Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Regular Guy Brewing Hot Blonde Review




Name: Regular Guy Hot Blonde
Style: Blonde Ale
ABV: 4.5%

It's time to look at my second beer that was sent to me by Seth from Regular Guy Brewing. This time it's their Hot Blonde. As you may have guessed from the name, it's a Blonde Ale brewed with Jalapeno peppers.

Now I'm going to go on the record here and say that I'm not terribly familiar with chili beers. In fact, I've only had maybe one of them in my life, which was from Fitger's Brewhouse. Come to think of it, my only exposure to spicy anything comes from my wife, who happens to make Indian dishes on a regular basis.

Much like Smokey Grove, Hot Blonde has a very professional looking label that could probably pass off as one from an actual brewery. The only thing missing is the Regular Guy custom cap, but I've already got one for my collection but I'll let it pass!

Hot Blonde pours a very hazy yellow color with a thin, yet foamy head. The lacing retention is actually quite good and the carbonation is rather low in terms of appearance.

The aroma is somewhat yeasty with a nice spicy aroma that is not too overbearing. There's also some pale maltiness in here too with a bit of barley, some mild hoppiness and light peppers.

The flavor, much like the nose, starts out with some yeastiness and a nicely balanced spicy heat. On the back on the palate is a very strong peppery taste that starts to interfere with the rest of the flavor save for the spiciness. There are some malty notes and light hops, but they're all but eclipsed by the sheer raw peppers.

The palate is thankfully very light in terms of body and the carbonation is also very light, which is a good thing too when you consider that this is a chili beer and any carbonation would no doubt intensify those spicy flavors.

I like the aroma, I like the overall body, but the flavor needs some work. To be fair, the flavor itself is actually quite good and has a nice heat to it but it tasted like too much like a liquid Jalapeno and therefore way too peppery for my liking. All that needs to be done is to tune down the raw jalapeno taste (not the heat itself) and you'll have an awesome chili beer on your hands.

Regular Guy Brewing Hot Blonde - 7/10

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