Golden Ales - the eyes have it

Every August the Campaign For Real Ale (CAMRA) holds its competition for the Champion Beer of Great Britain during the Great British Beer Festival. It's a prestigious event and it can be argued that it is a barometer to what beer enthusiasts are currently drinking. In the last few years, winners have included Oakham Ales' JHB, Caledonian's Deuchar's IPA, Harviestoun's Bitter & Twisted and Crouch Vale’s Brewers Gold (twice). What connects these beers, apart from their relatively low gravity (3.8%-4.2%), is the colour. All of them are pale golden or straw coloured, pleasing to look at and to drink. As well as being champions they are phenomenally successful beers in the trade, both licensed and take-home. Furthermore, they are members of a modern category of beer: golden ales. These are cross-over beers. As well as being popular with real ale drinkers they have reached out to lager and wine lovers who are more likely to plump for a beer the colour of Chardonnay or Carling than a coal black stout.

The love for a crystal clear beer looking like a ray of sunlight is no new thing. It can be traced back to the middle of the 19th century when the new India Pale Ales found great favour with the emerging middle classes. These were golden and packed with plenty of hop character. They were originally brewed to be shipped out to India (hence the name) and needed to be highly hopped and strong in alcohol to survive the journey. By the time they reached the other side of the world, the hoppiness and alcohol had mellowed out and the beer was a great favourite. News of its fame reached the home country and its success was assured. The advance of IPAs in England was also helped by the jettisoning of glass tax in the mid 19th-century, meaning that clear glasses suddenly became available. People could see what they were drinking. Dark and murky porters were thought to be the province of the working classes, so the middle classes could assert their class superiority with a glass of IPA.

The Golden Ale of modern drinking is only a couple of decades old, and was kicked off by Exmoor Ales (or Golden Hill Brewery as it was known) in Somerset with its pioneering Gold in the 1980s. At the time, brown was the dominant beer colour, with many of the beers rich and sweet with pungent or earthy hop character. Gold was different in that it was a single-malt beer (Pale Ale Malt) and was hopped in a way that produced a light and fruity hoppiness. This is a trailblazing beer that has won many awards and kicked off a whole new style in the brewing industry. Not many modern beers can claim that distinction.

Exmoor Gold: the first and original Golden Ale!