Ringwood Brewery ‘Forty Niner’ Golden Ale

Rating:

“Ringwood’s Golden Ale was first brewed in 1978 and takes its name from the beers strength at 4.9%. A full-bodied malty beer, Fortyniner has a strong hop character and a deep bitter-sweet finish.”

Glassware: English Pint.

Appearance: Slightly burnished orange to amber with a thumb of finely beaded foam atop. The head slowly recedes and leaves a cascading lace in its wake.

Aroma: Fairly sweet and malty initially then the jammy and citrusy hops gradually peek through. Lots of caramel and artificially sweet overtones, nutty malt, bread/dough, dark fruits, marmalade, apricot, floral perfumes and subtle yeast esters; mostly pear and rosewater. Quite a fascinating aroma… unbelievably rich and sweet for a golden ale.

Flavour: It grapples with the same issue as the aroma in our opinion…which is lots of sweet and sticky malts and little hop character to balance. To be fair there is a slight bitterness that kicks up around the mid and offers grassy and herbal-spicy notes late in the piece. A few more sips and we are getting a bit more citrus and pithy rind, especially in the finish.

Mouthfeel: A little sticky upfront then a developing dryness ensues. Medium body, flat-ish Co2. Only 4.9% ABV so big ups for filling it out as well as they have.

Overall: This is our 2nd entry for Ringwood and we must admit we haven’t been overly impressed. Points for complexity but there’s something about it we’re not digging. The yeast profile maybe? Anywho, there’s far better English ales out there.