My Soul for a Golden Fiddle (OCC Brewing)

Isn’t there a song about a fiddle of gold? Maybe something about the devil going down to Georgia? That’s right…the Charlie Daniels Band. Not a bad song, until I found out that Charlie Daniels was an asshole. But that’s a story for a different blog. This blog post is about a fantastic beer that just happens to be dubbed ‘Golden Fiddle.’

A while back I reviewed Pikes Peak’s Gold Rush, which at the time was the only Belgian strong ale in town. Move over Gold Rush, OCC’s Golden Fiddle is playing my tune. It’s right on the money with the Belgian strong style, a little better than Gold Rush. It’s much smoother with a nice banana/clove ester that’s the signature of a Belgian (from the yeast type). I hate using the phrase, “mouth feel”, but that’s the best way to describe the advantage of Golden Fiddle over Gold Rush. It’s carbonation is perfect and the bitterness is low. The only downside I’ve noticed is that it’s a little watery on the backend (I think in the wine world it would be the opposite of a long finish). But, that’s just nit picking at this point.

Golden Fiddle warms the soul at 8.2% ABV, which is squarely in the Belgian strong ale range. It’s June, so I’ll have two of these, as is the Belgian tradition. Well, it’s my tradition anyway, but Belgium can adopt it if they’d like.

I don’t get paid in any way for my reviews, so I can say in all honesty that OCC is a great brewery that flies under the radar. Now, if they want to pay me in beer, I wouldn’t complain, but I don’t see that happening any time soon.