American Blonde Ale « Brews and Blues

23Aug/090

White Wolf Golden Ale

It sucks when I get really busy at work. I'm not sure why, but when those times come around, I tend to drink less beer rather than more. I had a very long week and I didn't try any new beers at all. So tonight, I'm having a White Wolf Golden Ale from Wolf Beer Company in Wilmington, North Carolina. I picked up this bottle at the World Market as part of a mixed sixer a couple weeks ago, so I chilled it and gave it a pour. As noted by the beer's name, it poured a very rich golden color with a thick foamy head. The beer has a nice clean and crisp flavor with a light to medium body. It has a delicious malty sweetness with what seems to be a mild taste and aroma of citrus. I had never heard of this brewing company before, but since it's a North Carolina shop I had to give it a try and I'm glad I did.

This isn't the ONLY beer I have had in the last week. I'll have to admit that I had one last night as well. I cracked the top on one of my Blone Ales that I brewed most recently. I just wanted to see how it was progressing because I thought it might just be near ready, and I was right. The flavor was fantastic. The head and head retention were both up to snuff, but the carbonation hasn't quite finished up yet. It's almost there, but it needs a little more time in the bottle. Oh... I also had two sampler glasses of beer on Thursday from Starr Brewing during a tasting at Gail's Hops and Grapes. I tried their Barvarian Hefe and their Stout. The Hefe was really nice. I can't quite comment on the stout yet. I think I would need to work my way through a whole bottle of a beer like that to give any decent feedback on it. It did have a very nice roasted flavor though...

Until next time...

Filed under: American Blonde Ale, Beer Reviews, Home Brewing No Comments

24Jul/090

Skinny Dip

I went up to Gail's Hops and Grapes this afternoon to pick up a couple sixers to cover me for the weekend since my homebrew stash is getting rather low. I decided to try out a couple new summer seasonals beginning with New Belgium Brewing's Skinny Dip Beer.

As I was reading the label on the Skinny Dip, I saw something that really struck me as being odd in the beer world. This beer is labeled as a summer seasonal brew which traditionally means you have a lighter bodied beer that is a little lower than normal in alcohol and normally seasoned with a hint of fruit. This beer, however, plainly stated "full-bodied." That comment made me curious, so I decided to give it a try.

Skinny Dip pours with a rich golden color and a nice foamy head that sticks around in a thinner form for the entire glass. This is a sweet malty beer with some noticeable hop presence, but the kaffir lime comes through in the aroma a little more than in the flavor, but it does show a presence. My opinion of the body of this brew is not quite "full" but a little more on the medium side. At 4.2% ABV, this beer is what I like to call a summer quaffer or even a lawnmower beer. You can work this brew all afternoon without getting too sloshed to do anything else ;)

I'm still looking forward to brewing my own 'summer quaffer' on Sunday afternoon...

Filed under: American Blonde Ale, Beer Reviews, Seasonal No Comments

11Apr/093

Great Divide Samurai Ale

This is my second sampling of the four different Great Divide Brewing Company beers I purchased in an assorted 12-pack. The head on this beer was rather explosive when I poured it, and it's not a thick and creamy head at all. It's more of a soft drink type head that subsides rather quickly. From the bottle:

Brewed with rice and barley malts, Samurai is an easy drinking, unfiltered ale that changes the status quo for unfiltered beers. The addition of rice gives Samurai a crisp, refreshing and clean taste. This is definitely not your everyday unfiltered beer.

Hmmm... Maybe it's not an everyday unfiltered beer. At best, I would call it an every other day unfiltered beer. This brew did not impress me very much. I could probably be beaten in public for saying this, but rice is what makes Budweiser what it is :)

This beer is for the SBB crowd (something besides Budweiser). It's mildly different and those who drink fancy imports like Heineken and Foster's can have this beer and not feel left out when everyone else is drinking home brew and great micro/craft beers.