Summit Unchained Series Batch 06 - Gold Sovereign Ale

I recently realized that I need to try very hard to keep from falling behind on my beer sessions with our local limited batch brews. I did manage to fully catch up on the Schell's Stag Series first, and then picked up the slack on the Summit Unchained Series. Now that those sessions are complete, it's time to get to the present beer in the Unchained Series: Batch 06 - Gold Sovereign Ale.

If you've been watching the Unchained Series closely, you'll have seen that each batch has been created by a different Summit brewer. Batch 06 is no different and the mastermind behind this beer is Damian McConn.

Damian is the guy in charge of Summit's casks, so you may be familiar with his work. (I personally was blown away when I first tried the dry hopped cask Horizon Red Ale.) When I participated in Great Waters' Ultimate Beer Tour, I was lucky enough to have him as a tour guide when we hit Summit. I can definitely say that was the best Summit tour I've ever had. Damian is a fun guy with a lot of beer knowledge (obviously), so I was excited when I initially heard he created this batch.

Damian based this batch on an old English ale recipe from 1857. The twist is this: he used very modern ingredients that have only been used by British brewers within the last few years. I've heard it called an East India Pale Ale; I've heard it called a Victorian Pale Ale. Whatever you want to call it, all that really matters is how it tastes. I'm ready to get this session rolling, but first...

If you compare my past photos of Summit beers to this photo for Unchained 6, do you notice anything different? Look closely at the top of the bottle. See it yet? That's right, they switched from twist-offs to the traditional pry-off caps. Summit had been hearing customers tell them how hard it was to open the twist-off caps. (I myself had shredded a little skin up from time to time so I could enjoy their beer.) This was due to the fact they put the caps on as tightly as possible to protect the precious liquid inside, which is a noble deed appreciated by craft beer lovers. The only problem was that most people had to resort to using a bottle opener to get the cap off. So, the minds at Summit figured they might as well switch to pry-off caps if an opener was already required for the twist-offs. Now, you still have to use an opener, but the beer is protected better than ever!

I pour the 12 ounce bottle into my imperial pint glass and create a 2 finger off-white head in the process. The foam gradually sinks into a coarse, uneven coating with a sticky ring around the sides of the glass. The body is slightly cloudy and golden in color.

Pleasant, light aromas fill my nostrils. Honey, bread, and what smells like fresh-cut grass blend wonderfully with the scents of peaches and apricots. There is also a definite herbal quality present in the nose. I'm starting to crave a taste...

The flavor of biscuits along with a light fruit sweetness is followed by just a bit of citrus zing. Then a slightly earthy hop spice chips away at a bit of the malt while a bitter tang starts building from midway through and lingers strongly at the finish.

The weight of this brew is surprisingly light in the mouth with some mild carbonation. It's very smooth and easy to swallow, yet keeps a nice crispness. My glass has some pretty lacing sticking as the beer level drops.

Gold Sovereign Ale is very different from most IPAs I've tried (if we've decided it's an IPA), but it a good way. It's light, fruity, easy to drink, and very refreshing with a good amount of bitterness to balance it out. This tasty brew drinks like a session beer, but I bet it's high enough in alcohol that it's probably not. The ABV is not listed anywhere that I can find. However, using my homebrew knowledge and the listed original gravity of 1.060 from Summit's website, I'd guess it's somewhere in the range of 6 - 6.5%. Go get some and enjoy it on a lovely spring evening!