Bard’s Tale Dragon’s Gold Beer

Posted: January 27th, 2008 | Author: Stacy | Filed under: Beer Reviews, Craft Brew, Gluten-free, What's that in your fridge? | No Comments »

I’ve seen this $9.99 a six pack sorghum beer at New Seasons for a few months now, but the price always put me off. Enter gluten-free living and I’m willing to consider my options! I only bought one bottle, though, since I’m still not interested in expensive beer buying.

Bard’s Tale Beer claims to be the first all-sorghum craft beer, and I’m not sure that’s true, but there you have it. The name is, yes, dorky. And the Celtic uncial font on the labels is goofy. In fact, I’m not entirely sure what’s with the Celtic theme, since sorghum is more of an African and Asian grain, not on from the fair isles. And then there’s the stylized dragon on the bottle. Go figure.

Dragon’s Gold isn’t actually THAT golden in color. More of a ruddy amber, truly. Is it a lager like they claim? Mmm, not so much, more of an amber ale to me. On first pouring the beer smells more like a cider; tart fruity aroma. As it warmed up, though, it took on more molasses and caramel aromas, which was pleasant. Really too sweet to be a lager, and much more like a brown ale in that respect. Have these guys HAD a lager beer?

There’s a strange bitterness to the finish on the back of the tongue that reminds me of un-pitted olives – the bitterness of lye and the dry, acerbic tone of antioxidants. But up front, it’s light and fairly mild, with a bit of sweetness. All in all, not bad, though not exactly beer. You know, because there’s no malt.

Would I buy it again? Not at that price! Would I try making my own sorghum beer? Sure!

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