Golden Pride - Fuller Smith & Turner PLC

LittleCreature

Australia

3.8/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Appearance - 4.0
Pours two fingers of yellowy cream head over a clear, copper coloured body. Head retention somewhat lacking, but it is a gorgeous colour.

Smell - 4.0
Rich and malty, boozy fruitcake, rich malt loaf, caramel and a little zestiness from the hops. A little too much alcohol on the nose.

Taste - 4.0
A pattern is emerging here. At 8.5% ABV, Golden Pride is a strong beer, but there are stronger that hide their alcohol a lot better. A full bodied beer with rich, toasty malt, hard toffee, burnt fruitcake, and a complex hop character that provides flavour (pine needles, orange peel)as well as balance to the brew.

Mouthfeel - 4.0
Fine carbonation, smooth, almost oily in the mouth, but overall mouthfeel is affected by the alcohol, which is overly warming.

Drinkability - 3.0
This should really be in a 330mL bottle, it's too strong to really want to drink 500mL in a sitting. Best suited as a sipper while watching a movie on a cold night.

OVERALL - 3.9
Good but not great. I would buy Golden Pride again, as it makes a fine winter night's sipper. The rest of the time, its (alcoholic) strength is its greatest weakness.

Serving type: bottle

06-26-2009 09:36:55 | More by LittleCreature

soulgrowl

United Kingdom (England)

3.95/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Not golden, as it turns out - more of a nectarine skin-amber brown. Its parchment head is not very impressive in terms of size or retention, but the nose is lovely: plenty of caramel/toffee malts to anchor more volatile, spicy notes of ginger, lemon, brandy, and a little bit of leafy/piney hops. Sweet on the palate with a nice, sticky, lush (and a bit syrupy) body, nicely balanced by a punch of fresh, citric hops and warm alcohol spice. Vanilla, rum, and perfumey floral notes lend a festive feel to a sweet, mellow, fruity barleywine base. Quite drinkable despite its strength; a good "fireplace beer," but I can imagine this could even be refreshing if served chilled. It's also nice with fried fish, especially with a bit of lemon.

Serving type: bottle

06-04-2009 13:43:51 | More by soulgrowl

Bananaman

Sweden

3.85/5  rDev -4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Well then, another beer from Fuller's - one of my favourite breweries from England. Here we go;

The beer pours a amber color with a nice white/beige head that later settles to a nice, tight, lid of foam. The bottle is clean and good looking as always from these brewers.

Aroma holds some nice malty notes with hints of toffee or caramel. There are also some slightly flowery notes from the hops. Nice, but nothing special really.

Taste is better though! Lots of malts, this beer is very malt dominated and quite sweet actually. There are also some of those earlier mentioned, slightly flowery, hops in there! In general this is a very warming beer, would be perfect on a cold winters day. The mouthfeel is quite silky, almost oily, nice!

In general, a good strong ale from Fuller's, and quite some value for the money around since it costs only 17.90 SEK which is slightly less than 2 USD.

Serving type: bottle

05-09-2009 17:20:00 | More by Bananaman

jwc215

New Jersey

3.43/5  rDev -14.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Best before 15/02/10:

Pours bright amber copper with an off-white head. Nice retention and lacing.

The smell is of citrus and wood with a grainy sweetness - very boozy - borders rubbing alcohol.

The taste is of caramel and nuts - malty with a bitter, boozy aftertaste.

The body is full and almost syrupy, yet with a certain "swish" about it.

Alcohol is not covered well. The malty complexity quickly turns bitter in the finish (too quickly). I'm thinking aging would help to bring things together, but that's just a guess. As it is it is sweet and boozy turning quickly to a bitter aftertaste. Still, it is an interesting brew with some nice malty complexities going on.

Serving type: bottle

04-30-2009 01:07:09 | More by jwc215

Asgeirr

Sweden

4/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: Golden Pride pours a brown toned copper along with a umbra-to-white crown of circa 2" of height, it diminishes in a clearly visible manner, however, it leaves a lid on top of the brew which remains for quite some time.

Smell: Oh, interesting! Strong scents of butterscotch, a cream-like and pleasant roundness along with some acidic notes and an overall rum-like sense to it. Pretty darn powerful in my not so humble opinion!

Taste: Burnt malt characteristics linger on from beginning to the - not all too - bitter end. A slightly rough hop touch which brings forth the fruitier end of this brew. Finally we get a strong touch of, should I say pepper?!

Mouthfeel: Creamy and warming due to the high level of alcohol, low in carbonation.

Drinkability: Drinkable? You freaking bet, it's full in character resounding in smell and taste, and plenty of it will knock ya of yer boots - what more could you ask for?

Serving type: bottle

04-25-2009 17:04:58 | More by Asgeirr

ricke

Sweden

3.73/5  rDev -7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

A: Amber colored with brown hues. A very small white head that dissipates quickly and leaves minimal lacings.

S: Plenty of malts, sweet chocolate, very light hop aromas. Dried fruits, raisins and quite prominent alcohol, almost solvent-like.

T: Predominantly sweet. Bold juicy malt character with plenty of caramel notes. Some fruits and raisins. Brown sugar and sweet chocolate. Nutty flavors (almonds), hints of oak. Gentle floral hops and faint spices. The finish is surprisingly short, minimally bitter and is dominated by warming alcohol.

M: Full bodied, very smooth. Low levels of carbonation. The mouthfeel is actually the highlight of the beer.

D: A good beer, but nothing spectacular. It's slightly too focused on sweet flavors. The alcohol isn't really that overly prominent, but still it doesn't feel totally integrated with the other flavors. I liked it, but I think there are better strong ales out there.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2009 21:21:40 | More by ricke

linnet

Sweden

4.05/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Small white head, amber colour, some lacing. Aroma is sweet, malty, jam, oranges, solvents, alcohol. Flavour is sweet, jam, sugar,almonds, oranges and some hops in the aftertaste. Mouthfeel is very smooth, small bubbles. I have been told that this is supposed to be similar to a barleywine in character, but it wasn't to me, good beer though.

Serving type: bottle

04-18-2009 12:50:31 | More by linnet

DoubleJ

California

4.25/5  rDev +6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I love Fuller's. So why I can't I find this beer where I live? But wait, I was at O'Malley's in São Paulo two days ago. And they had this beer! So, let's try it out. On to the beer:

A darker tinted orange, hues of yellow and fool's gold in the body. Great head retention. The aroma is very pleasant, but will knock you out if you're not careful. Lots of toasted caramel and nuts, with bits and pieces of butterscotch.

In the mouth, you get slapped with a big body and kick of booze. Once you get passed that, it's great. Strong nutty flavor, Toasted grain with caramel and toffee notes make this a stronger pale ale to my taste, but a well constructed one. Some fruity undertones beneath. The stomach warms up the further I go along. This is just a damn good ale.

Serving type: bottle

01-26-2009 23:03:39 | More by DoubleJ

marquis

United Kingdom (England)

4.47/5  rDev +11.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

At the pub I found this gem the beer was cheaper than Amstel and Guinness!
A lovelybeer, mostly reminiscent of a tawny port , packed full of flavour and beautifully balanced.
Being used to beer which one can just drink and drink again I had to adjust my sights a little.Personally, bearing in mind the sheer amount of flavour packed into the brew, I regard it more as a barley wine rather than a beer.Semantics? Perhaps but that's how I see it.

Serving type: cask

01-21-2009 13:46:20 | More by marquis

JohnfromDublin

Ireland

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

I tasted this 500ml bottle on 22.11.2008 (best by date 08/05/09).

It had a short-lived light tan coloured head over a mahogony coloured body with a slight haze.

The taste was a back-of-the-throat maltiness with a dark toffee sweetness to offset the bitter hop kick.

Mouthfeel was smooth. Overall a fairly complex and strong warming earthy brew.

Serving type: bottle

11-24-2008 09:43:18 | More by JohnfromDublin

Sage

United Kingdom (England)

4.45/5  rDev +11%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Had to have one of these when I saw it in the fridge in a Fuller's in North Greenwich - this is one of the best English beers i've ever had. Pours a rich goldy-red, a wonderfully vivid colour, with minimal head. Smell is not hugely strong, but sweet and fruity. It was perhaps a bit too cold (i've never quite discovered the best temperature to serve this beer at), but there are a lot of fruit flavours in here, with the satisfying alcoholic kick coming in towards the finish. Superbly well-balanced for a beer of its strength, nowhere near as heavy as most barley wines. And dangerously drinkable - you'll find it an effort of will to go back to a weaker beer after this...

Serving type: bottle

09-11-2008 11:30:33 | More by Sage

blamoe

United Kingdom (England)

4.18/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Fullers Golden Pride is a very good example that strong ales can be smooth and highly drinkable. The taste is very malty but with a kick of hops and to my suprise not a heavy ale. This is one of my prefered Barley Wines and it's so easy to forget how strong they are and have a few to many. Well done Fullers.

Serving type: bottle

06-17-2008 18:14:35 | More by blamoe

TheManiacalOne

Rhode Island

4.18/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On nitro-tap 4/10/08 at British Beer Company in Walpole, MA, served in a US tumbler pint glass.

A: The beer is a dark gold color, with a large, dense off-white head that fades very slowly and leaves a very thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma is of caramelized malts, nuts, tea, some honey and some hops.

T: The taste is nicely balanced with flavors of caramel, honey and tea. There's a mild but complimentary hops presence. The malt character is hearty but not too heavy. The after-taste is slightly sweet.

M: Crisp and very smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is clean.

D: Tasty, goes down very easy, not too filling, good kick, nice representation of style, this is a very good beer that I could stick with for the duration of the evening.

Serving type: nitro-tap

04-11-2008 14:53:57 | More by TheManiacalOne

BEERchitect

Kentucky

4.25/5  rDev +6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pazzo's took the Ole Winter Ale off tap for a few hours to share this treasure of a beer with their patrons. Certainly glad I was there. This beer is quite special, reminding me of the Vintage Ales, with a more subdued alcohol complex and power in the flavors. The first sip delivers a plethera of complexity, tons of flavors, and spicy character. Certainly rests on a foundation, built on malts. Shows a lot of cotton-candy sweetness, berries, cherries, dates, figs, plumbs, nuts, caramel, and lightly toasted breads. Balanced by firm, pungent hops with a faint herbal tone. Alcohols are warming, but weave nicely into the complex malts until they are hardly noticed. Finishes sweet, but balanced and with a long sherry-like lingering.

Serving type: on-tap

01-03-2008 21:11:46 | More by BEERchitect

DaveUK

United Kingdom (England)

3.68/5  rDev -8.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Appearance - Tawny brown-red with a thick head of foam initially. Disappointing reduction of head down the glass, fading to a thin ring after half drunk.

Aroma - floral hops and dried fruit with the alcohol readily apparent.

Taste - Rich roasted malt and dominated by dried fruit reminiscent of dates, prunes etc. Followed by alcohol and spicy hops that linger for a good while.

Mouthfeel - Initially medium but quickly becomes heavy with a noticeable sweetness as the beer is drunk. A mild but persistent sour note is also present.

Drinkability - A powerful and complex beer, rich and satisfying. However, its strength and richness makes this beer not for all occasions. Perhaps as an digestif or as a winter warmer to combat cold conditions. This inflexibility marks it down in my personal tastes.

Serving type: bottle

11-18-2007 21:00:45 | More by DaveUK

bark

Sweden

3.75/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

The colour is deep brown red; the beige two finger head slowly sinks down, leaving some lancing.

The sweet smell is nutty and alcoholic with matured notes of raisins, Madeira and dried fruits in general. It is a very rich scent.

The taste is sweet and very matured (there are some light notes of oak/wood casks) with lots of marzipan, hazelnuts and Brazil nuts. Some traces of cocoa, dark rum, caramel and candy sugar. The aftertaste got a hint of bitterness, although it is mild. There are also some raisins, bitter almonds, sweet wine, oak aged flavours and a touch of cinnamon. The alcohol is overall well hidden.

The carbonation is medium strong, some small bubbles. The liquid is very smooth.

This is a clearly well crafted beer; balanced, matured and all. But I just don’t appreciate the style enough to give it a higher grade. And in fact, I prefer the Strong Ale from Swedish brewery Slottskällans.

Serving type: bottle

11-02-2007 22:25:53 | More by bark

brewandbbq

New Hampshire

4.15/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Vintage 1996? Best before date of 1997..

Pours cloudy amber with chestnut hues. A spritzy head rose to a quarter inch at best and quickly fizzled away.
A few errant dots of beige lacework clung to the glass above the still, bare surface.
Aromatics are juicy and malty, with dark fruit and a vineous nod.
Slight boozy undertones run tandem with a syrupy honey note.
Hints of cherries and spicey phenols round out the nose.
Mouthfeel is tacky and thickish. Carbonation is light and doesn't cut through the body.
Fruits with a plump malt character lead the pallet, with some hottish vineousity carrying through. Firmly bitter and a bit crispish, but residuals win out. Lingering clover honey and hints of grape jam and red wine appear as the brew warms.
Finishes warming and a bit prickly on the throat, with a slick afterthought.
Oxidation is mildly apparent with a wet cardboard aftertaste, and freshers days have since passed, but all in all, she held up pretty damn good.

Serving type: bottle

01-11-2007 23:50:55 | More by brewandbbq

mdagnew

United Kingdom (Northern Ireland)

4/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

500ml bottle bought from Sainsbury's..

Poured a deep coppery brown / amber colour... Creamy tan head poured quite thick and foamy then faded to light layer... no real lacing or carbonation...

Aroma - Spicy fruits (figs, raisins, dates), toffee maltiness, some biscuity notes, treacle, some nuttiness, rum hints, light hops, some floral notes...

Taste – Rich toffee / caramel malts, molasses, spicy fruits (alchohol soaked raisins, dates), nice warming alcohol, bready - malt loaf notes, rum, nice hop bitterness cuts through the sweetness, light aniseed traces...

Feel - Pretty smooth and creamy, slight oily notes... Medium / full body...

Overall - A nice warming brew for sipping... an excellent example of the style... recommended...

Serving type: bottle

07-03-2006 11:12:35 | More by mdagnew

wl0307

United Kingdom (England)

4.3/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

500ml brown bottle. BB 23/06/06. Served lightly chilled in a broad-rimmed goblet.

A: pours a clear, elegant dark tawny to copper hue, coming with a thick, off-white frothy head with a texture as tight as pre-cooked meringue... leaving very fine sheets of lacing on the sides of the glass; a lone stream of tiny bubbles ascends in the glass--beautiful.
S: semi-sweetish pale or amber malt aroma combined with a touch of caramel, a bit like flavoured malt syrup, not thick but intense; backed by a lovely flow of sweet flower hop and fruit estery aroma like processed honey+red apples+sweet pears+a hint of marmalade. All elements are well-blended together, against a solid backbone of light alcoholic touch--ever so pleasant and not overpowering at all.
T: thick textured malts flow onto the palate, bringing with it smooth fruity hops, black tea syrup, treacles, licorice, and a fast-magnifying herbal hoppiness and slightly peppery bitterness on the sides of the palate; slowly an underlying dark fruity flavour like unsweetend dried longan-fruits+dried dates+dried forest berries+faintly marmalade intensifies at the back of the palate, along with a warmish spring creeping down the throat; finished semi-dryish and lingering, satifyingly and quietly bitter, almost like Chinese herb medicine soup added with touches of spice and malt syrup. Beautifully structured flavour and nice balance is retained on the palate throughout.
M: very rich yet smooth on the palate, thankfully not too sharp for its high alc. strength; 100% body, no more no less, while the rich flavour is tuned quite nicely to make it rather easy to sip!! An impressive beer by the Fuller's. It used to be available only in 330ml bottles around four years ago as I remember it, and now it comes in bigger bottles, maybe due to higher popularity I reckon? But this beer is best to be shared b/w buddies over a fireside chat, otherwise it could trick people to consume too much without even feeling the strength!!

Serving type: bottle

12-07-2005 03:35:51 | More by wl0307

twilight

Germany

4.43/5  rDev +10.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Acquired at Sainsbury's Vauxhall, a supermarket, in London last May. Been in the fridge ever since. Pours a beautiful reddish brown, belying the "golden" on the label. then again, I didn't think this was going to be a pale beer. Aroma is sweet with slight caramels and a "Dry smell" that I'm attributing to the hops. Big caramel and toffee with very bitter earthy hops in there. Huge. Almost like a proper English version of Arrogant Bastard. Call him a Rough Yob. Kind of like drinking candy. Sweet and malty and yum and yum and yum. Balanced with the hops, but not like the licorice taste of 1845. Mouthfeel is lightly carbonated and proper, and drinkability goes through the roof with its lovely English character.

Serving type: bottle

09-02-2005 00:35:09 | More by twilight

GreenCard

Oregon

3.95/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Appearance: reddish-amber, great clarity, thinnish cap of off-white foam that flattens to a smattering of bubbles

Aroma: caramelly malt, pineapple fruitiness, bubblegum scent, faint herbal hops

Flavor: chewy maltiness up front, grassy hop flavor, slight roast edge, zesty alcohol punch, raisins, hint of caramel, finishes semisweet with a caramel aftertaste and lingering alkaloidal bitterness

Mouthfeel: full body, fine carbonation, blooming alcohol warmth, soft texture

Other comments: Wow! Not what I was expecting! Didn't read the label before I poured the beer and was surprised by the color, body, and sweetness. Then I see 8.5% abv and it all makes sense!

Pretty scrumptious beer!

Serving type: bottle

03-22-2005 20:10:34 | More by GreenCard

Sigmund

Norway

3.9/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

330 ml bottle, at The Beehive, Brentford, London. Copper coloured, moderate head. Malty sweet aroma with hints of dried fruits, oak and sherry. Flavour is malty sweet with oak, dried figs and dusty hops. Interesting beer. Warming mouthfeel, as expected from an 8.5% ABV beer.

Serving type: bottle

03-01-2005 23:13:09 | More by Sigmund

cypressbob

United Kingdom (Northern Ireland)

4.13/5  rDev +3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

500ml bottle

Pours with a dark amber body, slight tan head with pretty poor retention

Smell, strong whiff of alcohol, some hint of toffee and caramel, nutty with a hint of cinnamon

Taste, not overly carbonated, sweet alcohol coming through, toffee, some hop bitterness on the finish

A very good strong ale, as far as it being a scotch wee heavy, methinks not, more a strong ale or barely wine, very potent alcohol on the breath, not something you'd want to even touch if your driving

Serving type: bottle

01-29-2005 21:14:15 | More by cypressbob

stjarnflikka

Sweden

3.65/5  rDev -9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Pours a clear, bright red-orange beer with nice small bubbles. No mentionable foam though.

The smell is sweet with very clear apple-traces. Its fresh and has traces of malt in it.

The taste is clearly bitter with a quite strong alcohol taste. There is no strong sweetness but there is a string malty and bitter taste. The aftertaste is somewhat bready, citric and bitter.

This is a "big" beer that has a great taste. Sadly i think the alcohol is way to overwhelming but its nice to sit and sip on this one.

Serving type: bottle

11-30-2004 16:43:44 | More by stjarnflikka

CAMRAhardliner

Ontario (Canada)

3.93/5  rDev -2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

The end of the blurb on back of the label reads "Without Doubt, this is the finest example of our brewers art. Truly the connoisseur's choice." Pretty Ambitious (some might say boastful). Since I love at least 4 of Fuller's brews, I thought this was worth a try.

pours a deep amber that looks incredible. The head is quick to dissapear but leaves plenty of lace behind. The aroma is of plums, brandy and grains, with an alcohol twang. The taste is very complex with malts dominating. I keep thinking of different liquors when sipping this, like cognac, brandy, and port. Theres lots of raisins, figs, plums and even some grape skins. The hops are barely perceptable except for some structural bitterness.

The mouthfeel is very smooth with medium amounts of carbonation. The drinkability is fine but a bit encumbered by a spicy alcohol aftertaste. Over all a very great beer, though not as great as the label claims, that goes for Fuller's ESB.

Serving type: bottle

08-28-2004 04:11:15 | More by CAMRAhardliner