Golden Ale - The Celt Experience Brewery

jdhilt

New Hampshire

3.43/5  rDev -5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Pours a two finger white head that fades slowly to a thin layer leaving a good lace. Hazy amber color. Good carbonation and medium bodied. Grapefruit hops nose, flavor is honey and caramel with balancing grapefruit hops. Lingering light bitter aftertaste. $5.99 for a 500ml bottle from Tuscan Market Salem, NH.

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2013 22:33:51 | More by jdhilt

Digimaika2

Ontario (Canada)

3.88/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

(3.5) A: Clear amber colour with a creamy stark-white foam head that gradually recedes to a ring. Very good lacing.

(3.5) S: Grains, floral qualities, tart grapefruit, slight balsamic, nuts, faint ginger, and yeasty elements. Very appealing with a bold acidic-like tinge to the overall aroma.

(4.0) T: Dry toasted grains, mellow spices including clove, slight nutty taste, floral hop elements, and honey. Smooth and bitter with a bit of tartness. Very tasty.

(4.0) M: Medium bodied with a moderate carbonation. Crisp and clean with a dry bitter finish.

(4.0) D: Very good and very drinkable. Would enjoy having this again.

Serving type: bottle

09-21-2012 01:30:09 | More by Digimaika2

Cylinsier

Pennsylvania

4.2/5  rDev +16.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle, 1 pint .9 fl oz.

Pours a transparent deep golden color, bits of white suds for a head.

Smells of light citrus and bold, grassy barley malts. Mild pine hop bitterness.

Dry earth malts with light caramel sweetness. Hop bitterness on the dry side with grapefruit citrus elements. Possibly some honey and light spice like cloves or nutmeg.

Medium to full body with light soft carbonation around the tongue.

Really nice ale, great flavor and body for the abv which makes it highly sessionable. Very easy to enjoy and would love to spend an afternoon with a few more of these.

Serving type: bottle

08-06-2012 01:44:13 | More by Cylinsier

thehyperduck

Ontario (Canada)

3.93/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

500 mL bottle from the LCBO; best before April 2013. I don't normally comment on packaging quality, but this one has a pretty slick-looking bottle. I grabbed this because I wanted something milder than all the IPAs and hefes that were already in my shopping basket - and also because I've never had Welsh beer.

Pours a clear golden amber colour, topped with a modest, creamy off-white head roughly one finger in thickness. It disappears fairly rapidly over the next minute, leaving behind a ring of lacing and a thin, soapy cap on the surface. The aroma is enjoyable, with a plethora of different notes to pick out of the bouquet - sweet toffee, buttered biscuits and lemon citrus blend nicely with the leafy, musty English hop aromas. A bit more pungent than your average EPA.

This is a very tasty ale. Biscuity malts, toffee and honey are the main features early in the sip, with fruity notes of lemon zest, pears and apple skin accompanying them. Leafy, earthy hops come forward near the finish, balancing the malts perfectly and imparting a dry, musty tea-leaf quality to the aftertaste. On the light side of medium-bodied, with mild carbonation and a very smooth mouthfeel.

Final Grade: 3.93, a B+. Celt's Golden Ale is quite full-flavoured for a 4.2% brew, but it's just as easy to slug back as most other examples of this style. I wouldn't say that this is my new 'favourite EPA', but there's no question that it's relatively high up on that list. It's a highly quaffable pint that would be an excellent session option (if not for the relatively high price). I'd happily recommend this to any fan of English-style ales and bitters, and I might pick it up again some time.

Serving type: bottle

06-22-2012 03:58:04 | More by thehyperduck

decimator

Ontario (Canada)

4/5  rDev +10.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

500ml bottle poured into a pint glass. ABV marked as 4.2%.

A - Poured a deep gold with a half centimetre white head. Some lacing.

S - Hops, citrus, earth. Some caramel sweetness in the background.

T - Caramel, light fruity sourness, orange peel, hint of spice, hint of tobacco, nice bitter finish.

M - Medium body, medium carbonation, tangy, crisp, nice mouth coating bitter aftertaste.

O - Pretty good. Well balanced flavourful pale ale.

Serving type: bottle

06-18-2012 00:29:55 | More by decimator

Brianhophead

Alberta (Canada)

3.75/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A- Appearance-wise, Golden lives up to its name. It's a bright, amber colored ale with minimal carbonation. A few thin streams of bubbles support a fluffy, white head with good retention.

S- At first blush, Golden Ale smells very much like a good English pale ale. It's hoppy with a bright, juicy center. Hop nose is supported by caramel malts combined with hints of fresh baked bread. Center gives me a bright, lemon tinted juiciness. Finish is the earthy, peppercorn smell of English hops.

T- Celt Golden Ale is medium bodied and again seems a good example of an English pale ale. Golden Ale enjoys a subdued maltiness, caramel, and bread up front. Malt moves into a juicy, citrus center with hints of lemon. Finish is bracingly, mouth coatingly bitter. Assertive without overpowering. Bitterness is bracing without completely dominating the malts.

Celt Golden Ale is a very decent example of the style. While it lacks the brazen brashness of American beers, it hast the subtlety and restraint more common with British beers.

Serving type: bottle

02-16-2012 20:11:53 | More by Brianhophead

IronDjinn

Alberta (Canada)

3.28/5  rDev -9.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

From a 500 ml brown bottle, tight black plastic around the neck and cap. Pours out a clear light golden hue, with a short creamy white head.

Clean grainy and bready malt on the nose, mild dry leafy hops.

The first impressions of the flavour are neutral and unoffensive. Make no mistake, this is an incredibly clean English Pale Ale, however there isn't much more going on to produce some sort of recognizable personality. Clean, crisp grains up front with very mild dry earthy herbal hops. That's it. Well, some arugula-like astringency lingers on in the aftertaste. A real palate cleanser however.

Light-bodied mouthfeel, with a silky slick texture and moderate carbonation.

An English Pale Ale that holds its own, yet doesn't seem to offer much more personality in the flavour department beyond clean technical finesse, which of course is welcome (especially in lieu of flaws or off-flavours), yet doesn't offer much more to entice one back for more when their are more flavourful peers available to consume. Still worth a try though.

Serving type: bottle

02-12-2012 08:37:52 | More by IronDjinn

wordemupg

Alberta (Canada)

4.03/5  rDev +11.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

500ml bottle poured into pint glass 11/2/12

A clear golden yellow with some tiny particles being moved around by lots of big bubbles, a nice two finger off white foam sinks to an island leaving lots of random lace

S malty lemon and earthy hops with a little hay

T a nice blend of hops with some biscuit, faint caramel and the fruity notes I picked up on the nose are not as citrus forward

M light and fluffy from the bubbles, mild spicy aftertaste is rather pleasant

O pretty easy to drink and it has decent flavors is a light beer, I could session this under a hot sun

not my favorite style but this is a good example, I'm learning to appreciate session beers and this one makes it easy

Serving type: bottle

02-11-2012 23:47:40 | More by wordemupg

BDTyre

British Columbia (Canada)

3.85/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Golden straw with a fluffy, white cloud head.

Floral, lemon-y hops. Pale malt background in the nose. A bit upfront with the hops, but this might even off as it warms.

Not as hoppy in the flavour as the scent would suggest. Very nice pale malt taste, a bit of bread and biscuits, light butter. Lemon-y floral hints.

Good carbonation, a bit rough at times but this eases as it warms. A good session beer. Definitely worth trying if you can get it.

Serving type: bottle

02-06-2012 03:00:34 | More by BDTyre

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

3.88/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

500ml capped and sealed bottle, nice black and gold design. BB Dec 2012.

This beer pours a clear, pale golden hue, with some rising effervescence, and two fingers of somewhat thin foamy white head, which leaves a children's mountain vista drawing of lace around the glass as it settles.

It smells of pale grainy malt, some mild aged lemon, and a weirdly floral, musty hoppiness. The taste is more pale malt, the grain maturing to a slight breadiness, with a flinty, ashy edge, a diminished fruitiness, and dusty, earthy hops.

The carbonation is moderate, but fresh, and a bit airy, the body on the reserved side of medium weight, a respectable condition for the style and ABV - as is the shy smoothness. It finishes fairly clean, the grainy malt, and timidly zingy floral, weedy hops not prone to phoning it in.

EPAs are like APAs to me (or is it the other way around?). Anyways, the style usually, though it shouldn't, leaves me muttering a hipster-ish 'meh'. This one, like its Bronze sibling, supercedes all that baggage, and comes across as a beer that you just wanna drink, full stop.

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2012 03:07:33 | More by biboergosum

Shadman

Alberta (Canada)

3.45/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Certainly scores some points for classy packaging...

Very bright yellow amber color, lot's of chill haze. Nice thick white faom head, decent retention, lot's of spiderwebs of lace.

No overpowering aroma standout. Faint grains, some citric/lemon and a slightly spicy, slightly floral note.

Crisp grains and some solid citric hop bitterness. Again I felt lemon would best describe the bitterness. Some sweet fruitiness mixes in nicely toard the finish.

For a 4.2% ABV it certainly had enouugh body to satisfy.

A good thirst quencher. Would not be out of place in a ocal fish and chip type restaurant.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2012 04:47:15 | More by Shadman

Phyl21ca

Quebec (Canada)

3.15/5  rDev -12.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Bottle: Poured a clean golden color ale with a large foamy head with good retention and some light lacing. Aroma of medium sweet malt and some light floral undertones. Taste is a nice enough mix between some semi-sweet malt notes with some light floral notes. Clean cereal notes are pleasant but not earth shattering. Body is average with good carbonation. Quaffable and clean with limited complexity.

Serving type: bottle

10-26-2011 19:41:37 | More by Phyl21ca

andrenaline

Ontario (Canada)

3.68/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

From notes:

A - Pours a nice golden copper colour, finger of beige head with solid retention and some nice sticky lacing.

S - Caramel notes dominate, slightly metallic, a touch of all spice and some pepper and earthy bark.

T - The caramel notes continue to dominate though are a tad mild, some fruity citrus hop notes with caramel corn and some pepper and toffee on the finish.

M - No complaints in this department, with a solid carbonation level and a touch of dryness on the finish.

O - For the style, I was pleasantly surprised with some fitting flavours. Worth a try if you can get your hands on a bottle.

Serving type: bottle

09-25-2011 06:12:39 | More by andrenaline

spinrsx

Ontario (Canada)

3.55/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

500ml Bottle

Appearance – Mostly clear copper/amber colour with an average size fizzy off white coloured head. There is an average amount of carbonation visible and there is a fairly good amount of lacing. The head lasted for around 5 minutes before it was gone.

Smell - Malts, hops, caramel, tangerine/lemon

Taste & Mouth - The beer has an above average amount of carbonation and I can taste malts, caramel, and some dry hops. There is also a tiny bit of a citrus flavour - either tangerine or lemons. It finishes with a malty dry hop slightly bitter aftertaste.

Overall – It is very similar to their bronze ale - but a little lighter and with a splash of citrus. A decent beer that is very drinkable and has a nice balanced taste. However it isn't really anything memorable and for the price, I'd buy something else.

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2011 16:54:19 | More by spinrsx

shamus

Ontario (Canada)

3.63/5  rDev +0.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I liked the typography on the label and it's from Wales so I thought why not try it. It's a nice golden colour as described on the label and has a misty lacy head. Smells of malt, almost whiskey-like as well as some butterscotch and faint cinnamon notes. Very mild taste with some of that butterscotch to it and very smooth. Not at all offensive but not a miracle in a bottle either.

Serving type: bottle

09-12-2011 23:02:21 | More by shamus

Roke87

Ontario (Canada)

3.4/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

500 mL bottle, chilled and poured into a pint glass.
Best Before: 09.12

Appearance- Pours a light amber to dark golden colour that is mainly clear with a very slight murkiness to it. Average pour yields about a half a finger of white head that quickly resides to a very small bubbly top and bubbly ring around the glass, which leaves

Smell- The aromas are not all that inviting to this one, starts off with some very mild earthy hops, bready malts, a touch of sweet honey, all in all a very “English” smell to it.

Taste- Just like the aromas, nothing too special really going on here, the bready malt and cracker taste comes through on the forefront, mixed with the earthy hops, again a very mild touch of sweet honey. Even the tastes scream british ale.

Mouthfeel- Light bodied with average carbonation, very low ABV almost goes down like a light beer with a mild touch of british craft brewing in there, finishes somewhat dry with lot of bready malt and earthy hop flavours.

Overall- Very average, nothing special about this one what so ever. The smells are rather blah and they come through the same on the palate, to be honest I was not really impressed. Tastes a lot like any other adjunct lager that you can find here in North America with a bit more malt and hop presence than your average lager or ale. Would not pick this one up again and not really sure why it sold out so quick at the LCBO, minimal supply I’m guessing?

Serving type: bottle

09-11-2011 05:24:36 | More by Roke87

hopsolutely

Ontario (Canada)

3.73/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A very pleasant surprise.

Pale golden colour with amber highlights. Limited head, no lacing, but decent carbonation and pleasant mouthfeel. Aroma is light, but malty and grainy. The flavour is more complicated than I expected and would make this a decent session ale. Sweet maltiness with hints of tea and some nuttiness, followed by the bittering hops and a dry finish.

Not personally my favourite style, but a nicely balanced, British-style low alcohol pint. Worth trying!

Serving type: bottle

08-01-2011 20:34:18 | More by hopsolutely

AgentZero

Illinois

3.05/5  rDev -15.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Thanks to Alex for sharing this.

A - Pale golden colored beer with a white head that had moderate retention and left some lace on the sides.

S - Sweet, honey, pale malts, cracker, maybe some mild hops but not much.

T - This reminds me a lot of Grainbelt Premium. Nothing offensive, but boring, sweet pale malts, not really anything going on.

M - Crisp, carbonated, light.

O - Easy drinking beer that is on the sweet side. Nothing that I really cared for very much, reminds me a lot of a macro brew.

Serving type: bottle

07-21-2011 02:33:16 | More by AgentZero

bryehn

Ontario (Canada)

3.18/5  rDev -11.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a golden honey colour with a small amber hue. A small, frothy head reduces to a collar after a few minutes leaving moderate lacing.

Smells like light malts, honey, tea and ripened light fruit. Bit mild even after warming.

Bitter and crisp with a peppery spiciness. Caramel sweetness on the tongue. Bit of baker's chocolate comes through after warming.

A bit thin, but with a malty backing and a creaminess from the everlasting collar. Goes dry on the back of the tongue, leaves a bit of resin-y after taste.

Decent, but wholly forgettable English session ale. Well-balanced and keeps the fruit tones in check. Nice refresher but I won't go out of my way for it again.

Serving type: bottle

07-18-2011 23:06:20 | More by bryehn

JohnnyBarman

Ontario (Canada)

3.73/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Single bottle from the LCBO, shared with a friend on a hot summer's evening.

Poured into a nonic. Has all the appearance of a standard English pale ale: light copper, little visible carbonation, slight murk, thin head with a thin ring. Not that visually striking, but about right for the style.

Caramel, mild earthy hops, cracker, a bit of peat or bogmyrtle.

Not a bad little English pale ale, pretty flavorful - all the usual notes of caramel, earthy hops, tea, as well as a bit of peat and pine. Unique, but I have to admit its not something I'd want to drink too much of. Thin, watery and with surprisingly strong carbonation.

Worth trying, certainly enjoyable, but I'll probably just have the one.

Serving type: bottle

07-07-2011 23:14:19 | More by JohnnyBarman

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

2.85/5  rDev -21.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A very ordinary beer, yellow to golden colour. Fast disapearing head. Neutral aroma, though a tad unpleasant. Average mouthfeel.Trace of hops, lots of malt. Drinkable, but not very. A lot of beer made the drain.Not a big fan, there are better blond beers in the U.K.

Serving type: bottle

07-03-2011 03:44:46 | More by northyorksammy

cyrenaica

Ontario (Canada)

3.93/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

500ml bottle
4.2% ABV
I tried this beer on June 9, 2011 after purchasing from the Queen's Quay LCBO outlet in Toronto, Ontario. The beer poured a slightly hazy golden red colour with a thin creamy off-white head. The aroma is bready malt, a hint of yeast, and citrusy hops. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with medium carbonation. The flavour is nicely balanced between the malty sweetness and the bitter hoppy finish. Very enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

06-29-2011 22:23:02 | More by cyrenaica

biegaman

Ontario (Canada)

3.7/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Celt Golden sports the same colour and complexion as apple juice (and has barely more foam atop it). Its gleaming appearance is dulled only slightly by the faint fog that blurs its transparency and the beer still gives off a bellowing shine when held into the bright afternoon sky. Bubbles are constant but impotent; head won't even form on swirling.

We've all stepped foot into a friend's place before and noticed their house to have a distinct smell - not necessarily a bad smell, but a definite smell. Beers are no different - different styles from different countries each have a unique 'house' smell too. For many English ales, their smell is often identified as being bready and grainy with trace leafy hoppiness.

Indeed, this bottled beer is a fair approximation of the kind of low-strength, high-character ales traditionally found on cask throughout the British Isles. The beer's sweet, bready malts are wholesome and have a slight scratchy graininess to them. They taste as though they've been dolloped in citrusy, bubblegum-y hops, the kind that leave a dry, earthy finish.

The hops' spicy bitterness is choked back enough to fly under the radar of those mainstream drinkers with easily overwhelmed palates but it, along with soft-pressed floral and fruity notes, rattles long enough into a gently-woven aftertaste that less casual drinkers should notice and appreciate it. Despite a low alcohol strength, it has a weighty body. Pleasant.

In highly saturated markets like the U.K or North America, the best game to play depends what everyone else is up to. This new brewery could have imitated all the other obnoxious, ravenously-hopped ales out there but I think they were wise not to jump on that bandwagon and, instead, revive the wonderful world of mild, sessionable, characterful ales.

Serving type: bottle

06-29-2011 20:18:34 | More by biegaman

MasterSki

Illinois

3.7/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Wales, baby! Birthday gift from my aunt. Served in a Jester King tulip.

A - A quick-dissolving white foam settles to a thick collar and partial cap. Transparent golden body.

S - Floral hops, some herbs, touch of skunk, pine, faint citrus zest, honey and toasted malts, and fruity English Ale yeast.

T - Taste is largely honey and bread, with some fruity yeast imparting apple and pear notes. A hint of grassy hop appears as well.

M - Crisp carbonation, clean dry finish, and a slightly watery light body. Could use a bit more heft, but not too bad for the lower ABV.

D - A largely palatable and inoffensive English Pale Ale. Would probably make a very good session ale on cask. I can think of far worse ways to get a Welsh tick.

Serving type: bottle

06-16-2011 16:42:57 | More by MasterSki

TheSevenDuffs

Ontario (Canada)

3.73/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured in to pint glass.

A - Light amber/straw colour with a small amount of foamy white head that slowly disappeared.

S - Bready malts with a hint of caramel sweetness and a crisp hop presence. Light and refreshing nose.

T - Bready malts with a nice crisp hop bite and a slight sweetness to balance it out. The hop bite becomes more and more noticeable as I continue to drink this one. Tastes more like a pale ale.

M - Light to medium body. Moderate carbonation.

O - A very enjoyable ale.

Serving type: bottle

06-09-2011 01:58:14 | More by TheSevenDuffs