Badger Golden glory, originally uploaded by unclewilco
(Thanks to unclewilco on Flickr for the use of the photo and power of suggestion)
When I was a teenager I read Flipside magazine, combing through the ads for pen pals in the back. Those were pre-internet days: heady exchanges of mixed tapes and Xeroxed collages! I met a guy that way who ended up being ten years my senior and actually someone who babysat me when I was tiny, but to continue in this nostagic vein would be OVERSHARING.
None the less, the first time I ever drank was with this person, who I adored. We sat on the rickety balcony of his squat in downtown Chicago drinking fuzzy navels– peach schnapps and orange juice. Sure it was poison, deliberately concocted to appeal to my adolescent femme palate, and I wouldn’t be able to choke one down now but there is something about Golden Glory that reminds me not of the flavor of that cocktail, but that glowing delight of initial intoxication. Of course, it’s the peach.
And maybe even honeysuckle? How did it get in there? Nectar? Fairy dust? Some hyphenated additive? Wait, don’t tell me. Or if you do, it better be buried between tracks on a mixed tape.
Eats: parsnip crisps!
While listening to: Psychic TV– The Orchids.
Impy Malting 
The additive is most likely hops!
I quite like Golden Glory, though it really is quite floral and you do have to be in the right mood for it. Do you drink it at fridge temp or at room temp? I think I liked it best the one time I had it somewhere in between.
Thanks, Tandleman– but where’s the mixed tape?
Seriously though, which hops would give a peach flavour of that intensity? Amazing at any rate.
Hi Kake!
It is a bit over-the-top, isn’t it? I had it slightly chilled, and that seemed perfect, though as it warmed in the glass the peach note became less dominant and the beer tasted more balanced at the back end.
I hate to spoil the mystery, but BGG derives its distinctiveness from peach blossom extract. This is added late in the brewing process to give it that unmistakable peach aroma. And, ideally, yes it should be served slightly chilled.
The mixer tape is in the post…
Hi Tyson– Thanks for clearing this up. I was hoping it was something like this. It makes me like the beer even more. Now if I can only find my cassette tape player…
Ah. A good brewer could have done it with hops!
Hi Tandleman– I have no doubt! A good brewer, like my friend Bob who turned me on to real ale, is a bit like an alchemist.
that’s an ALE-chemist.
I’m not sure of any hops that have a peach-y flavor (or is that flavour?)
Apparently Glacier hops have an apricot and pear flavor, and those are a fuggle variety.
You may want to check into getting one of these
http://www.tasteyourbeer.com/buy.html
It’s a beer appreciation kit, I saw one when I was in Asheville last weekend and should have got it, but I already had a $130 bill and didn’t want to run it up much higher.
Haha– Virgil. Good one!
Have you ever had ale made with Glacier hops? Sounds lovely.
The beer tasting kit– COMPLETE BEER HAPPINESS GUARANTEED. Now, that’s a bold claim. What does it mean that I actually want this? It almost looks like some kind of board game….
I have probably had a few beers with glacier. The only one that I can guarantee that I’ve had with Glacier Hops is O’fallon 5 day IPA, and I can’t remember that one too well, so I’ll have to go get another.
As for the tasting kit, I really want it too. They have an international order form…