White Gold - Ithaca Beer Company

BeerAdvocate

Massachusetts

3.63/5  rDev -8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Beer review from BA Mag Aug 2007.

Part of Ithaca's new Excelsior! series of bold, hand-bottled, bottle-conditioned beers. Brewed as a Belgo-American Ale with domestic barley, French wheat malts, Saaz and Santiam hops and a Trappist ale yeast. This is bottle #78 from the April 2007 release.

This beer is cloudy and dirty blonde in color, with a fantastic pure white foam head that laces and sticks to the end. Hints of sugar, peppery alcohol and peach in the nose. Tight carbonation creams up on the palate, with a medium body beneath and some gritty grain tannins. Malts are bit one-dimensional, with a biscuity edge and lots of husky tannins. What stands out the most is the sweetness and the alcohol base, showing spicy and more peppery notes. There's some peach-like fruitiness going on, as well as a light leafy back, while hops come to play with herbal and floral characters here and there. Tannic and dry in the finish.

White Gold definitely defies today's style guidelines, which isn't a bad thing. It's basically a Belgian Tripel meets an American Wheat--it's good, but it could be great if it finished a bit cleaner and offered a bit more depth of malt.

Serving type: bottle

07-06-2010 13:56:12 | More by BeerAdvocate

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Oakenator

Pennsylvania

4.23/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

A: Pours a pale yellow with a decent head. Head retention is minimal and minimal lacing on the glass.

S: Wheat, earthy, some citrus.

T: Clean and dry. Refreshing yet some body. Subtle hop flavor but mostly dominated by wheat flavor.

M: Light, yet has a bit of body.

O: Good brew for summer.

Serving type: on-tap

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Pennsylvania

3/5  rDev -24.1%

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Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev -5.1%

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utopiajane

New York

3.71/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

This beer pours perfectly. Straw color, lemon yellow, sun kissed gold with a white head of foam that fell fast to a thick cap. Great lace. It had a bouquet that filled the nose. Traditional Belgian nose. Yeasty, barnyard, horse blanket, musty, pepper, and ripe fruit. Apples and white grapes with a touch of lemon, & caramel malt. What was missing, if you want to think that it was missing, was bubblegum and banana. No alcohol on the palate either. This drank well. it was dry, crisp and the ripe fruit washed over the palate juicy and a little tart. It drank like dry white wine. Earthy and bright. The malt stood up in the glass and was not weak. The beer had a fine balance. Prickly carbonation so it wasn’t soft but the mouthfeel was pretty good. It’s traditional Belgian. Refreshing and lively.

Serving type: bottle

06-12-2013 12:20:21 | More by utopiajane

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3.5/5  rDev -11.4%

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4/5  rDev +1.3%

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ThomasMetal75

Massachusetts

3.98/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

A- Murky yellow . Lots of head! Bottle was screaming with carbonation.

S- Sour, musty, barnyard filled with horses. Acidic with floral hops.

T- Key words to describe this:
Earthy, grassy, with tart fruitiness and light sour notes. Finish is clean, pretty dry. But it doesn't completely dry your mouth. Floral hop taste is detected, but not real bitter. As it warms, this floral/spicy hop presence is more pronounced. Slight alcohol warmth is detected on the tongue.

M- Real easy to drink. Silky smooth.

Overall, this does taste like a Belgian beer and a refreshing wheat beer mixed together! This is a little too sour to be what I want on a hot day, but real good regardless!

Serving type: bottle

05-09-2013 00:30:58 | More by ThomasMetal75

prototypic

Ohio

4.15/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25

White Gold pours a light gold, almost straw color. It’s very hazy. Backlighting brightens things up a bit and gives it more of a true gold look. An incredible, foamy white head tops it. Carbonation looks very active as it stands about four fingers tall. It’s extremely slow to recede. Never completely dissipates. Lacing was very, very thick and sticky. Thick waves cling to the glass as it descends. Looks really good!

The nose is quite good. It’s very earthy, grainy, and musky up front. Wild yeast is easily noted, although it’s not really funky. Light lemon is apparent. Belgian yeast also has a notable presence. It definitely spices things up quite a bit. Pepper seems like the most notable scent. Some grassy notes emerge. Smells like it might be attributable to hops. Alcohol is a little noticeable, but is blended pretty well.

The flavor is impressive. It is earthy and grainy up front. There’s a little malt sweetness there, but earthy notes predominate. It’s definitely musky. Wild yeast doesn’t add a funky flavor, but it’s definitely musky. It’s a nice complement to the grainy notes and tastes good. I like it. Lemon and white grapes round out its fruity side. Belgian yeast is very tasty and brings a really nice spicy flavor to the mix. Pepper and light clove are noted. Grassy, earthy hop notes emerge late and are a nice touch. Alcohol doesn’t seem to be much of a factor. It’s masked well. Finishes earthy, grainy, musky, and spicy.

White Gold has a body that’s on the lighter side of medium. Carbonation is active, but the bubbles feel rather soft. For a bigger beer, it goes down easily. This one won’t last long.

White Gold is a nice addition to the Excelsior Series. It’s a tasty beer that definitely has more depth and character than you might expect. I wouldn’t fewer bubbles, but that’s my only small complaint. Good stuff. Definitely recommended.

Serving type: bottle

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