Perrin Brewing Company Gold Ale

Aroma: “Assertive orange, grapefruit, and lemon hops. Slightly piney and earthy. Hints of lemongrass, green pepper, and green onion with a background of herbal tea and mint. There’s a touch of bready malt behind the hops.” Flavor: “There’s a lot of hops complexity. Bold citrus with a lemongrass focus. Malt flavors get lost in the shuffle. Light, clean body. Bitter and dry finish with a lingering hops-derived bitterness.” Overall: “More akin to a light-bodied session IPA/dry-hopped pale ale than a golden ale. Still, pleasantly assertive hops aromatics with a bold, hops-forward flavor in a super-light, clean ale. A unique dichotomy of styles.”

Shining raspberries and chocolate bass note in the nose set an expectation for sweet, rich. and decadent. In the flavor, raspberry tartness, chocolate bitterness, and resinous pine clash rather than coalesce. Vegetal undertone, fruit astringency. Tart, bitter finish confuses things.

Aroma: “Moderate tea-like hops up front with underlying grassy and lemon citrus. Then it adds complexity with some smoky, herbal hops followed by grainy malt, sweet bread, and some fruity, tropical hops character.” Flavor: “Hops come through more in the flavor with the herbal and lemon becoming more of a lemongrass character. Malt is still in the background but akin to sweet biscuit. There’s a soapy finish that’s also dry and slightly bitter but not astringent. A light mineral character may be accentuated by the moderate carbonation level.” Overall: “Hops-forward in the aroma while still remaining subtle overall. Enough malt and hops characteristics to be evident but balanced well to complement each other. The tea-like hops seem very subtle and sophisticated. Very drinkable!”