Gold Medal Ale
Speight’s Ale House

Gold Medal AleGold Medal Ale
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From:
Speight’s Ale House
 
New Zealand
Style:
English Pale Ale
Ranked #197
ABV:
4%
Score:
72
Ranked #27,811
Avg:
2.74 | pDev: 24.09%
Reviews:
9
Ratings:
19
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jan 18, 2024
Added:
May 25, 2005
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  3
The legend begins here. In 1880 Speight’s enters it’s flagship ale into the Melbourne Exhibition. It cleans up, winning 2 gold medals and gets a new name; Gold Medal Ale is born.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 2.25 by Phoodcritic from Michigan

Jan 18, 2024
Photo of Beginner2
Reviewed by Beginner2 from Illinois

3.3/5  rDev +20.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
I do not understand the poor ratings on this ale.
While not distinctive in Taste (usually interpreted as needing abundant hops), Gold Medal Looked nice in the glass and Smelled mostly of malt. I found the Tastes balanced well for the food I had (a veggie burger) and it finished OK also. If I were drinking Gold Medal as a session, I might rate it lower... but I was having lunch and Gold Medal was good enough for a good experience. (I had Gold Medal as a flight of six at Speight's Greymouth restaurant.)
Jan 07, 2018
 
Rated: 3.25 by JakeBarnett from Minnesota

Jun 17, 2014
 
Rated: 1.5 by leftoverburrito from Oregon

Jun 08, 2014
 
Rated: 3.25 by SouthCrescent from Pennsylvania

Mar 10, 2014
 
Rated: 3.25 by benloho from Utah

Jan 31, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by Cheld from Maine

Oct 20, 2013
 
Rated: 2.75 by Agentveba from North Carolina

Sep 12, 2013
 
Rated: 1 by lisagirl from New Zealand (Aotearoa)

May 12, 2013
 
Rated: 2 by fionn13 from Ireland

Oct 25, 2012
 
Rated: 3 by Kornoms from Texas

Apr 01, 2012
Photo of CrazyDavros
Reviewed by CrazyDavros from Australia

3.28/5  rDev +19.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Pours amber/ruby with a creamy small head.
Nose isn't great. Shows some caramel and nutty notes, but quite dirty.
Flavours are very malty, loads of caramel and bready hints. Finishes with a mild bitterness.
Nice moderate carbonation, works surprisingly well with the richer flavours.
Apart from the aroma, pretty good!
Sep 16, 2010
Photo of StJamesGate
Reviewed by StJamesGate from New York

3.31/5  rDev +20.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Pours pale amber with stiff sticky white head. Offputtingly lager-like sweet corn nose with apple and maybe some light tea. Mulchy malts and ginger ale hops. Fizzy, light, slight cling.

Light and weak, barely enough ale flavors to recognize it as one. But still a easy summer drinker.

Only 7 reviews for one of NZ's most popular beers? Not a lot of kiwis on BA, I guess...
Sep 13, 2010
Photo of dgilks
Reviewed by dgilks from Australia

3.23/5  rDev +17.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Pours a clear, bronzed gold colour with a small, short lasted white head. Decent lacing.

Light malty aroma ith a moderate metallic hop note. Not all that good but not awful.

The taste is disappointing. A sweet, slightly sticky malt flavour is not really balanced out by the small hop charge used. Still, it's pretty good for a macro.

Medium-light body and moderately-high carbonation are okay and help to make the beer refreshing if gassy.

Not the worst beer ever made but not all that great. Certainly it is brewed to mass market tastes but it has a malt character to it rather than just being watery.
Jul 10, 2010
Photo of Nickls
Reviewed by Nickls from District of Columbia

3.13/5  rDev +14.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
(From notes)

A - Poured with a finger of pure white head, and was a clear coppery orange/brown color.

S - Biscuity/doughy, mild earthiness, touch of hops...but not much

T - Apple-like sourness; sweetish maltiness; tea; and earthy hop finish

M - Thinner to Medium MF, with muted carbonation and a little slick

D - Just OK drinking here, nothing insulting to the palate, but nothing interesting. Washed down a solid sandwich pretty well, but wouldn't go out of your way to obtain this.

Overall, just an OK brew and not a very good example of the style.
Apr 18, 2009
Photo of VitBAficionado
Reviewed by VitBAficionado from New Zealand (Aotearoa)

2.58/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 3
A: Clear deep amber color with a small head and traces of lace. Light level of carbonation.
S: Caramel sweet with a kick of yeast at the back of the nose.
T: Just like it smells, overly sweet with the yeast coming through predominately in the aftertaste. Very small trace of spice at the beginning but disappears quickly.
M: Stringy and flat. Kind of like a low grade syrup. OK, maybe not that bad but you get the idea (maybe).
D: Basic lager beer. Wouldn't want to drink to0 many given the caramel notes but since it is essentially the New Zealand "bud" (and with the exchange rate actually cheaper) I guess you cannot be to picky.

Note: This improves quit a bit - especially in the taste and mouthfeel categories - when you get it as a "fresh" beer at the Speight's Ale House on Rattray St.
Feb 27, 2007
Photo of mdagnew
Reviewed by mdagnew from Northern Ireland

3.08/5  rDev +12.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
330ml Bottle bought from The Vineyard, Belfast...

Poured a golden orange / rust colour... White head disappeared almost instantly...

Aroma - Quite sweet, hints of orange, very light malt, slight sulphur notes, some spiciness, caramel...

Taste – Quite sweet, nutty, slight saltiness, some lemon hints...

Feel - Quite smooth - low carbonation..

Overall - A very average beer.... although quite drinkable....
Dec 12, 2005
Photo of lacqueredmouse
Reviewed by lacqueredmouse from Australia

2.87/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
Tried at the brewery late Oct 2005.

Appearance is deceiving, looks like it could be a good pale ale. Nice orange-amber colour, minimal head.

Smell is predominantly sweetness, almost a bit caramelly, but with a heavy whack of yeast. It's alright, but certainly nothing spectacular.

Taste is pretty much the same; a reasonably standard yeasty ale flavour. More sweetness than a generic lager, but predominantly flat and simple. In actual fact, it was far better than I expected it would be, it was remarkably drinkable, but it didn't have a great deal going for it.
Nov 14, 2005
Photo of IronDjinn
Reviewed by IronDjinn from Canada (AB)

2.01/5  rDev -26.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2
Quite the shocker to find some New Zealand beers on the shelves here in Alberta these days. This one apparently won a gold medal at the Melbourne International Brewing Awards over 100 years ago (or so the blurb on the back label states), hence the name of the beer. Came in a 6 pack, short brown 330 ml stubbie bottles, blue and orange label.

Pours out a clear but watery looking light copper, quick splash of head that fades quickly. The aroma is thin with light bouts of thin malt and only the faintest traces of a hop. The taste is weak and held up more by the intense carbonation of the mouthfeel than a semblence of flavour. The flavour itself fades in and out between weak malt extract and the unmistakable sodium laced flavour of soda water--no fooling! It's mildly quenching, but truly lacks any substance to hold itself up, and I would loosely refer to this as a beer at best. Won't be picking up any more of these, I can get just as bad domestically at far less the cost.
May 25, 2005
Gold Medal Ale from Speight’s Ale House
Beer rating: 72 out of 100 with 19 ratings