Ithaca Excelsior! White Gold

A Belgo-American Ale brewed with domestic barley and French wheat malts, the finest Saaz and Santiam hops, and an authentic Trappist Ale Yeast.

Enjoy the glowing opaque appearance, amomas of spice and herbs, zesy mouthfeel, and dry finish.
[White Gold and the Night of the Funk release White Gold with Brett are the same beer. See this brewer blog for a description. http://www.ithacabeer.com/beerblog/]

3.6

287 reviews

Ithaca, United States

Community reviews

3.8 Bottle. Pours a nice golden color. Huge white head. Smell of wheat and hops. A little bit of fruit character. taste is fruit. Goes down smooth. A little beat of wheat in the taste. Maybe a little Brett?? Either way, it’s pretty good. -- rated with beerbasher/winphone

3.8 Had at head keeps, very good. Fluffy white head. Spicy tart aroma. Delicious flavors that starts early. Yummy...

4.0 Bottled. Yellowish golden colour, mediumsized white head. Aroma is grapefruit, some mild spices, sour wood andf mild earthy notes. Flavour is fruity, floral, citrus, some yeast and mild spices. Balanced, and actually rather refreshing, even though it’s a rather big beer.

2.9 Savor. The guy pouring it, said that this was a young batch, and as it ages, it takes on a good sour flavor. I didn’t get much out of this young beer. I need to try and find an older batch.

2.5 Drank it with Alessandro out of a bottle. It’s rather complicated. We were really ambivalent: it’s rich, exceptional, and has much to tell. BUT: it’s too unbalanced, noisy, there is to much yeast in the nose. We compared it with 12 tone music. It’s strange, unusual, it’s beyond reach. We didn’t fully understand it.

3.7 Bottle share @ Surly Darkness day 2013. Hazy orange/yellow with a huge frothy white head. Aroma is brett, wheat germ, grapes, and spice. Flavor is a bit sweeter - caramel malt, brett, wheat grain, earth, musty.

3.6 Sampled at Big Brew Beer Festival (Morristown). Poured a clear yellow color with a big foamy white head. Aroma of sweet tangerine skins, light citrus, wheat, and yeast. Taste mimics the nose with tangerine skins, sweet citrus, wheat, and a hint yeasty.

3.7 750 ml bottle to taster (thanks to Tom at Neon’s for the pour!). Looks good; a hazy lemon with white head that steadily dissipates into lacing. Smells solid; mild Belgian yeast (almost saison-ish) and notes of citrus zest and mild spices. Tastes like it smells with a pleasant mouthfeel that’s on the dryer side. A nice example of the style.

3.5 Bottle 750ml (batch 43, bought from NYC, WPBF) Hazy yellow color, good cloudy white head. Fruity, intensive farmhouse bretta aroma. Medium-bodied. Crisp carbonation. Very good grapefruity flavor, zesty, fruity. Good bretta beer.

3.3 75 cl bottle @ wPBF’14 Aroma has lots of bretta, some white wine and citrus. Very foamy palate. Flavour has grapefruit lemonade, some bretta notes and citrus. Interesting.

3.2 75 cl bottle @ wPBF’14. Pours hazy golden color with a small head. Aroma is yeasty and spicy, some fruits and hay also. Flavor of citric fruits, hay, grape fruits and wood. Aggressive and yeasty. Nice. 3446

3.3 On 06/18/2011. Hazy white body small white head. Sweet floral and citrus hop aroma with some spice and caramel. Sweet spice and fruity citrus hop flavor. Medium body with moderate carbonation.

4.0 Bottle - Pours hazy gold with a massive white head. Near the entire glass is head on the pour. Nose is plasticy Brett, real dry and leathery, with lemon rind and dusty yeast. Taste is dry and lemony, Bretty as hell, plastic and dry with dusty yeast and tartness. Thin and fluffy with biting carbonation. Really good stuff.

4.1 750 ml bottle, Batch E!043. Served in a tulip, the beer pours a hazy gold color with at least a couple inch frothy off-white head that stayed around for a very long time. There’s also a lot of lacing. The brew smells like bready/wheat malt, lemon peel, floral hops, apples, and some grassiness. It tastes like bready/wheat malt, lemon peel, apricots, grass/hay and some light clove and peppery spice. I like the tartness in this brew, I didn’t really expect that so it was a nice surprise. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it’s creamy and is well carbonated. I think this is good , I’d certainly like to try White Gold again in the future. $9.99 a bottle.

3.0 Thanks to errl for sharing this bottle. Bottle 762 from April 2007. Golden pour with a white head. The aroma is fairly sweet with some orange and candy notes. The flavor is full of Belgian yeast, orange, sugar and grass. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

3.4 Tried this beer fresh in the brewery in the trademarked excelsior class, which I ended up purchasing, and drank it on a tour - no better way to experience a craft beer. The atmosphere enhanced the beer. Had a hazy body and appearance and the beer was lively overall a pure white head after the bartender scooped some off. Had a citrus aroma and taste with some slight hints of spice.

3.5 Bottle share at Darkness Day. Poured hazy yellow orange with decent head. Funky aroma. Super sour taste.

3.2 Batch 22. Appearance: The body is very hazy, milky even, with with a burnished brass hue. The head is tall and white, average retention, settling into a full coating. Aroma: The aroma has a strong sweet cider aroma with vanilla and a light malt sweetness. Taste: The intro is sweet with lots of vanilla, but quickly the flavor changes to a mild tartness that hints at lemon and a dryness that reminds me of straw. The more I drink it the more this reminds me of a dry cider on the finish with a slight granny smith tinge. The transition from the sweet and full flavored intro to the thinner finish, very odd. Palate: Medium bodied with fizzy and stabbing carbonation. Overall: This beer is weird, but not in a bad way. This is likely a poor representation of what it was fresh, but it’s not bad. There are some weird flavors going on, I don’t know if I can recommend it, but I would drink it again if someone handed me one.

3.5 Batch 43. Tons of head & sticky lace; gorgeous. Bretty nose, a touch of spice aroma. Tastes like wine barrels atop a wheaty base. Sweetness kept in check by the yeast. Tasty.

3.7 750ml at my place with Patrick, Thomas, Taylor.’pours golden yellow neon orange, with which creamy thin head. Aroma is farmhouse slight sourness, some what, orange, lemon, Brett. Taste is wheat, tangy orange, orange peel, lemon, some wheat.

4.1 I have had this a few times over the years and this is a very nice beer. This particular bottle (batch 043) was shared at a tasting. Pours light gold with a giant beautiful head. Aroma is full of brett - kind of a candy -like funk (not sweet), just steaming piles of it. Some floral aspects to it as well. Flavor is in the same ballpark but not quite as intense. Nicely full mouthfeel with a sprinkling carbonation. Real nice stuff. Note: this beer is probably ageable for about 2 years, after that it goes downhill.

4.6 Presentation: It was poured from a corked and caged 750ml bottle into a tulip glass. The label has a good description of the beer and the “Excelsior” beer line up. Also listed on the label is its abv (8%) and bottle number (E!015). Appearance: The body has a glowing, deep yellow/orange color with a light haze and some fine yeast sediment. It built up a tall billowy head of foam that has great retention and makes for a ton of sticky lacing on the glass. Smell: Its aroma hit me (in a good way) right from the pop of the cork. Pouring it into the glass I get loads of tangy wheat and yeast with tart green apple and pear like fruity notes. Hop note are there but very faint. Taste/Palate: There are plenty of wonderful wheaty and yeasty notes within its solid medium to full body. It starts with a good base of wheaty maltiness with a just a slight touch citrusy lemon like tartness. From there it adds notes of white wine like grapes, a touch of dry alcohol, tart green apples, pear and some funky/sour dough like yeast. The finish has a dry hop spice character with a touch of citrus hops as well. It feels well carbonated and lively making it very drinkable. Notes: Ithaca is bringing there A game with this wonderfully complex and very satisfying Belgian influenced Ale. I would highly recommend this beer to anyone that likes American, Belgian, or German wheat ales.

4.7 750 ml - I can’t believe I haven’t rated this. Wonderful sour, funky, yeasty Belgian profile. Thick meringue head.

4.0 pours bright gold with light haze. active foam head. be prepared with a glass nearby as it is a slow gusher. nose of brett, earth, citrus. taste begins with light sweetness that is muddled by citrus, mud, and light funk. body is slick and finish is dry.

3.6 Cityfresh Associated Supermarket, Bushwick growler ($17): Pours a mostly clear light orange with a big white head. Aroma is a bunch of tropical fruity, some soured funky smell as well. Taste is moderately sour and stays around into the aftertaste like that. Kind of a strange BSA, with a sour funky tinge.

3.5 2007 bottle thanks to bu11zeye..Pour is gold with a white head..Nose is caramel,spice, nutty,funk ,Light sweetness..Taste is fruit, grape skin, spice..

3.5 Pours a hazy light orange with an enormous head. Aromas of funky Brett, wheat. Taste is lightly sour, musty, funky. Finishes dry. Tons of carbonation. Pretty goof funk train but not very sour. Still damn good, though. Funk delivery system.

2.9 Belmont bottle that seemed to have some mold spots in the top of the cap so I’m not sure if this beer is "right." Batch E012. Not great for me. Seemed very earthy, old, musty and tasted a bit like basement. I got some citrus and spice but it was not prominent. Maybe this bottle was a miss and not the beer overall.

4.0 Light white head. Citrus after taste. Light and crisp. The dryness of the brew makes it one I would not consume in bulk, but it's enjoyable in it's own right.

3.8 Draft at craft ale house. Pours hazy yellow orange we th a medium sized white head. The aroma is all kinds of sweet fruit. It’s floral, lemon, orange, wheat. The taste has a good mix of orange citrus and bitter hops.