Bard's Gold - Bard's Tale Beer Company, LLC

emerge077

Illinois

3.55/5  rDev +50.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Haven't noticed this sorghum beer around Illinois yet, found it on a recent trip through Wisconsin at Le Cork in Mt. Horeb.

Into a stange glass right from the fridge, it has some puffy foam at first that billows above the rim. It's texture is firm but breaks apart in chunks after the first sip. It's a goldenrod yellow with steady trails of CO2. The smell has a touch of apple and minerals, reminding me of a Berliner Weisse somehow. Flavor is a little buttery with a note of apple that fades quickly into a dry finish. The sorghum has a bit of dustiness to it. There was a low level of bitterness, the label does list hops as an ingredient. Crisp with an initial bite, then it rapidly fades away.

More flavor than a macro for sure, maybe more of an acquired taste though. Certainly a godsend for those with Celiac's.

Serving type: bottle

07-29-2009 23:50:35 | More by emerge077

smcolw

Massachusetts

3.18/5  rDev +34.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Light off-white head. Lasts at a single bubble level. Light lace; it tends to slide down the glass. Clear, light amber.

Strong sweet grainy smell. Reminds me very much of the British milds available in bottle in America.

Almost like a scotch ale...it also has elements of Scotch itself--notable alcohol and a dry-ish finish. There's a hop bite at the end. Not as bad as I expected--it's certainly not a lawn mower beer.

Serving type: bottle

07-17-2009 00:54:23 | More by smcolw

williamherbert

New York

3.15/5  rDev +33.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Color is a clear yellow with a bubbly white head, like Pepsi. Looks almost exactly like ginger ale, including bubbles on the inside of the glass. Weird.

The smell is an ultra-sweet, sugary malt, moreso than even an English ale. It even smells like ginger ale and a white wine. Unusual, but not "bad."

The tate is a different sugary sweet taste, like a white wine, combined with sweet brown-sugary English malts. I actually don't hate it. Butterscotch and toffee in the aftertaste.

The feel is smooth and buttery. A nice, silky texture. It's like a malty, sugary white wine all the way around. For a sorghum beer it's actually really drinkable. I'd take it over a Bud.

Serving type: bottle

07-15-2009 03:52:30 | More by williamherbert

TheManiacalOne

Rhode Island

3.28/5  rDev +39%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured from a 12oz bottle into a US tumbler pint glass.

A: The beer is a deep gold color with a short white head that fades very quickly and leaves a thin lace on the glass.

S: The aroma is of light caramelized malts, spice, grain and a touch of hops.

T: The taste is sweet and bready up front with flavors of caramel, spices and a little fruit. The malt character is hearty but not too heavy. The hops presence is mild but brings a little bit of balance. The after-taste is slightly sweet.

M: Smooth and crisp, light-to-medium body, medium carbonation, finish is clean.

D: A little tasty, goes down ok, not too filling, mild kick, I wasn't expecting too much from this beer and although it wasn't too bad, there also wasn't anything about this beer that made it good enough for me to want to drink consistently.

Serving type: bottle

07-11-2009 22:37:13 | More by TheManiacalOne

froghop

Washington

2.23/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

pours a clear amber with a thin white head, and some lacing.

smell is faint, malt, some spice, caramel, and roasted nuts.

taste of malt, caramel, slightly metallic, and a funky aftertaste.

strange brew but better than dragons gold from what i remember.

Serving type: bottle

06-03-2009 01:20:16 | More by froghop

jdhilt

New Hampshire

2.98/5  rDev +26.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Pours a two finger white head that fades instantly leaving no lace. Crystal clear amber color. Fizzy carbonation and light-medium bodied. Corn/grainy nose. Flavor is sweet corn and some caramel. Squeaky clean finish. $2.05 for a 12oz bottle from Colonial Spirits Acton, MA.

Serving type: bottle

04-30-2009 22:25:43 | More by jdhilt

DigitalHype

Arizona

3.53/5  rDev +49.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Highly effervescent pale yellow pour. Slight bit of head with no retention. No lacing. First to hit my nose is some serious barnyard funk, followed by some butter, and just a hint of fruit.

Tastes of sour grapes, lemon, dried cracker, soda water, and chalk. It reminds me a little bit Alka-seltzer. This is a unique brew. Its not my preferred style. But, I enjoy a new experience (burp...). Heavy carbonation, that feels rightly balanced with this type of brew.

Very crisp and refreshing overall.

Serving type: bottle

04-25-2009 01:00:48 | More by DigitalHype

u2carew

Massachusetts

3.63/5  rDev +53.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A) Honey colored. Transparent. Active carbonation. Pours with a thin head that settles out to the edge of the glass in a creamy lacing.
S) Bold molasses and brown sugar aroma with just a bit of anise.
T) Mild anise flavor with a slight brown sugar undertone.
M) Creamy. A light to medium body.
D) A decent brew. A good combination of ingredients.

Serving type: bottle

04-13-2009 23:49:02 | More by u2carew

freed

Oregon

3.4/5  rDev +44.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A friend brought a sixer of this to the beach, not realizing it was a sorghum brew. Not wanting to buy it myself, I was happy to sample his. However, I'm surprised at the beer - it's, well, good.

Poured in to a somewhat dirty/scratched glass, but the beer is a lovely amber/copper color, and the surface of the glass ensured an active, bubbly pour. The tiny bubbles graced the top of the bear with a snow white foam, looking almost like steamed milk.

The aroma is appropriately malty, though smelling more of silage than barley. There's no apparent hop aroma.

The taste is reminiscent of an adjunct lager, and I had trouble not thinking of a slightly warm can of Ranier drank on the front porch in late May. The beer has a clean profile and leaves a slightly tart taste on the palate, but still very much a beer.

I'm impressed. I'll have to get some for my celiac grandpa.

Serving type: bottle

03-16-2009 17:50:26 | More by freed

NeroFiddled

Pennsylvania

3.43/5  rDev +45.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Hmmm. Interesting. I'm not sure why this is listed here as a Fruit / Vegetable beer because it's not. It's simply beer made with sorghum instead of barley. And that's nothing new, Guinness used to be made in Africa with sorghum. Anyway, that's the thing here, it "CONTAINS NO WHEAT, BARLEY, RYE OR OATS" so it works for people with celiac's disease and other allergies. That said, I have to question how there can be "NO" barley involved as it's contract brewed. Perhaps the sorghum is all bagged. Or, maybe F.X. Matt made some other special arrangements to avoid any mixing of malt residue. Or perhaps in a several hundred barrel batch it's too minimal to matter.

Anyway, as far as gluten-free or "Celiac" beers go, it's not bad. I've had worse. It's got a good balance with backing bitterness and some floral and spicy hops; and a slightly elevated carbonation level that helps as well. And that's important because sorghum tends to kind of stick in the mouth. It's sweetish with a kind of candyish edge, and it lingers - you can even smell that in the nose as well. The spicy hops and zesty carbonation then help to cut through that and cleanse the palate.

However, what we're talking about here is, in fact, a sorghum beer, so none of that can be faulted. It is what it is. And in this particular case, it's got a caramelish edge to it, which is nice. I don't know if something was done to the grain before hand, or if that was just picked up in the kettle, but it gives it a little bit more character; and I think it works well with the grain.

If I was unable to drink regular beer, I'd certainly enjoy this one more often!

Serving type: bottle

02-04-2009 23:17:23 | More by NeroFiddled

BEERchitect

Kentucky

3.15/5  rDev +33.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This Gluten-Free beer, like many is made from Sorghum. Here's a bit more information from the brewery:

"Ingredients: Sorghum, yeast, hops and water--contains no wheat, barley, rye or oats and is naturally gluten-free

Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, some of which are raised for grain that can be used in the production of beer. Sorghum has been used in making beer for centuries in other parts of the world and is naturally gluten-free.

Taste: Rich and refreshing. Body: Medium. Bitterness: Low (20.5 IBUs). Aroma: Floral Color: Amber (SRM 11). Calories: 155 calories per 12-oz serving Carbohydrates: 14.2 carbohydrates per 12-oz serving. Hops: Imported Hallertauer Hersbrucker, Imported Tettenang. Malt: Proprietary malted sorghum. Yeast: German Lager Yeast (Strain #3470). Serving Temperature: 39º- 45ºF"

The webiste also descibes this beer as an American Lager, which I find somewhat problematic because of its unorthodox base ingredient.

Otherwise the beer fares about as well as most other sorghum beers with a heavy emphasis on a caramelly, buttery flavor. Lighter in body than the 'medium' character suggests. I got no real hop aroma or flavor, but only a bitterness that struggles to the 20 IBU's described. The beer remains quite carbonated despite failing to form much of a head or to retain it-- par for the course because of the relatively low protein and starch content. A minerally quality comes though in the water profile that make th flavors a bit abrasive. This beer does seem to be attenuated better than most and leaves a crip, dry finish rather than the tacky residue as with most. Most typical beer drinkers won't follow this one very far but it was quite drinkable for the style.

Serving type: bottle

01-28-2009 02:36:54 | More by BEERchitect