Results tagged “Styrian Goldings” from An English Epicure

This one is a Christmas special from the Wychwood brewery. They call it a “seasonal brew with plum and spice” but we all know it’s just a marketing ploy to cash in on the primary gifting period.

It has a rich malt aroma and it tastes of Christmas. Either that or an average dark ale with a hint of spiced fruit. Well, “average” may be a bit too harsh (it is a nice ale) but it isn’t really anything special. It’s pretty much exactly what you’d expect from a Christmas special, which is exactly what I wanted when I chose it. Hooray.

It has goblins with a Christmas pudding on the label and it’s 5.0% ABV.

This is a light bitter from the Badger Brewery. It is 4.5% ABV.

Although this beer is one of Badger’s ridiculous animal themed bitters, it is an excellent example of hoppiness done well. Hops are added to the brewing coppers three times: two lots of Super Styrian hops and one of Styrian Goldings. I believe the lovely, almost sweet aroma comes from the final batch, while the potent bitterness comes from the first two. The malt is very subdued in this beer, most of the flavour comes from the hops. And yet they are not astringent.

I’m not sure how they manage to create beers that are so hoppy and bitter without the bitterness being unpleasant. More to the point, why is it that some beers are astringent and make my tongue curl, while beers such as this one are just as bitter but taste lovely? Is it just the variety of hops used? My notes so far suggest that Goldings hops might be the cause of the flavour that I don’t much like. Perhaps they only work when blended with others, as in this beer or Tribute. On the other hand, there are many different types of Goldings hops - how similar are they all to each other? Clearly more research must be done.