Wild Leap Local Gold Blonde Ale I’ve been trying to review Wild Leap’s Local Gold for almost 2 years. I have been enjoying their brews for years but I had only had their darker brews like Caramel Cake Stout or Cookies & Cream. I remember having this beer for the first time at a wedding in Newnan, GA in July 2020. They were serving this at the rehearsal dinner and was taken back when I say the buffalo on the label. I had never seen it in Augusta. The bartender said she would be at the reception/ dinner the next day and would make sure there would be some. I even stopped in Jackson, GA on the way home on Sunday and found a six. It took me about 4 months to drink that 6. I caught Covid at the wedding and 3 days later was suffering from Covid pneumonia. What followed was 6 weeks of hell. I digress.
I’ve bought Local Gold several times since but would wind up propping up my feet and enjoying them and not bothering to do a review. I really like this beer. I wish this would replace Yuengling as the “middle ground” craft/yellow beer that everyone serves at receptions or special events where they don’t want to buy a lot of beer and want something that the Bud drinkers will tolerate as well as the craft snobs.
I was going to review it with the Low Country Boil on Shrove Tuesday but didn’t get around to it.
This beer should please both sides… except my Big Brother who will only drink Bud. I bought a six for our new church’s Shrove Tuesday dinner which featured a low country boil along with the usual pancakes. It was my kind of Shrove Tuesday as it was BYOB. Local Gold went very nicely with the shrimp and the sausage. I was going to review it that night but I went home and savored the evening.
They now have Wild Leap’s Superlager at Toast now. That’s a Pilsner-Style Lager I had not seen before. That might be one for when Mr Dave-in-law shows up around Masters time.
I always have a green beer on St. Patrick’s Day. I usually add some green dye to a Catawba White Zombie to make a Green Zombie but this year I decided on making some Local Green. Mrs. Dan and Mr. Ben were off doing other things tonight so I enjoyed it with some spicy sausage from my Big Brother Charlie’s annual Xmas Eve Smokehouse.
Local Gold is just a nice well rounded beer that has a nice malt backbone, dry but not bitter (23.4 IBU). Smooth but not sweet. A beautiful gold color. It’s got that same crispness that the Bud drinkers like. At 5.4% you can probably have 2. I bought a six at Toast for $9.99. Publix is now carrying it here as well.
I looked at their website and they said the name is a tribute to their hometown LaGrange “We honor those ‘golden locals’ who helped us launch our brewery and made our dreams come true.” I grew up in Griffin, not far from LaGrange. I remember coming over to take photos of the football games in high school when we played LaGrange High. We usually won. I also remember starting a memorable BRAG from LaGrange back around 1998. That was a fun week. I remember stopping in LaGrange to eat and get gas on the way to and from Auburn on many a Saturday. If Wild Leap had been open then I think I would have stopped more often and stayed longer.
From this day forward Local Gold is my go-to beer when I have some friends over and don’t feel like something dark. This is also now my pool beer. I can’t wait for warmer so I can test it out.
I think I might have another Local Green.
I helped make the pancakes that night as well. The Local Gold was my cooking companion
LaGrange GA
Cost: $$9.99 a six
