Today’s review sees a return to my favourite part of the blog; supermarket own-brand craft beer. The coin toss of whether it will be tasty or terrible is usually weighted to the latter, but sometimes there is pleasant surprise thrown into the mix. ‘Gold Ale’ comes from the aisles of discount supermarket icons Lidl, under their Hatherwood own-brand label. As you can imagine, it is a golden ale at 4.1% and brewed with five different British hops. Recent own-brand reviews have put Aldi’s beer substantially ahead of Lidl but perhaps they can claw it back with this one.

As expected the beer pours a very clear, golden colour with a pleasant, compact off-white head. The nose is very light. There is, perhaps, a slight maltiness to the aroma but otherwise not much else. The beer itself is very easy and clean drinking. While I’d argue there is a lack of distinct, identifiable flavour it is fairly refreshing with a touch of bitterness on the finish.

A quick note on the bottle art: I actually quite like the design for this. A golden goose for a golden ale is appropriate if a bit cheesy but also serves as a call back to the original name for the beer.

As with many of the Lidl own brand beers, this one had a rebrand and a recipe change in the last couple of years. Originally No. 1 The Golden Goose, the beer was 3.8% ABV. Naturally, Lidl doesn’t have their own brewery but rather has these beers contract brewed to large UK breweries. In this case, from what I can see, it appears to be Shepherd Neame, one of the countries oldest brewery’s, based in Kent. While there is some pedigree behind the recipe for the beer, I tend to find they don’t typically live up to the quality of the contract brewer usually produces. I imagine this is due to tight margin and budget constraints. Onto this beer more specifically, I would say it is fine. A perfectly average beer, and there is nothing wrong with that. It is not doing anything interesting but is perfectly drinkable, especially at the £1.49 price point. To be honest it is one of the better beers Lidl do of the recent batch I’ve tried but I still think Aldi reigns supreme.

Score: 5/10

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Another one to add to the the Beer Index! If you have any other recommendations for supermarket own-brands, please let me know as always!

Additional Information:

Style: Golden Ale

Hops: Not Available

Malt: Not Available

IBU: N/A

ABV: 4.1%

Gluten Free: No

Vegan: N/A