I fundamentally refuse to trust English weather. I’ve been burned and/or soaked too many times before, with glorious sunshine turning into violent thunderstorm and maybe even hail in the space of just a few minutes. Perhaps we’ve had enough consecutive sunny days now for me to finally admit summer is here, but you still won’t catch me out and about without a coat. It’s just not worth the risk.
Though I’m still wrapped up warm and dry, I’m happy to admit it’s an appropriate time of year for summer ales. And so today I’m tucking into the Golden Ale from St Peter’s brewery in Suffolk.
You’ll probably have noticed St Peter’s beers sitting on the supermarket shelves purely because of the bottle. They look medicinal, or perhaps even like a hip flask. It certainly sits nicely in my pocket on the walk home from the shops, so it gains points there just for that.
The Golden Ale is a pale amber (gold is a bit of a stretch) with a thin, bright white head. It smells somewhat malty and this comes through in grainy, biscuity notes in the aftertaste. The hops hit you hard with bitterness and hints of fruit at first, but this is no overhopped pale ale – it’s a nice balance, with just enough bitterness to counter the malt.
St Peter’s Golden Ale is worth a buy for the pretty bottle alone. The tasty beer inside is a nice bonus. 3/5
