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Cal Poly Gold

Firestone Walker Brewing Company
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🌍 United States · Pale Lager · One of 157 Pale Lagers in hopIQ

Cal Poly Gold is an all-malt lager brewed with the nearby university in San Luis Obispo, whose graduates work throughout the brewery. The recipe uses pilsner, pale, Munich and light crystal malt with Spalter Select and Hallertau Tradition, fermented entirely in stainless steel. It pours golden and clear, with soft bread and water cracker in the nose, a hint of honeyed grain, faint herbal and floral hop spice and a light body that ends crisp and clean with little bitterness.

ABV
4.7%
Bitterness
Lightly bitter
Malt-forward bitterness
SRM
pale gold4
How it drinks· Its pace, balance and relationship to the style.
Pace
sessionsipper
Balance
malt-ledhop-led
Where this beer sits· Four axes, the same for every beer in hopIQ.
Body
Lean body.
lightfull-bodied
Sweetness
Dry finish.
drysweet
Bitterness
Soft bitterness.
mildbitter
Texture
Crisp mouthfeel.
crispcreamy

The texture leads here, with everything else held in gentle reserve.

Character· What makes this beer itself — not just another Pale Lager.
Hop character
floral
herbal
spicy hop
Malt character
bready
honey
malty
Fermentation & yeast
clean

Tasting Notes

AI-generated sensory profile for Cal Poly Gold

◎ Appearance

Cal Poly Gold presents a bright golden hue with excellent clarity and a fine, persistent white head. The carbonation appears moderate and even, with delicate lacing that clings gently to the glass as the beer is consumed.

bright goldencrystal clearfine carbonation

◌ Aroma

The nose leads with soft, grainy bread notes and subtle water cracker minerality. Honeyed grain sweetness emerges beneath, complemented by restrained herbal and floral spice from the Spalter Select and Hallertau Tradition hops, with no aggressive character.

soft breadhoneyed grainnoble-hop spice

◐ Taste

The palate is clean and light-bodied, allowing the malt blend of pilsner and Munich varieties to express biscuit and subtle honey characters without heaviness. Hop bitterness remains gentle at 22 IBU, contributing only a whisper of herbal and floral finish without astringency.

crisp palatebready maltlow bitterness

◑ Finish

The finish is dry and refreshing, with the carbonation carrying the beer away cleanly. No lingering sweetness or hop burn remains, leaving only a pleasant, mineral-clean aftertaste.

clean finishrefreshing
78
hopIQ score
Aroma
78
Taste
76
Appearance
82
Finish
76
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Serve & Enjoy

How to get the most out of Cal Poly Gold

Serve at 4–7°C
Refrigerate, then rest 2 min

Serve well-chilled at 4–6°C. Carbonation and crispness are the main event — cold preserves both.

Stein
Recommended for this style

The sturdy German stein maintains temperature and keeps carbonation intact. Built for long, convivial drinking.

Store cold and drink fresh. Lagers are at their crispest within 3–4 months.

Food Pairing

What to eat with Cal Poly Gold

About Pale Lager

Style guide · what to expect · how to find alternatives

What is a Pale Lager?

Euro Pale Lagers are clean, refreshing lagers with 4–5.5% ABV and IBU 10–25. Soft malt sweetness, light hop bitterness and high carbonation make them supremely drinkable.

Finding a similar Pale Lager

hopIQ matches by flavor profile — not just style label. A beer with the same clean, crisp, bready character as Cal Poly Gold will score highly even if brewed in a different country or under a different sub-style name.

Other Pale Lagers in hopIQ

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