.

Vital Statistics
OG: 1.038-1.053
FG: 1.006-1.012
IBU: 20-45
SRM: 2-6
ABV: 3.8-5.0
Commercial Examples
Crouch Vale Brewers Gold, Fuller's Discovery, Golden Hill Exmoor Gold, Hop Back Summer Lightning, Kelham Island Pale Rider, Morland Old Golden Hen, Oakham JHB

 

[Kerrbrewer]

I brew a golden ale that I based off of Biermunhers Centennial Blonde. I brewed it a couple times then started making subtle changes. Adding a little wheat malt instead of carapils, changing the crystal malts type and amount, adding flaked corn and rice to lower the color due to darker crystal malts, adding honey malt, subsituting maris for the vienna, changing the hop bill and times, using pale malt and 2 row and a mix of both as the base. That was my first 20 some odd batches. They all were pretty good beers. I was using briess 2 row then once my lbs was out and gave me great western instead. It was better in my opinion for the golden ale.

 

[65C]

The 2015 BJCP style guidelines have a British Golden Ale, is this what you're looking at?


12A: British Golden Ale

yes this is what I'm looking for - I've actually brewed a summer lightning from a pack previously but found it more malty (it was all MO) and had <100g hops - it was a drinkable beer - but not as clean, bitter and hoppy as I remember

the comment about people using US hops for golden ales now is interesting - that could be why I never find a similar one in pubs now

I'll keep looking - thanks

 

[Hanglow]

Modern golden ales started with the likes of Summer Lightning and Exmoor Gold, so I'd look at clone recipes for them . If your summer lightning brew was too malty for you then I would switch to low colour MO/ or a lager malt or even a continental pils malt and simply up the hopping And lower the abv a tad maybe. They are basically all well hopped bitters with little to no caramel and no roasted malts.
You are right that modern US/Aus/NZ hops have come to dominate golden ales

Do you like Harviestoun Bitter&Twisted? It's a mid 90s golden ale that gets most of its flavour from slovenian hops . Or Oakham JHB gets it from american Mount Hood hops which are descended from german hops . Neither are like the citrus/tropical fruit more recent type. Although JHB has had a lot more hops added to the recipe in volume to keep up with the latest ones

 

[65C]

Modern golden ales started with the likes of Summer Lightning and Exmoor Gold, so I'd look at clone recipes for them . If your summer lightning brew was too malty for you then I would switch to low colour MO/ or a lager malt or even a continental pils malt and simply up the hopping And lower the abv a tad maybe.

this is where I ended up yesterday after spending a couple of hours reading on it - I'm going to look at replacing some of the MO with pilsner and stick to only british hops (or away from citrus ones anyway)

I saw one golden recipe yesterday with 25% pils which seemed to recommend pushing the boil out to 90 min - the more I think about it the more I think the malty flavour from using only MO is where I'm going wrong

thanks

 

[JKaranka]

If you want to get away from citrus hops, consider Saaz and Bobek as well. Goldings, Northdown, etc.