Gold Stock Ale

Gold Stock American Strong Ale
Growler, $10 and 6.5% ABV

Purchased at the Brewery, Woodbridge

The following events took place on Saturday, January 26th, 2013. What you are about to read is real.

gold stockMy wife, Hoang: “Can you drive the 45 minutes to Ikea and get those chairs we liked?”
Me: “Really?”
Her: “Yes. Don’t you have something you want to do in New Haven?”
Me: “Hadn’t really thought about it.”
She: “Well, we need chairs for the dinner tomorrow and get a rug too.”
Me: “Any rug?”
Her: “I trust you.”
Me: “Really?
She: “Yes. I love you so much. You are just the best husband and dad to just up and drive all the way to New Haven to buy some chairs and a rug. Come ‘ere you. You are my hero.”

And with that, I grabbed an empty growler from the garage and took off for Woodbridge and the New England Brewing Company. Chairs and rugs, pshaw.

I knew NEB had recently made available their one-time per year Gold Stock Ale, so I had an actual real reason to make the small detour there. I’d never had the Gold Stock before, you see, and, well, it just makes sense.

(While the Gold Stock doesn’t have the cache of, say, the Imperial Stout Trooper or Premeditated Murder, it is a fairly rare beer and is always only available during the crappiest time of year.)

I arrived at the brewery to a few more cars in the lot than usual and an actual honest to goodness tour going on. The brewery was stocked to the gills with cans ready to be filled with Gandhi-goodness and Elm City Pilsner. Note: NEBCO has cancelled all cold weather open house Fridays because they no longer have the room inside to support the gatherings.

Our little brewery is all grows up.

herman-chair__0103477_PE249601_S4Some attractive younger couples were there, forcing their business cards on the guy manning the taps who clearly was in no position to make any business decisions for the brewery. It shouldn’t have, but it annoyed me for some reason. New England Brewing is the best brewery around – I wish them all the success in the world. But I don’t want my trips to Ikea ruined by the likes of young punks who don’t know an IBU from an ABV. And please, stop forcing your business cards on the poor guy.

I sampled the Gold Stock, not even really knowing what to expect and wow. I loved it. Hoppy and clean, which is pretty much the NEB signature.

NEBCO Says (From a facebook posting I happened to catch):

Brewing Gold Stock Ale today. The only beer we produce that was ever brewed at the old NEB in SONO. It was originally Ron Page’s recipe over 20 years ago and he’s now with City Steam Brewery in Hartford, (I don’t think he believes I brew it right though) Phil Markowski brewed it at the old NEB who’s now at Two Roads Brewery in Stratford, then Rob brewed it, now I brew it once a year. An interesting beer with a lot of CT history.

Wow, that’s cool. I wonder what Ron’s version of this is at City Steam? I’ll have to look into that. And we know that Phil at Two Roads has joined the Connecticut beer scene with a bang, but his first 5 beers bear no resemblance to Gold Stock. Regardless, this is sort of like a superstar superbrew.

I did end up going to Ikea and was declared successful by my wife.

I busted open my growler an hour before my inlaws arrived for my son’s 7th birthday dinner celebration. My wife spent all day in the kitchen making incredible food (that’s how the Vietnamese do) and everyone was going to enjoy the new chairs and rug in the dining room.

As for me, Hoang and I were going to enjoy the Gold stock ale. We both loved it. It seems like sort of a Gandhi-Bot without the super high ABV. Citrus, slight pine, clean and smooth. Just another perfect beer form NEBCO.

Overall Rating: A+
Rating vs. Similar style: A+

Beer Advocate’s Reviews of Gold Stock Ale
New England Brewing Company
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