Golden Goat is a sativa dominant hybrid that has a distinctive colour and smell. It was created largely by chance, unknown breeders in Topeka, Kansas, found that a male plant of hybrid Hawaiian/Romulan had fertilized a female plant of sativa Island Sweet Skunk. It produced a strain with colourful flowers and high trichome production. The strain is known for its strong and well-balanced high and its soothing analgesic properties. Golden Goat has 1% CBD in its genes, and a THC value that averages 16% but can reach as high as 23%.
Golden Goat’s buds are dense, medium sized, and indica in appearance, with heavy and densely packed leaves. The leaves are bright green and can have hints of pink or red thanks to pigments called anthocyanins that may be activated by cold weather during the plants’ vegetative stage. The flowers are coated in amber trichomes that gives the cured buds their golden glow. When grown and cured properly, Golden Goat’s buds are sticky and leave behind a large amount of residue. The smell is fruity and when burned, it can smell spicy and earthy. The strain produces a strong and acrid smoke that can cause users to cough.
The Golden Goat high grows gradually. It begins with a sativa-like buzz with slight altered perception and a sharpening of the senses. However, the sensory distortion soon fades into physical relaxation. Users will feel a calm radiating through their body and this prevents the sativa side of things becoming too much. At the same time, the body stone is not so strong that it will induce a couchlock. Thanks to this, it is a great strain for use at any time of day. There is CBD present in the strain and this may have some medical benefits. Golden Goat’s high tends to be short, lasting 1.5 to 2.5 hours, but the relatively high THC content means that new users may want to moderate their dosage.
Golden Goat is a clone-only strain, this means that it isn’t possible to purchase packaged seeds and growers need to obtain and transplant clippings from mature plants. It can be grown both indoors and outdoors. Outdoors it will need consistent sunlight and temperatures of between 72 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. The plants are tall and wispy with widely spaced flowering nodes, so growers may not need to trim broad fan leaves during the vegetative stage. The flowering period is fairly long, between nine and eleven weeks.
Golden Goat is very popular in dispensaries and it appeals thanks to the balance it provides between thoughtfulness and physical calm. It is a highly versatile strain and is welcome in conversational social situations and in quieter introspective settings. It is widely considered to be a fun and productive high, thanks to its many landrace ancestors, and despite its strong odour, remains a firm favourite.
