Last year my boss gave me a bottle of ale which he brought back from his native country of England. It was called “Summer Lightning”. He told me that it was all the rage and that many young folks were drinking it instead of lagers. I tasted the beer and could definitely see why it could develop such a following, especially with ever growing market of lager drinkers in Britain. The beer was clean, crisp like a lager, but it finished with very floral, hoppy aroma and bite, which is typical of English “Real Ale”. I enjoyed every sip…

Turn the clock ahead about one year and I find myself standing in London at the Great British Beer Festival. Over five hundred cask conditioned real ales are being served in peak condition. Sure, I could recognize the old standbys like London Pride, Spitfire, Old Speckled Hen, and the list goes on and on. But hey! What’s that I see? Crouch-Vale Golden Ale? Hmmm…

It seems that nearly all the classic breweries are producing their own version of a seasonal golden ale squarely aimed at lager drinkers; gently introducing them to a more flavorful and hoppy taste profile in hopes that they will continue their flavor quest into traditional English ale.

There is really no rocket science involved when producing golden ale. The recipe is a very simple one, using one or two malts in the recipe of very high quality British barley malt. Where a typical English Bitter will have a red hue, these beers live up to their golden name by eliminating “crystal malt”, which is used to impart a candy-like sweetness and red color to almost every other British style ale. Creativity is not stifled by simplicity; the brewer can manipulate many other parameters such as hopping schedules, hop variety, yeast strain, water and even brewing temperatures to create their unique signature golden ale.

I met up with a friend and fellow brewer while at the festival. He introduced me to Paul Spearman who brews a Golden Ale for Westerham Brewery in the famous hop growing region of Kent. His “Summer Perle Golden Ale” is a play on words due to Paul’s use of German “Perle” variety hops. The beer is delightfully refreshing and is really easy to drink (at only 3.8%ABV). The brewery also produces “single hop varietal” ales that feature the noble Goldings variety hops from Kent. Keep it up Paul.

I came back from the trip inspired. Not only to write a few blogs and articles but to brew up my own batch of “Rich’s Irish Gold”. It’s in the fermenter now, and so far it tastes great. I’ll have it kegged and tapped in a few weeks and I will be sure to report back!

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