Dark Star Hophead
Cask: Unfiltered; Keg & Bottle: Filtered. Regularly available.
An extremely clean-drinking pale golden ale with a strong floral aroma and elderflower notes from the Cascade hops. This beer is full-bodied and full-flavoured yet gentle enough to make it a favourite session beer.
An extremely clean-drinking pale golden ale with a strong floral aroma and elderflower notes from the Cascade hops. This beer is full-bodied and full-flavoured yet gentle enough to make it a favourite session beer.
3.5
434 reviews
Horsham, England
Community reviews
Bottle from Waitrose.
Pours a clear light golden colour with a thin white head. Aromas of biscuits, light floral and caramel. Taste has more biscuits, floral and caramel with a citrusy bittterness on the long finish. Medium to full bodied, low carbonation and smooth slightly oily mouthfeel. Great summer beer with lots of flavour for such a low abv.
Nice hoppy bitter ale with slightly smokey taste
Easing lockdown, April 2021, the day we went for walk in a bluebell wood. Cask at Kings Head, Wickham, a Fuller's pub. Gosh this is a lovely sunny Sunday drink. Hoppy, but not aggressive. Dusty and exciting. Buttery. Mmmm. [3.5]
Christmas Eve, 2015 500ml dark bottle, filtered, from Asda or Tesco. I like this when served in top condition from the cask. As it is a delicate, soft beer, best served fresh, it’s not so good when not kept well, or when not too fresh. Filtered in the bottle it’s fairly flat and ordinary, with the hops dominating to the extent that the malt is barely present. Each to their own - some people are not interested in malt flavour and character, preferring the taste of hops; but if, like me, you enjoy malt, then ignore the bottle, and seek out the cask - there’s really no comparison. [2.6]
July, 2009 Darnly Arms, Cobham Lovely soapy drink. Slight toffee - milk toffee. [3.3]
June, 2005 JDW, Boston, Lincs. Fresh & fruity with passion fruit and citric notes. This is a great beer, but it does like to be well treated to show its best bits. [3.4]
March, 2005 Dog & Bone, Gillingham. Foam head and creamy texture because the beer was pulled through a sparkler. White lily aroma. Vanilla and caramel and oily hops. Served cool. Sparkler spoils the beer. [3.2]
Aug, 2003 Gravity, Frog & Toad Body Parts Beer Festival. Blond Ale. A lemon or Chardonnay colour - quite attractive for a blonde. Fragrant floral hops. Gentle citric tang - mostly soft grapefruit sprinkled with brown sugar, but there’s an element of orange and a hint of vanilla pod just dipped into the brew. Light to medium body - refreshing and satisfying. Finishes soft with a long lingering dryness. Spanking. The beer of the festival. [4.0]
50 cl bottle from Asda.
Medium white head. Clear golden pour. Light bitterness.
Bottle. Waitrose. Clear straw colour. Frothy white head. Nose has soap and butter. Some flowery hop. Taste is sweet and malty with a herby bitterness. Light body. High-ish carbonation. Light bitter finish. The soapy, buttery thing is a spoiler.
Old rating from Nov 2014 - 500ml bottle, pours golden with a large white foamy head. Aromas & tastes of caramel, citrus, rye, earth, cereal & malt. Moderate body. Mildly bitter finish
On cask at a Fuller's. Pale, transparent, thin rim. Scent is early hops. Taste is cereal, a bit apple, somewhat bitter. Refreshing, satisfying, traditional. Good.
Aroma : Toasted sweet caramel malt, bags of soft summer fruit, with a floral hop note Taste : As aroma. Light sweet malty/flowery start with a bittering finish. Straightforward and well above the average dull 'blonde/golden ale'
Bottle - clear golden with only small white head, medium carbonation. Good fruity aroma. Good mouthfeel. Strong fuity tasting, good finish.
Draft to pint at The Admiralty in London. I've been waiting my whole life to burn my lips on a hote golde in Just OK Britain, and it was worth the 40-year wait! Looks good; a mostly transparent golden orange with bubbly white head. Smells of fruity and floral hops alongside a mildly bittersweet backbone. Tastes like it smells with a bit of grain/biscuit as well. Mouthfeel is medium light-bodied and mildly but pleasantly bitter. Sessionable and enjoyable, and much, MUCH better than the dental hygiene here.
Aroma: citrus lemon cut grass summer afternoon
Appearance: clear golden ale
Taste: summer afternoon , hint if juicy new world hops (cascade I think) but without being too hipster for far from English roots. A little astringency in the aftertastes.
Palate: crisp and clean as expected from golden ale. Cuts well on the younger and citrus nose and astringency make it a clean finish. Carbonation true to style and doesn’t really muscle in on the experience. Uncomplicated.
Overall: I like it. Not too funky / American, but a little more zesty than a traditional golden ale like exmoor gold , I think owing to hops. Just possibly a small amount of dry hopping in there ?
Yes straw and hops ok
Cask at the Blacksmith's Arms, St. Albans in 2012. Lightly hazy pale golden with a spotty white head. Aroma of straw, soft fruit and floral hops. A bit of a hop bite to the flavour, in a fairly muted, real-ale way.
Cask at The Admiralty, Charing Cross, London. A golden coloured beer with a white head. Aroma and flavour of malt, fruir, hops and with a bitter finish.
Bottle sample at a tasting at Yoav's place. Clear pale golden-yellow with white head. The aroma has lots of butter, earthy, some fruitiness, soapy. The flavor is mild sweet and mild bitter with notes of butter, soapy, earthy. Medium-bodied.
Bottle at a tasting. Clear golden.
Fruity and malty aromas.
Sweetish, fruity, citric, light diacetyl, bitterish, lemony.
Medium bodied, smooth.
Bottle from Waitrose. Aroma is honey sweet hops. Taste: Floral, light citrus, biscuit, buttery finish. Bitterness that lingers, a bit of damp cardboard, smidge of wet dog. Ok trad fizzy English pale ale.
Butelka 500ml. Złote o białej ,średniej pianie ,która zanika szybko. Aromat lekkich cytrusów,chmielu,trawy,ziarna i ciastek. W smaku ziarniste nuty,słód,cytrusy,biszkopty ,ciastka,tosty i trawa w tle słodkie nuty owoców,karmelu i słodu . Średnie wysycenie ,dość dużo się dzieje jak na tak niskie abv. Fajne
Cask @ LHR 2. Almost clear, golden with medium head. Weak line aroma. Fresh and fruity taste with yeast tones. Medium bitterness lingering.
Straw, Clean, white beerhead, with fine, frothy and lacing foam. Low head retention. Clear Litchi aroma at the first impression, also citrusy, orange, tropical fruits. Light sweetness, crispy and little watery, medium bitterness, soft carbonation. The taste is grainy, grassy, and hoppy resins. The balance is hoppy. Very light session British IPA.Great drinkability
From cask at Bolton, Earls Court, London, 11.07.19. Translucent golden. White head and lacing. Aroma and taste of pale malt, marmalade and old citrus. Slightly oxidized.
A good beer for a summer afternoon.
Half pint from cask, drunk at the Hereford Arms, 2019-06-20.
Appearance is a still, clear deep gold with a very thin white head that dissipates quickly. Standard golden real ale appearance from a southern pub.
Aroma is subtle but pleasant. Pine and citrus (I'd say lime if I had to pin it down) notes dominate. Not a whole heap else though.
Taste is a little bolder. Strong bitter hoppiness at the finish, prefaced by some juicier citrus. Bitterness slightly spoilt by a few soapy notes towards the end. Not bad though.
Palate is good for the ABV. Really juicy and refreshing, so nice and drinkable on a warm day. Just tipping towards medium bodied, with a surprisingly long finish.
Overall, a good cask blonde ale. Enough hop to really meet the style without overdoing it and being just bitter and pushing into IPA or APA territory.
Pint @ The Pilot, Chiswick. Pours clear golden body with small white head. Taste is bitter with malts, bread, grain and hints of citrus.
A lovely cascade hopped thirst quencher that packs flavour at a session level beer. Try it and be converted.
Aroma: orange marmalade, flower
Appearance: clear golden color with a one-finger white head.
Taste: orange marmalade, flower, herb, medium-low sweetness, medium bitterness
Palate: medium-light body, medium carbonation, dry finish, crispy, low alcohol sensation
Overall: It has gentle hop flavor of English varieties and nice drinkability.
Bottle. Gold with a lasting white head. Light biscuit and lots of citrus - orange, peel, blossoms, leaves. Light bodied, clearly a quaffer. Maybe a little fizzy. Just enough hay and biscuit sweetness before vibrant citrus and a drying, fairly bitter finish. One I've wanted to try for many years and did not disappoint. Refreshing, genuinely sessionable.
Cask at Churchill's arms, London.
Pale golden color fine creamy white head lots of lacing, faint haze. Aroma of hops indeed, citrus, tangerine, grass. Biscuity pale malts, light fruity/juicy. Quite intense bitternss, medium body, soft cask carbonation, clean dry finish. Surprising on how an 3.8 can pack in a lot of flavors, I cant believe everyone here is having nastro azzurro instead, what a pity. Nice session hoppy blonde ale.
Easy drinking light coloured beer
Nice hop balance
Drank at the rugby club
From bottle. Easy flowery hoppy taste. Gentle bottle finish that lingers on the palate.