Skip to main content

Golden Ale? Blonde Ale? Pale Ale? Oh my!

Work is the curse of the drinking classes

Oscar Wilde


Happy Paddy's Day, lets grab a pint on The Art of Caesura!

 Over the past 6 weeks we've been looking at all of the full-body miniatures currently available for The World of Smog. I want to give a special go raibh maith agat to those people over on the Kickstarter forums who had nice things to say - that was great! 

We'll be moving on this week, so those of you not into The World of Smog can breathe a huge sigh of relief, and those of you who are...don't worry, I've still got about half of the busts to paint (and that's before the new game arrives next year) so there will be plenty more World of Smog in our futures. 

 Many moons ago I started brewing a beer quite different to those that I had brewed before. Apart from the lighter colour, one of the craziest differences is that (as per the recipe) I didn't add ANY sugar for fermentation! This was a huge change for me, because the last recipe called for a kilo of sugar for the 23L. I can only assume that there must be something in the liquid malt extract for the yeast to feed off. 

Anyway, this time 'round we're whetting (and wetting) our pallets with Mangrove Jack's Robber's Gold Golden Ale. But first, what is a Golden Ale you ask? 

 So apparently Golden Ales and Blonde Ales are the same thing (though it is acknowledged that some beer connoisseurs contest this) apparently the term "Blonde Ale" is more used in Europe (and Canada in my experience), while "Golden Ale" is used in the UK (and seemingly Ireland). Golden Ales are quite new, having been developed in the 1980s to lure lager-drinkers over to ale. The main feature is a biscuity and juicy malt flavour from pale malts (malts that are dried using coke - a kind coal with less impurities). These malts give it the lighter colour too.

So then, what's the difference between Golden Ales and Pale Ales? Well, Golden Ale is a type of Pale Ale (as is Amber Ale, English Bitter, Red Ale, IPA...) and while Golden Ales are new, Pale Ales as a class are old. Like over 300 years old! Pale Ales are defined by their coke-roasted malt but differentiated by their hops and alcohol content. 

 Now that we have a better understanding of what a Golden Ale is, next week we can see how mine turned out!

 Thanks for joining me as I dabble through the intricacies of the wonderful world of beer. For homework lets go try some Golden Ales / Blondes, I'd recommend Beoir Chorca Dhuibhne's Beal Ban (and would not recommend Guinness's Golden Ale).

See you next week for more Golden Ale on The Art of Caesura!
Reading: Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery - Henry Marsh
Watching: Kong: Skull Island - Vogt-Roberts 
Drinking: Robber's Gold
Listening: Daddy - Psy
Next Week:

 Tasting and Judgement!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Tell me all...

Popular posts from this blog

The Full Stop - Oathsworn: Into the Deepwood

The monstrous Deepwood has consumed the land.  No farms or fields remain. There is only corruption, rot and the endless shadow of the twisted trees. ~ Shadowborne Games Pot's Peace, Oathsworn. Welcome to The Art of Caesura! What's all this then, TWO posts in one day!? Well yes, you see timing is of the essence here. Today marks the 200th post of The Art of Caesura , so if you haven't had a chance to check out the celebratory post, please do so !  There is also a Kickstarter ongoing at the moment, that I am getting quite excited by, but it closes on Tuesday, so if I left it till next Friday to tell you about it...it would be too late! Hence, in a world first, two hits of The Art of Caesura in one day! Now onward, into the world of Oathsworn: Into the Deepwood ! Credit: Shadowborne Games Nota bene : I am not associated with Shadowborne Games, and am just writing this because it is something that I am genuinely excited about. None of the ...
2 comments
Read More >>

The Full Stop - A Deep Dive into Warhammer 40k Combat Patrol

Welcome to Combat Patrol!  Whether you are a new recruit to Warhammer 40,000  or a seasoned veteran,  Combat Patrol is all about getting your forces  into action as quickly as possible. - Combat Patrol Rules - Games Workshop Welcome back to the Art of Caesura! Recent readers will see that we've been looking at our fun little Warhammer gathering, KillCon over the past few weeks. Two weeks ago I provided a narrative verion of my game of Combat Patrol of my Black Templars vs. Tristan's Tyranids where as l ast week I gave a more "gamer oriented" play-by-play of the game.  Today I want to dive deeper into this accessible and engaging game-type. I want to argue that Combat Patrol is not just for beginners. Combat Patrol in 10th Edition is Games Workshop's new smallest scale Warhammer 40k game type. But unlike in previous editions, where it just meant that both sides took 500 point armies and went at it, in this edition, Games Workshop has changed things up a litt...
Post a Comment
Read More >>

"The Skinny" - Scale 75 Flesh Paint Set Review

The complexion of a light-skinned face  divides into three zones: The forehead has a light golden colour  because it's freer of muscles and surface capillaries. The ears, cheeks and nose all lie within the central zone of the face.  Those areas have more capillaries carrying oxygenated blood near the surface, causing the reddish colour... The zone from the nose to the chin (where there are relatively more veins carrying blue deoxygenated blood) tends toward a bluish, greenish or greyish colour. Some artists accentuated this subtle bluish or greenish hue to bring out the reddish lip colour. Color and Light (page 156) - James Gurney Welcome all to The Art of Caesura! So I finished all the models in Warhammer Quest Silver Tower!! Wooohooo!! Now for something a bit different!  This week I'm going to do something I've never done on the blog before: write a review!! I've been wanting to write my thoughts on  Scale 75 's Flesh Paint Set fo...
3 comments
Read More >>