Judge's Review: 82 Rating - Belgian Golden by Double Nickel Brewing Co.

Belgian Golden by Double Nickel Brewing Co. is a Belgian Golden Strong Ale and will be judged as such by BJCP 2015 guideline 25C.

This beer pours a deep golden color with an orange hue, a big fluffy white head that lasts forever, great clarity and lots of tiny bubbles. Despite the look of being bubbly, the beer actually doesn’t come off as effervescent as the style typically is. This seems to be due to the higher-than-usual body that is fairly rich and not that dry. This, along with the fairly sweet character (candied sugar), suggests the final gravity is higher than intended. The rest seems to hit the spot though. There is plenty of Belgian spice (clove, coriander, white peppercorn) and light esters (orange peel, pear) up front, along with some alcoholic warmth and light floral hops. As the beer warms, it leans more towards the fruity esters (red apple, banana), but the sweetness also becomes more apparent (honey, candied ginger). It’s almost reminiscent of banana fosters, but with a bit more spice complexity. It’s a tasty beer for sure, but it drinks sweeter/bigger than it should. A drier finish would really make it all come together.