St. James’s Gate Brewery – Guinness Golden Ale

What better way to make the most of the British sunshine than to sit in the garden and enjoy a nice, cold Guinness – their new ‘Golden Ale’ that is.

The 250 year old company has clearly been trying to grab a part of the booming real ale market. Both the West Indies and Dublin Porter hit the market recently, and an American Lager was introduced to the U.S. So, their hoping this Golden Ale is a step further to capitalising the industry. But is the brand being stretched too far?

The creator of this new addition said he hoped it would appeal to a “broad range of people” and “introduce them to premium ale”. After hearing that and drinking a bottle, I now can’t help but think the people at Guinness are mainly targeting their regular draught stout fans to try, then continue to buy it. It’s like they’ve designed it to appeal for people without the passion for craft beers. Based on the beer itself I feel seasoned ale drinkers will try this once out of curiosity but probably never again…

It’s got a rich colour, but no head. Flavours are really subtle, and borders on being quite dull and bland. It’s not as bold as the stout, it’s a little lacklustre and really didn’t evoke the happy summer feeling that so many beers of this style can. Although it’s perfectly refreshing, it just doesn’t stimulate any interest – it’s plain boring. All in all, uninspiring and no where near on par with the smattering of golden ales the UK already has to offer.

Stick with Arthur Guinness’ Irish dry stout.