Bottled Up: Empire Golden Warrior

It's mid-November, I've just polished off a plate of rather summery-looking baked salmon, so it's time to get the last of the golden ales out of the way. Empire Golden Warrior hails from the tropical climbs of Slaithwaite in West Yorkshire, an area crammed full of great breweries.

First impressions - thin. Zero head, low carbonation. An interesting aroma, though, with a honey-orange riff fresh from a breakfast tray. Slight anonymous spice in the background. The flavour brings on more breakfast thoughts, imagine a piece of toast sliced with a knife that's been in the honey, marmalade and butter. A thin finish, drying honey on the palate.

I thought this was going to be flabby beer but those breakfast flavours won me over. No real depth, no killer finish, but at 3.8% it'd make for a great mid-morning summer quencher. Brunch beer - it's the future. I've tasted it.

Thanks to myBrewerytap.com for the beer