Golden Era - Dogfish Head Brewery

Callenak

California

3.65/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

750ml poured into a tulip. Pours a very nice a amber/golden color. Very attractive. Nice, lacey head that dies into the glass quickly. Smell is all malt, not much of a hop presence. Surprising very little in the way of alcohol in the aroma too. Taste malt forward with a small amount of hops. More hops than a normal pilsner. This was my first imperial pilsner so I didn't know what to expect. I actually found it quite enjoyable, especially for the fact I'm not much of a DFH fan. I wouldn't mind trying it again.

Serving type: bottle

10-02-2006 21:51:26 | More by Callenak

KAP1356

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +7%

02-12-2013 04:25:43 | More by KAP1356

uturn

Florida

4/5  rDev +7%

01-16-2013 03:47:32 | More by uturn

ejimhof

Pennsylvania

3/5  rDev -19.8%

12-26-2012 01:20:41 | More by ejimhof

Huhzubendah

District of Columbia

4/5  rDev +7%

10-06-2012 04:28:28 | More by Huhzubendah

Larry_C

2.5/5  rDev -33.2%

08-15-2012 20:20:41 | More by Larry_C

DrFunkenstein

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev +0.3%

05-11-2012 00:38:25 | More by DrFunkenstein

Amalak

New York

4.5/5  rDev +20.3%

04-18-2012 01:13:29 | More by Amalak

jaysephx69

New Jersey

4.63/5  rDev +23.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

A: Poured a pale bronze-gold with a tightly woven white head that was sticky leaving a rim lacing behind.

S: dry grains with some light doughiness and hints of spicy alcohol.

T: The initial flavor had a light breadiness to it, floral hopping and dried citrus. Very smooth and refined flavor and not as hoppy as one would expect. There was a light dry grains and grassiness detected in the finish with a gentle lingering fade of pale malts and light citrus flowers.

M: Crisp mouthful

D: Great drinkability

Serving type: bottle

02-20-2012 03:10:13 | More by jaysephx69

jfcaa193

Connecticut

4/5  rDev +7%

02-14-2012 01:50:21 | More by jfcaa193

M27

New Jersey

4/5  rDev +7%

02-12-2012 12:46:56 | More by M27

bonbini26

New Jersey

3/5  rDev -19.8%

01-10-2012 17:22:39 | More by bonbini26

djrn2

New Jersey

3/5  rDev -19.8%

01-05-2012 18:30:05 | More by djrn2

JAHMUR

Connecticut

3/5  rDev -19.8%

12-20-2011 05:48:20 | More by JAHMUR

rab53

Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev +13.6%

12-01-2011 05:28:24 | More by rab53

brandoman63

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -6.4%

11-19-2011 04:30:54 | More by brandoman63

Burt

Rhode Island

4/5  rDev +7%

11-18-2011 02:55:51 | More by Burt

ROGUE16

Delaware

4/5  rDev +7%

11-17-2011 04:57:18 | More by ROGUE16

mdaschaf

Washington

3.2/5  rDev -14.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Review from notes. Thanks to Greg for opening this up for us to try.

A: Golden era was a clear copper/brown color with a small, slightly off-white head on top. Decent retention, but minimal lacing.

S: Overloaded with caramel and butterscotch, a bit oxidized. There was a little bit of pilsner malt and some light fruit.

T: Similar to the aroma, but the caramel and butterscotch were not as strong. The pilsner and pale malts came through stronger, also with a little bit of grain and some honey. Slight floral hop presence.

M: Medium bodied with slightly low carbonation, probably due to age.

O: Wasn't expecting too much out of this one, but not bad at all. Would have loved to have tried back when it originally came out.

Serving type: bottle

10-24-2011 20:44:52 | More by mdaschaf

davey101

Connecticut

3.43/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Golden Shower Imperial Pilsner, 750ml, Bottled on: 03/22/06. Poured into a DFH signature glass at fridge temperature. "The continually-hopped Imperial Pilsner. Brewed (against our better judgement) in strict accordance with the Bavarian Purity Act of 1516". Huge thanks to bobbypaulson for this!

A - Dark copper/amber body. Very cloudy and thick looking with a lot of rising bubbles. Looks very similar to an apple cider. A dirty yellow/off white head with an impressive amount of lacing. Just tons of tiny little bubbles and it has legs when given a swirl.

S - Holy faded hops! This smells like a tamer version of an aged raison d'extra, fort, olde school or 120 minute. Its just this very unique aroma that I always attribute to these "green capped" DFH beers. Very barley wine like. Mildly bitter hops, figs, brown sugar, and sweet caramel malts. The finish is slightly grassy, almost medicinal. Very interesting aroma, however its not super inviting.

T - More of the aged DFH hop flavor. Faded hops and sweet dark fruits. There really isn't a whole lot else going on. The finish is slightly alcoholic but its consumed by that huge sweet profile. Syrupy and thick with low carbonation.

O - An interesting beer that I'm glad I was able to try. I would imagine that this beer tasted completely different when fresh..perhaps it actually resembled a pilsner. But at its current age it drinks like a lighter version of an aged 120 minute. Which isn't a bad thing at all. I would love to have another on hand as its actually help up pretty well over the 5 years.

Serving type: bottle

10-16-2011 22:49:38 | More by davey101

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

3.85/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Had this one back in early 2009, bought it from a local 6 pack shop when I was first getting into beers. For some reason this one was kept behind the counter and out of reach by the common customer. When it caught my eye I bought a bottle of it along with a 120 Minute IPA just for the hell of it.

Got the bottle home and chilled it, poured it out sometime after and looked over it's typical pale golden yellow color. The head was foamy and white, leaving a slight lacing on the glass. The smell of the beer wasn't like a traditional pilsner aroma, there seemed to be a lot more to it than that. The smell of honey and fresh grains were in there and a pretty good amount of hops too. The taste of the beer had a nice sweet malt base with some booze in the aftertaste. The mouthfeel was very drinkable, one of the smoother beer I had tried at the time. Overall this beer actually had a good kick to it, I remember feeling a good buzz after drinking it. I kind of wish this one wasn't retired but I guess there isn't much I can do about it.

Serving type: bottle

09-02-2011 03:19:44 | More by Knapp85

THECPJ

Delaware

3.13/5  rDev -16.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Reviewed from notes. Thanks goes out to Greg for bringing this one out of the cellar.

appearance: copper orange brown with a 1 finger off white head

smell: caramel, butterscotch, sweet, malts,

taste: sweet malts,

mouthfeel: mild carbonation, medium body,

overall: I dont think this beer held up so well over time. It was only bottled in 2007 so it's a tad past it's age in my book. But so glad I finally got to try it.

Cheers,
The CPJ

Serving type: bottle

06-27-2011 01:14:22 | More by THECPJ

onix1agr

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz bottle into a Dogfish Head curved pint glass.

Golden Era is a glowing beer, casting a big bright golden color bordering on straw yellow like hay. It's pilsnery with a bright white billowy head that's a inch up with staying power, and sticking power as well. Smell is str8 forward, pilsner malt blasting out the ying yang, knowing dogfish, they used a ton of this variety and it shows in smell and taste. Some tropics and bubblegum as well. This tastes a lot better than many imy pilz out there, they just don't cut the mustard, Era gets the job done while remaining in style with a big back. Tastes include pilsner malt up front, light fruits, a nice faint earthy hopping with some tropics. I like how the hay I get in alot of pilsners is muted here. The feel is a nice medium, greatly carbed and lively on the tounge, kinda bitey, not killer though. Gotta knock some points on drinkability as I cant gulp this like a lighter pilsner, It's not a knock on the beer, it tastes good, but not as easy going as most in style. I like DFH better when the beer is under 10%, beyond that, things get fishy.

Serving type: bottle

01-05-2011 04:25:31 | More by onix1agr

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

3.75/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottled in 2007. What do you know, while rifling through the pockets of an old suit coat (mine, not a dead man's), I found these notes for Golden Era from either late '07 or early '08. It leaves me wondering where else I've randomly stuffed away beer notes.

Appearance: Pours a clear, appropriately golden-hued body with an inch and an inch alone of snow white foam.

Smell: Sweet-scented pilsner malt aroma yielding some honeyish tones, along with notes of orchard fruits and zesty Continental hops.

Taste: Generous addition of pale and pilsner malts, developing some flavors of honey and grain to culminate into a taste reminiscent of the honey variety of Teddy Grahams. Hint of Honey Crisp apples. Spicy, floral, subtly herbaceous Noble hop character with a moderate amount of bitterness. Increasingly dry as you head towards the finish, though the beer still finishes a bit sweet and heavy.

Mouthfeel: Medium-plus body. Medium-plus carbonation. Slightly sticky mouthfeel.

Drinkability: A bit heated, a bit heavy, though years later from these old notes, I've had hotted and heavier. Ah, Golden Era/Shower... back in a simpler, bygone time when the notion of a Double or Imperial Pilsner was really quite a novelty. Now, they're pretty much mainstream, but is the world a better place for that?

Serving type: bottle

10-30-2010 15:07:09 | More by ChainGangGuy

chaz410

North Carolina

3.58/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

This bottle was a three year old version.
Pours a golden yellow body with a thin white head.
The smell is full of intense grassy/corn based malt character. Lots of dried grain on the smell as well. Alcohol smell is pretty present, Lots of starchy rice layers. Slighthly funky yeast character.
Taste of earthy-woody malt character with some german spicey hop character. Nice alcohol warmth and rounded lager yeast punch at the end.
Pretty smooth which I'm sure is helped by the age.

Serving type: bottle

10-28-2010 13:48:59 | More by chaz410