Golden Ale - New Glarus

Vitals:

Name: Golden Ale

Style: Belgian Pale Ale

IBU: 38

ABV: 7.0%

Gravity: 15 deg. Plato

Purchased at: New Glarus Brewery

Descriptions:

Appearance: Golden honey color; translucent with a lot of carbonation and 3 (!) foamy fingers of orange-tinted head. Great retention, lacing, and cap...good looking brew has me excited to try it out.

Smell: This is the only beer I've ever had that smelled straight and away like flowers. You get some slight honey aromas but flowers totally dominate the nose...smells awesome!

Taste: You get a tiny citrus taste up front (I'm not sure what citrus, specifically) followed by a huge, lingering floral taste. You can taste the spiciness of the Belgian yeast and a peppery quality most of the way through the drink. Herbal/floral hops give it a little lingering bitterness. This is not an overly complex brew, but it IS refreshingly interesting.

Mouthfeel: This is medium bodied and creamy with ample carbonation. It leaves you a bit dried out, though. Nothing really sticks out as being too great or poor about the mouthfeel here...which is ok.

Overall Grade: B+

Comments: This is VERY interesting...it's a good brew but it doesn't seem to quite fit the mold of most Belgian pale ales that I've had. It's cool as something different because it doesn't hit you over the head with yeast/bananas/spices as many Belgian beers do. Plus, as you can ONLY get it at the brewery, this is an excellent excuse to take a little drive out to the scenic New Glarus brewery and treat yourself to some delicious beer!

Cheers,

Hurls

Fleur - Goose Island

Vitals:

Name: Fleur

Style: Belgian Pale Ale

IBU: 32

ABV: 5.2%

Gravity: ??

Purchased at: Riley's Wines of the World

Descriptions:

Appearance: Pours a very light, INTENSELY carbonated, amber cool. You get a finger or so of head for about 30 seconds, a sparse cap, and no lacing. I like the coloring but the rest is just blah.

Smell: Smells strongly of sour apples to me...you also get a fresh cut grass and fall leaves smell to it. This beer smells great and entirely different than anything else I've ever smelled in a beer. Floral hops are in this one for sure...smells like hibiscus. 

Taste: The taste is much less interesting than the smell. You get a little sweet malt up front and you finish with a tart sour apple taste. There is a slight hop bitterness but not too much. My biggest surprise is that this isn't really yeasty or spicy at all, as most Belgian beers are). This isn't bad, but it's just not at all what I was expecting.

Mouthfeel: Pretty light mouthfeel, with less carbonation than I thought it'd be from the appearance. No other defining features here but it is very drinkable (and is okay with 5.2% ABV). 

Overall Grade: B

Comments: This is a decent beer, but compared to the other Belgian beers I've had it is quite bland. You don't get the yeasty finish with spice that you get with most others, which is a tad disappointing. Like I said...not bad, worth a try, but nothing that's going to blow you away (in my opinion). Give it a shot if you can get it out at a bar, but I wouldn't buy another bomber of it (that's all they had where I bought it).

Cheers,

Hurls