Disappointed at my inability to find a Mild for the last Session, I went on a bit of a tear at my retailer, buying several British imports. None of which come from Burton-on-Trent.

The first of these is St. Peter’s Golden Ale. What struck me is the unusually shaped bottle. It turns out the story of the origin of the St. Peter’s bottle is even more interesting than I’d thought.

The only clue we had was that the original bottle had a small circular cartouche on the front which said ‘Thomas Gerrard, Gibbstown’. I assumed Gibbstown was somewhere in the British Isles but when I looked it up in various reference books, I could not find it at all. … The only Gibbstown listed was in New Jersey directly across the Delaware river from Philadelphia… . I then wrote to the Philadelphia Historical Society and asked them if they knew of a Thomas Gerrard in Gibbstown. … They sent me information that Thomas Gerrard owned a tide water inn in Gibbstown around 1770 and said that he had his own bottles made for beer and liquor and supplied them to passing ships. One of these bottles must have found its way to Britain…

Eurobrews, the specialty importer, gives this description of the Golden Ale:

Golden Ale 4.7% ABV

English Pale malts are used together with Goldings hops to provide the bitterness and aroma. The result is a highly distinctive light, golden ale similar in character to a full-bodied Czech lager.

It is a dark straw color, hazy, with a fluffy head which takes its time dissipating. The aroma is very light, maybe a touch of lemon, and also smells like a lager. Not a lot of hop aroma. It is light on the tongue, with very understated hop bitterness. More of that lemon, and a bit of burnt…toffee? Not unpleasant, but I don’t think I’ve encountered it before. More lightly carbonated than most.

At under 5% alcohol it makes an excellent session beer, and is light enough to be refreshing on a hot day (like today). I enjoyed it.