When I first encountered Valhalla's Golden Ale it reminded me of Boneyard Brewing's beer of the same name. The latter was something of an early classic of the style – lean, pithy, very dry and all about the grapefruit aromas and flavours. The Valhalla Golden Ale you'll find now, however, has moved with the times and been refashioned for more contemporary tastes, becoming a more approachable easy-drinker along the way.
It's now fluffier, for one, and pale as with sweet, light cracker malts and soft floral and citrus hop characters from the El Dorado, Ella and Amarillo hops upfront, and hints of a lime top note too. Yet, while the pithiness and uber-dryness of the original have been softened, and the bitterness is retrained, it still builds to a quenching dryness designed to lure you back for more.
James Smith
