XXXX Gold
Castlemaine Perkins

XXXX GoldXXXX Gold
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From:
Castlemaine Perkins
 
Australia
Style:
American Adjunct Lager
Ranked #258
ABV:
3.5%
Score:
62
Ranked #28,434
Avg:
2.48 | pDev: 29.84%
Reviews:
34
Ratings:
99
Status:
Active
Rated:
Oct 28, 2023
Added:
Sep 16, 2002
Wants:
  5
Gots:
  19
This Australian lager has a balanced, smooth flavour and body, complemented by mild bitterness and a trace of sweetness. We give GOLD its signature taste by using golden cluster hops that are brewed with the finest ingredients, such as Australian malted barley and our trademark yeast.

Oh, and we hold onto that fresh natural flavour by never adding preservatives to the mix. Ever.

Alcohol by Volume: 3.5% ABV
Colour: 9 EBC
Bitterness: 14 IBU
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Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by SargeC:
Photo of SargeC
Reviewed by SargeC from California

3.78/5  rDev +52.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
Appearance: Deep golden color. Dense head with good lacing. Large carbonation bubbles slowly rise to the top.

Smell: Sweet tones, grass, small touch of alcohol

Taste: Very light hop flavor backed up by mild malt flavor. Good tame balance.

Mouthfeel: Good body for a lager.

Drinkability: Great session brew. This was hand carried back from Queensland to me. It is a great reminder of good times in Australia. A very high percentage of those times involved a Castlemaine product.
Nov 07, 2007
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 2 by BrisLoganite from Australia

Oct 28, 2023
Photo of Jugs_McGhee
Rated by Jugs_McGhee from Colorado

2.92/5  rDev +17.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3
Bottle ($7 AUD in Port Douglas, Australia):

Forgettable neutral fare with no faults.

C / AVERAGE
Dec 23, 2022
Photo of jtmayes1963
Reviewed by jtmayes1963 from Louisiana

5/5  rDev +101.6%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
During my visit to Queensland I fell in love with XXXX Gold. Now that I am back in the United States I can't find this beer anywhere. If it is available in the states someone please let me know.
Oct 24, 2022
Photo of Nath91
Reviewed by Nath91 from Australia

2.14/5  rDev -13.7%
look: 2 | smell: 2.25 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.25 | overall: 2.25
XXXX Gold. The midstrength heart and soul of Australia's. Yo'Yo's with VB as the nations most popular beer, but in Queensland, it's holy water. I've personally never liked it, too watery, too thin, too tasteless. But today, I'm going to take my beer goggles off, drop my snobbery,ayour thirst quickly, easily, with no fuss, and not get you too smashed up in the unforgiving tropical heat that is Queensland.

Look - 2.5/5: The iconic gold can, referred to as a Mango in Queensland (drinking out of the can is known as 'sucking on a mango') is pretty Iconic. And you gotta admit, bright yellow can, Australia, sunshine, happiness.
Poured into a standard Ikea tumbler, rough pour, an extremely filtered, clear golden colour. Slightly darker than the can itself. Frothy bubbly white soapsuds head, it's a classic Aussie adjunct.

Smell - 2.25/5: Corn, Wet grassy hops and bitterness, provided by the Pride of Ringwood obviously, some light biscuit malt. I've smelt this time and time and time again, mix and match any Aussie adjunct lager.

Taste 2/5 - Cereal grain, light bitterness from the hops, light maltiness, watery, almost like I'm drinking a flavoured sparkling mineral water, beer flavoured mineral water with a slight chemical aftertaste.

Feel: 2.25/5 - Highly carbonated, watery, thin, but on a 35 degree, 80% plus humidity day up in Far North Queensland, that's what you need.

Overall: Outside of Queensland, the Northern Territory, or North-Western Western Australia, this is a terrible, terrible beer. I know it's a midstrength lager, but hell, even Great Northern Super Crisp has a better overall flavour than XXXX Gold.
However in those aforementioned months, particularly during the summer months of the year, this is an excellent brew. It's thin, crisp enough, highly quaffable, and being a 3.5% beer, you can drink a few of them and still be in a condition to do stuff afterwards. And that's where and when I'll accept XXXX Gold as an acceptable beverage. Because those are the conditions this beer is brewed for. You wouldn't go drinking a super thick IIPA, or a stout in those conditions, no. And you shouldn't be drinking this in the Snowy Mountains of NSW in the depths of Winter (unless you were driving, you were being sensible, and there's no other light-mid option). To me it's always tasted like a beer flavoured mineral water.

#️⃣1️⃣3️⃣
Aug 25, 2021
 
Rated: 2.28 by Daneve76 from Australia

Jun 22, 2021
Photo of Franziskaner
Reviewed by Franziskaner from Missouri

2.85/5  rDev +14.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.75
Gold in color with with excellent clarity. There’s a fingernail of eggshell white around the rim and covering all but a sliver of the top. Light lacing. The aroma is of corn and a hint of grassy hops. I’m tasting a bit of diacetyl and some grassy hops at the back of the palate. The mouth is watery and thin.
May 12, 2019
 
Rated: 2.42 by SlightlyGrey from Minnesota

Jan 31, 2019
Photo of Bitterbill
Reviewed by Bitterbill from Wyoming

2.9/5  rDev +16.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Best by August 20th 2019. Can.

Looks gold enough to me. Pretty fluffy head of foam, lacing is good.

Simple nose of corny grain, some but not enough of that Aussie malt, mild touch of hops.

No surprises in the taste. Light flavours, it is 3.5%abv, of corn/grain, tiny malt sweetness, low presence of hoppy bitterness. Served cold cuz I reckoned that would put it at its optimum.

Pretty decent mouthfeel considering.

Nice to try, once.
Jan 26, 2019
Photo of wetciggie
Reviewed by wetciggie from Australia

3.12/5  rDev +25.8%
look: 5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2.75
The very definition of a mid beer...
An Australian domestic made for the working class, sitting at 3.5% and 375ml, which equals 1 “standard” drink. Allowing people to manage their alcohol intake at places where you need to drive, out in the bush, the beach, the pub home after work, this beer is extremely popular because it targeted a demographic of people on the move.

Goes down best with fish and chips from your local, or after mowing the lawn on a hot and humid Aussie day ice cold. 3.5% means it lacks much punch however, it can feel a bit watery as well as lack carbonation from time to time. Clear, bright and orangy-yellow, one finger of head when poured, however due to my fondness of this domestic drop, I prefer I straight out of the dark bottle, its just an icon of suburban Brisbane. Not a classy beer but a well mapped and demographically targeted beer that’s just very average. It is popular here for a reason!!
Aug 30, 2018
 
Rated: 3 by StoutAtTheDevil from Alabama

May 12, 2018
 
Rated: 1.34 by joharitaylor79 from Australia

Dec 16, 2017
 
Rated: 3.49 by Mikexw from New York

Dec 12, 2017
 
Rated: 2.5 by AtaraxiaDnB from Australia

Nov 06, 2017
 
Rated: 2 by Miket13 from New York

Aug 20, 2017
Photo of make-beer-not-war
Reviewed by make-beer-not-war from Texas

4/5  rDev +61.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
The weak little brother of XXXX Bitter. A welcomed introduction to allow red blooded Aussies to consume 2 tins in the first hour, and 1 every hour after that and still be able to drive home without the risk of losing your licence for 2 years and having your car crushed under the draconian, nanny state eye. Thanks XXXX.
PS. It's actually pretty ordinary, but hey, any beer on the way home is better than none.
Oct 08, 2016
 
Rated: 3.5 by OsoRojo from Colorado

Jun 12, 2016
 
Rated: 2.74 by Mnmich7662 from Minnesota

May 23, 2016
 
Rated: 2.21 by 54V4G3 from Belgium

May 11, 2016
 
Rated: 2.11 by AaronNQ from Australia

May 05, 2016
XXXX Gold from Castlemaine Perkins
Beer rating: 62 out of 100 with 99 ratings