Dark Star: Sunburst (England: Golden Ale: 4.8% ABV)
Visual: Clear gold, large amounts of carbonation and good sized bubbled to froth head.
Nose: Coriander and cinnamon. Lemon fresh. Slightly soured bitterness. Sweet condensed cream. Peach. Vanilla toffee.
Body: Good bitterness. Liquorice. Small hints of chocolate liquore. Dried apricot. Frothy texture. Lemon sherbet. Peach and light cream.
Finish: Good bitterness. Very ripe banana. Dry hop character. Light apricot.
Conclusion: The third golden ale this week and this one is a belter. Good bitterness for my tastes and great apricot and sherbet flavours. Sweet, quite distinctly so and if it wasn’t for the accompanying bitterness it would get old fast. As it is the two work with each other so when you get to the end the kick of bitterness is a nice twist.
Very full and fruity, worth holding on the tongue for a while as this allows the sweetness to grow. In fact if you hold long enough you get off liquorice and chocolate liquore out from the mix. This is unexpected and gives that touch of extra luxury to the show. This drinks very nicely, lots of elements that contrast very well. It’s a touch above the run of most golden ales. The flavor range goes to unexpected places and somehow manages to brace against the heavier bitterness.
It’s interesting in that the aroma leads you in nicely, with almost condensed cream sweetness. You get no hint of the bitterness but great foreshadowing of the coming sweetness.
For downsides. Well the finish, though impressively bitter, doesn’t do much else. Not a huge lot wrong else though. It reminds me of Moor’s takes n golden ales, but I would give this one the pip for ambition.
Overall a great bit extra on a golden ale. Lovely bitterness without making it the only thing. Well used fruit and nice extra flavours. Definitely a touch above the crowd
Background: One of a set of beers my family had got in so I had a few beers to review while I was back home over Christmas. This one, from Dark Star, I had high hopes for. I’ve had a few Dark Star beers so far, none had really grabbed me, but they always felt like there was good craftsmanship behind them so it was just a matter of time.
