Fuller’s ‘Golden Pride’ English Strong Ale

Rating:

“Golden Pride guarantees a superb range of flavours, that is sure to satisfy even the most discerning of palates. Our brewers describe Golden Pride thus: ‘ deep amber in appearance, Golden Pride is full bodied, of moderate bitterness, moderately hopped and rich in malt. Full flavoured, and reminiscent of sweet orange oil, toasted grains, and bread. Rich malty aromas lead to a similarly styled palate, with an intense finish. Sweet and bitter flavours are expressed in good balance in this weighty brew.’ Or as the late Michael Jackson, beer writer and connoisseur, put it: ‘the Cognac of beers’.”

Glassware: English Pint.

Appearance: Magnificent looking beer: somewhat light chestnut hue with soft red highlights. It caps off with a thumb of tan foam which slowly recedes. Fine lacing as we imbibe.

Aroma: Equally magnificent as the looks. A straight up and down bread bomb with a good helping of dark fruits and liqueur to sweeten the deal. The longer it sits in the glass the more it becomes like a deliciously decadent English Barleywine – massive malt foundations with tonnes of residual sweetness and warming booze. We’re loving this!

Flavour: Exactly how we wanted it to taste. Uber sweet and kinda toasty malt profile but nicely balanced by the Golding/Challenger/Target hops which provide ye Olde marmalade, herbal, floral and spicy vibes. There’s also a big dark fruit presence i.e raisin, dates, plum, even venturing into Port and dessert wine territory at times. Nice little roasty/toasty aspect to balance out the decadent finish.

Mouthfeel: Super smooth and velvety, well rounded and sticky. Medium-full body, mild-moderate Co2. The 8.5% ABV slots in so perfectly.

Overall: We were searching for the one perfect word to sum this up but it doesn’t exist so the short version is pure elegance, complexity and just good old fashioned class. Top shelf stuff.