The Oval test match getting washed out, evening runs in the pouring rain, taking an umbrella to work just in case, is it really the middle of August? A golden ale like Ossett Yorkshire Blonde almost feels out of place today, maybe something like a strong stout is more suitable. Anyway, no use complaining when there’s important work to be done ...
Yorkshire Blonde is a 3.9% “Lager-Style Beer” that’s hopped with “a generous late addition of Mount Hood hops”. In the glass it’s the colour of lemon peel, pale and bright; there’s a small little head that doesn’t last long.
Here’s a question: why make a “Lager-Style Beer”? Why not just make a lager?
The aroma is very subtle to me, maybe I’ve got the beer too cold but there’s very little to smell at all. As it warms up I get some lemonade aroma and, call me crazy, but ammonia. Ammonia like the smell you get with hair dye – if you’ve ever spent a morning waiting for the other half in the hair dresser, you might know what I mean. Weird.
In the flavour there’s some initial sweetness, this is broken up nicely but the bitterness in the finish. I’m not sure what happened to that generous late addition of Mount Hood, but they don’t seem to have made it into my glass. There’s a lemony tang going on; with the sweetness and thin body it reminds me of lemonade. I said this about one of the other beers we’ve tasted, but if you told me this was a lager top, I’d probably believe you.
There's a biscuity, toasty, malty character that comes through pretty strongly in the finish.
This beer is kinda just there. The ammonia, hair dye thing is odd, but, that aside, it’s difficult to really like or dislike a beer like this. It’s just there.
I bet it’s much better from cask.
Thoughts?
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The first thing I thought when I poured it into the glass was, it's fizzy, when thinking how to describe the fizziness was that it was as fizzy as lemonade. There we have loeonade again.
ReplyDeleteAroma, not really sure there was one, it was very faint if there.
Taste, agree with the sweetness and faint hints of lemon, didn't get the Ammonia though luckily for me.
I always get my wife to taste the beers we have so as to get her opinion, she described it as , 'One of them cheap bottles of lager we used to get in France'. I can't remember what we used to buy but she is referring to the 24 packs of glass bottles that are a favourite with booze cruisers.
I didn't think there was anything outstanding about this, but it was quite refreshing.
My notes from last night...
ReplyDeleteColour... Pale straw
Not much of a head
Peachy flavours, sharp but a long finish, sour tangerine at the end
Not much on the nose, faint but sweet
A fair bit like Badger Golden Glory
I don't think I've got over my cold - couldn't smell of taste much after great expectations.
ReplyDeleteQuestion. This reminded me of Marstons and Badger beers - not sure what the common factor is - a sort of buttery taste, slightly sweet. (Is "butter" the correct term?). And, I have to be honest, its not a type of beer at the top of my list.
GDB: Agree with you about the nothingy aroma. Yeah, I just drank it and moved on to be honest, nothing really interesting to worry about with it.
ReplyDeleteMike: Didn't get the peach, but interesting that you also say the aroma was pretty much not there.
Drinkerab: Butter, margarine and butter scotch in beer will normally be the result of something called diacetyl (google it - but it's produced when yeast isn't allowed to fully finish fermentation). I didnt get any of that in this beer, but it could be that that's how the sweetness appeared to your tastes.