Goldings - Shepherd Neame Ltd

thierrynantes

France

3.46/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

Beer bottle (50 cl.) purchased from Le comptoir Irlandais, and tasted in 2013.

Appearance : clear amber color, with white foam head.
Smell : flowery and hoppy aromas (Goldings).
Taste & mouthfeel : malty and caramel flavor, with moderate hoppy finish.
Drinkability : an average beer in the style English Bitter.

Serving type: bottle

02-15-2013 18:10:06 | More by thierrynantes

Cozzatoad

Italy

3.85/5  rDev +14.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

500ml bottle

A- Light amber colour, perfectly transparent. A couple of fingers of perfectly white, frothy head. Shows quite good retention until the very last sips, not much lacing but still a decent amount

S- There's a dominant sweet malts base, along with a bit of a soapy feel. Then some delicate but definitely detectable frutiy notes, peach, slight citrus. A touch of pungent, fresh cut grass on the back of things. Nicely complex, not very assertive though

T- Sweet malts base as the smell suggested, but still pretty much on the light/quaffable side. Notes of caramel and maybe honey, slight buttery feel. A refreshing herbal/grassy feel on the tongue and in the aftertaste. Fruity notes of apple, peach, citrus bring some complexity, overall quite subdued but still very nice and somehow refreshing

M- Light body, quite dry (for an english beer). Medium carbonation. Nicely smooth. Nothing really impressive, but it just fits nicely with the beer's character

O- A delicate beer. Feels very light on mouth and stomach, highly refreshing and drinkable, it does what you would expect from a summer beer. Still, it also brings some decent complexity if you pay some attention

Serving type: bottle

08-08-2012 08:03:07 | More by Cozzatoad

jazzyjeff13

United Kingdom (England)

2.75/5  rDev -18.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

A 500ml clear glass bottle with a BB of March 2012. ABV stated as 4.5%. I've held on to this one for a while - but what's wrong with a summer ale in mid-November?

Poured into a Sam Smith's pint glass. A clear orange-amber colour with strong carbonation. Forms a small head of frothy off-white foam that lasts for a minute or two before reducing to a decent surface layer. A slightly sweet, fruity aroma with notes of roasted malt, butterscotch and non-descript leafy hops. Not a great combination - it doesn't smell terribly pleasing.

Tastes of caramel malt with a mild bitter finish. Notes of toffee/caramel and butterscotch blended with a vague fruitiness that's hard to pin down - possibly from the yeast. Also faint aromatic hops and stewed hop bitterness. An unpleasant background hint of stewed veg. Mouthfeel is smooth and tingly but watery; an astringent element dries the palate. Aftertaste of bitter stewed leaves and veg.

Poor - not a nice ale. The aroma/flavour combo is pretty unpleasant; stewed hops and fruity yeast don't mix. Supposed to be a light summer ale, but the character is too fruity and lacking in crispness. The aromatic hops are also hard to discern. In summary - you can do better than this.

Serving type: bottle

11-15-2011 23:46:49 | More by jazzyjeff13

kojevergas

California

2.3/5  rDev -31.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Bottle acquired at Abbott's Alehouse off-license in Cork, Ireland. Poured into a Grolsch pint glass. Reviewed from notes.

First things first. This is presented in a clear bottle; what gives? No self-respecting brewer bottles into a clear (or green!) bottle. It's bad form. We all know it.

A: Three finger head of nice cream, good thickness, and good retention. Clear dark copper colour.

Sm: Buttery biscuity honey and nutty hops. Pleasant and exciting.

T: Too malty. Nutty notes come through. Not quite butterscotch. Poorly balanced and built. No cream. Bittering hops are unwelcome in this beer. I despise how the malt is handled in this beer.

Mf: Sharp coarseness is actually nice alongside the refreshing wetness. It's a shame the flavours of the body don't match.

Dr: Expensive by Irish standards, and far from great.

Serving type: bottle

06-01-2011 15:24:45 | More by kojevergas

charlatan

United Kingdom (Scotland)

3.43/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Copper coloured beer with a limited head and a rather sweet nose with a hint of pine resin. In contrast it doesn't taste sweet at all. Herbal hops are to the fore here with a rather faint citric twang. Nothing special is going on but this is a worthy brew.

Serving type: bottle

09-07-2009 22:16:18 | More by charlatan

thepeter

United Kingdom (England)

3.23/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A - Sparkling head that went to a film fairly quick. Clean clear amber, looks nice up against the light.

S - Not too much here. Hops, bread, apples, all very faint.

T - Bland and dry. Soda bread, hay, yeast, and a bit of hop bitterness at the back end.

M - Smooth but effervescent, foams up a bit in my mouth but not too much and the feel is very nice overall.

D - Refreshing, The kind of beer I could drink all day if I didn't enjoy flavor! It's just a bit too bland for my tastes.

Would be a good transition beer for someone easing their way into craft beer.

Serving type: bottle

09-05-2009 23:56:25 | More by thepeter

DerBayer

Germany

3.9/5  rDev +15.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

This is one of the most enjoyable bitters i ve ever had doesn t really look like one though - too pale.

complex hops all the way and some fruity esters but not too strong just the way i like it

mouthfeel is ok for the tyle but not as refreshing as i like

i will probably revisit this next summer

Serving type: bottle

09-03-2009 15:41:28 | More by DerBayer

Sunnanek

Sweden

3.65/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: This beer pours amber, with a high white even head that leaves nice lacings when it dissipates.

S: A very fruity smell at first; there is both green apples and citrus. Then there is floral notes to this very fresh beer.

T: Dry bitter hops with some fruity notes (citrus) and very refreshing.

M: Dry, and more bitter and bitter as time goes. There are some wormwood-notes.

D: Very refreshing - served cold in the summertime. This one I may buy again.

Serving type: bottle

07-28-2009 15:33:17 | More by Sunnanek

Sigmund

Norway

3.88/5  rDev +15.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

500 ml clear bottle, bought at Systembolaget, Sweden. ABV is 4.5%. Deep golden to amber colour, big head, slightly off-white. Moderate aroma of floral hops, hints of grass. The flavour has pleasant Goldings hops throughout, on a relatively dry and biscuity background, with just a slight fruitiness. There are definitely worse summer ales than this one around. Highly drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

07-23-2009 22:19:20 | More by Sigmund

soulgrowl

United Kingdom (England)

3.83/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Pretty nice, poofy head on this one, with solid retention, too. Body is a pristinely clear, brick red-orange. The nose is nice, too, full of that distinctly herbal-grassy-floral aroma of Goldings hops - mint, hay, thyme, maple leaves, carnations, and even roses are all here. The malts are nice, too, although one-dimensional - they pretty much only smell of toffee. Crisp yet mild with a maltier flavor than anticipated, with nice toasty and nutty notes to support a taut, zesty hop character of lemon, herbs, and grass. Light and clean with sparkly carbonation that accents the snappy hops nicely and dries up the malts well. Looks like I've used the word "nice" a total of five times already, but that's what this beer is. Nice, and probably my favorite from Shepherd Neame so far.

Good with Cheddar, fair with Shropshire Blue, awful with Camembert, and very good with aged Gouda.

Serving type: bottle

06-27-2009 19:01:20 | More by soulgrowl

ricke

Sweden

3.08/5  rDev -8.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A: Copper colored, medium sized good looking head that dissipates rather quickly.

S: Not much going on here. Mostly bready malts with fragile hop notes that actually goes quite perfumy and soapy. Not as bad as it sounds though, it smells decent.

T: Again, not much going on. Mostly sweet bready and biscuity malts that is sprinkled with restrained but rather sharp citric hop notes. Some floral notes, carrots and a gentle hint of herbs. The finish is short with a minimal bitterness and some mineral flavors.

M: Light body, medium carbonation.

D: Not much to say about this one. It's a decent British bitter, nothing else. Kind of refreshing, though.

Serving type: bottle

06-14-2009 23:05:06 | More by ricke

JanM

Sweden

4/5  rDev +18.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The 2008 edition. A sour and fruity smell, some sweetness with a hint of caramel. Poured with little foam, quickly disappearing. The taste was rich with notes of apple and spices, even pepper. Very tasty and refreshing with a pronounced hop bitterness. In fact, it was pretty damned good and exceeded my expectations based on last year's edition.

Serving type: bottle

08-15-2008 20:03:41 | More by JanM

BlackHaddock

United Kingdom (England)

3.65/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This is my first English beer since a beer trip to Belgium and all that entails (drinking heavy alcohol brews with complex tastes and flavours.

Anyway, this clear 500ml bottle has been sat awaiting my attention for some time, even though it has a long life left (Apr 2009). The label claims it is a 'Summer Hop Ale'.

Poured into my new La Chouffe glass (two and a half times). It was a lovely amber colour with a huge off-white head, pretty as a picture.

It doesn't say so, but I am assuming it is hopped with Goldings. The aroma is certainly hoppy, even when served chilled as requested on the bottle.

Dry and tangy taste with the hops completely dominating the malted barley and whatever the other ingredients that may have been used.

Typical watery English Bitter feel, but it still has a presence and you know it has 4.7% alcohol within. Plenty of hops for us Brits, no where near the amount some US hopheads would prefer, but that would unbalance the beer in my opinion.

Not bad at all. Sheperd Neame produce a lot of 'Supermarket type beers', this is one of their better ones.

Serving type: bottle

07-22-2008 18:20:22 | More by BlackHaddock

baggio

Sweden

3.33/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A: Copper with a quite nice lace that to my disappointment vanishes all too quickly.

S: Not too much smell...mainly malt and bread.

T: Citric notes, malt, honey, metal notes.

M: Smooth, medium carbonation, medium-bitter aftertaste.

Not a bad beer but lacks body and aftertaste. Still, goes down quite easy
and was quite pleasant to drink during a hot summers day.

Serving type: bottle

06-28-2007 19:00:27 | More by baggio

Hammarby

Sweden

3.7/5  rDev +9.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

A: Amber with a good two finger offwhite head with yellowish tones.
S: Bread, phenols, hint of sweetness (fudge?), malt.
T: Bitterness, dryish taste of honey, metallic tone, hops.
M: Medium body, good carboration, kind of oily feel in the aftertaste.

A nice little beer, but a bit too carborated for my personal taste.

Serving type: bottle

06-09-2007 20:03:04 | More by Hammarby

wl0307

United Kingdom (England)

3.18/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Coming in a 500ml clear bottle, BB 04/07, served cool in a straight imperial pint glass.

A: bright reddish amber, fluffy off-white head settling slowly to cob-web like foam sustaining on top of lightly carbonated body.
S: balanced profile b/w Goldings’ spicy and citric hoppiness and a rich, juicy, brown-sugary maltiness, laced with a touch of marinated plums; very simple but quite nice.
T: plenty of juicy orange-citric and aromatic-floral hops upfront, with a touch of spicy taste peculiar of Goldings; brown-sugary malts prevail in the aftertaste with a faint touch of plums, leaving just moderate bitterness to linger in the finish with residual spiciness.
M&D: the soft fizziness and the spicy edge of hops both contribute a bite to the mouthfeel. Overall this is a light-bodied Best Bitter with a traditional taste of Kent's hops~~

Serving type: bottle

01-26-2007 16:26:34 | More by wl0307

crwills

Ontario (Canada)

3.3/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a pleasant deep, reddish gold. Got a big fluffy head by doing an aggressive pour. Some skunk aroma when pouring. Yeasty malt aromas dominate, with some light hop presence.

Taste is caramel malts, dull floral hops, and a little bit of sulphur. Mild metallic notes throughout. Mouthfeel is on the weakish side, with an accompanying watery aftertaste.

Not something I'd buy again.

Serving type: bottle

11-24-2006 15:46:03 | More by crwills

slitherySOB

Ontario (Canada)

3.38/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4

Light copper colour, with a thin head. Decent smell of crisp malts, grassy and bitter hops, and a slight skunk. Clear bottle. After a few minutes, the skunk smell faded. Very mellow taste. Dry cracker taste and bitter. Not much sweetness. Mouthfeel seems a tad oily. Good session beer, drinkable on a hot day.

Serving type: bottle

09-07-2006 04:44:39 | More by slitherySOB

fisherman34

Manitoba (Canada)

2.78/5  rDev -17.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

Light copper in colour with surprisingly strong carbonation. A good amount of grassy and mild floral hops on the nose, with a bit of caramel on the back end. Quite fruity in the mouth, with more grasses. Dries out quite quickly, with a faint woody note on the brisk finish. The carbonation seems to wash all of the character and interesting flavors away.

Serving type: bottle

09-06-2006 01:31:30 | More by fisherman34

Beersignal

Quebec (Canada)

2.75/5  rDev -18.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Stunning presentation with the clear bottle and a mouthwatering deep amber brew sitting proudly within. The label shouts summer as does the scent of the striped rodent escaping as I decapsulate this sample. Thankfully the odor does not carry into the glass too strongly.

The beer pours into the glass with just as much allure as when it sat in the bottle, with a diminutive cap of off-white foam garnishing its surface. Sadly, no lacing or staying power... which means no foaming agents within.

Aromas are velvety and complex with a spicy honey malt signature up front leading to mild ripened peach notes and a balancing dose of leafy hops in the finish. The whole is fragrant but not overdone allowing for the possibility of a very sessionable beer.

Flavours are not nearly as complex as the aromas and lack the depth and smoothness as well. Bone dry as it enters the mouth it yields a grainy metallic taste up front and leads almost immediately to an astringent bitterness with barely any malt or fruitiness expressing themselves. The finish is just as dry as the beginning with a long clinging bitterness. Not what I expected.

I knew I was taking a chance with this one when I saw the clear bottle under the fluorescent tube at the LCBO and I crapped out. Just like fruit, you take a chance...

Santé

Serving type: bottle

09-06-2006 00:50:20 | More by Beersignal

DrJay

Massachusetts

3.8/5  rDev +12.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Crystal clear, medium amber colour with a generous, fluffy off-white head from the pour. Decent head retention with some clumpy lacing. Perfumy floral aroma with a bit of biscuity malt and citrus in the background. Moderate bitterness with a pleasant caramel backbone. Hop flavour is lemony and a bit floral/earthy. The finish has some lingering metallic bitterness and a hint of diacetyl. Medium bodied with nearly crisp carbonation. The texture's a bit creamy once the carbonation settles and it dries up considerably towards the end. Not bad at all - I liked this as an easy sipping, sitting around in the afternoon beer.

Serving type: bottle

08-26-2006 20:29:32 | More by DrJay

Popsinc

Ontario (Canada)

3.48/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Very nice looking pour with a golden amber colour and full, frothy head. The nose was soft hops, grassy notes, light honey and mild citrus. The taste was light and again somewhat grassy with slight bitterness of lemon peel....subtle hoppiness....lingering bitterness. Mouthfeel was fresh and crisp, a light to medium bodied beer. Low alcohol and fresh, lively mouthfeel make it quite drinkable for the intended summer season. Overall and based on the name (Summer Hop Ale) i might have expected a touch more hoppiness.

Serving type: bottle

08-07-2006 00:37:56 | More by Popsinc

Conrad

Ontario (Canada)

3.15/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

I love the bottle design. Had this one on a warm summer evening.
A: Bright honey/copper colour with a nice rich head that settled with big bursting bubbles, and had fine lacing.
S: First, I was hit with big pungent hops upfront, then a bit of floral and citrus. There was a tartness that made me salivate, like when you open an pickle jar.
T: A bit disappointing. This has a clean taste, with a good malt/hop balance. No, on second thought, the hops come through a bit more, with a light honey flavour. Best I can say is it's inoffensive.
M: Smooth, moderate body. The big carbonation resulted in big beer burps.
D: A good session ale. Nice to have on a warm summer evening, and yes, I would have another.

Serving type: bottle

07-18-2006 13:29:33 | More by Conrad

Phyl21ca

Quebec (Canada)

3/5  rDev -11%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Bottle: Poured an orangey color ale with a big pure white foamy head with good retention. Aroma of bitter hops is quite dominating with some distant malt. Taste is hoppier then expected from an English bitter with the distinctive presence of Goldings hops and a good base of malt. Body is about average with medium carbonation. Better then a lot of English import in clear bottle that we get here.

Serving type: bottle

07-17-2006 20:08:43 | More by Phyl21ca

shamus

Ontario (Canada)

2.83/5  rDev -16%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

IIt's a really hot and humid day so I'm serving this nice and cold. This is the same brewer that does Bishop's Fingers so I was afraid that this brew would be overly sweet for my palate and it is.

I do like the colour a deep copper/gold, but the head is thin and snappy. That means the bubbles pop to soon in my lingo. It smells too malty, and for a beer that calls itself a "Summer Hop Ale" there isn't much of a hop smell to this. At least not the hops I like.

The taste is far too sweet for me. I don't like sweet in my beer.If that's a characteristic you enjoy your going to appreciate this more than me.

I'm not enjoying this one much. it's not gruesome but I'm ready to move on to something else.

Serving type: bottle

07-15-2006 22:02:32 | More by shamus