Bell's Venus Review

Name: Bell's Venus
Style: Blonde Ale
ABV: 7.5%

Today I have the second beer in the Bell's Planet Series, which are a series of 7 beers based off of Gustav Holst's The Planets orchestral suite. The first one I reviewed was Mars: The Bringer of War, which was an aggressively hopped Imperial IPA, much like its musical counterpart which was aggressive as well.

The beer we are taking a look at is Venus: The Bringer of Peace, which is a Blonde Ale brewed with Apricot Juice, Honey, Cardamom (ginger) and vanilla beans. Also, I have provided the musical counterpart for this beer.

Venus pours a bright hazy orange color with a thin filmy head. The lacing retention is somewhat sparse and the visible carbonation is mild.

The aroma is somewhat of a delight. On the front end of the nose, I'm picking up on some strong ginger and vanilla notes, which are backed by some apricot & honey sweetness, and what I believe to be some citrus hoppiness.

The flavor switches it up a bit, as there is some citrus and apricot fruitiness upfront while the ginger and vanilla aspects make up the second part of the flavor before ending on with a lingering vanilla and light honey aftertaste. There's also a light coriander-like tanginess in the flavor that lingers mostly in the aftertaste

The body is pretty moderate in weight with some light carbonation, which makes this an easy drinker.

Venus matches its musical counterpart well with a complex & dazzling flavor and yet manages to come across as non-aggressive. Like the orchestral piece, it's a flavor that lingers on long after being finished. Be sure to check this out should you get the opportunity to do so.

And in case you were wondering, I did listen to the musical piece while drinking this.

Bell's Venus - 9.25/10

American Sky Tailgunner Gold Review

Name: American Sky Tailgunner Gold
Style: Blonde Ale 
ABV: 5%

It's time to look at another beer from American Sky Brewing based out of Hudson, Wisconsin. Since my last review, I found out that American Sky is also known as the Hudson Brewing Company but the website makes no mention of that, which leads me to believe that the latter is used as an LLC name.

The beer we will be looking at is their Tailgunner Gold, which is the brewery's Blonde Ale offering. As you will notice in the photo above, the label actually fell off of the bottle while I was removing the the beer from the fridge.

Tailgunner Gold pours a very dark & hazy yellow color with a thin filmy head. I am picking up on some mild carbonation but there are a ton of tiny sediment pieces floating around in the beer. I'll be honest, this isn't exactly the prettiest looking beer I've come across.

The aroma has a distinct dry hoppiness at the front of the nose that comes off as floral more than anything else. Aside from that, there are some pale malts and noticeable grassiness in here as well.

Flavor-wise, it's very dry from when it first touches your lips up until you swallow the beer. What I am able to up on are some mild dry hops and a light pale maltiness...and that's pretty much it. When I have to dig, figuratively speaking, for flavors, that's never really a good sign. The palate is rather moderate in weight but light when it comes to carbonation.

Tailgunner Gold is not offensive by any stretch of the imagination but it's just so very bland. The nose is somewhat promising but the flavor is just so incredibly dry and borders on being almost non-existent. It just lacks the flavors that I'm used to seeing in a Blonde Ale. I know that Blonde Ales aren't exactly held to the highest standards in the craft beer industry but even those have some type of flavor most of the time. If you're looking for a decent blonde ale, I wouldn't advise picking this up.

American Sky Tailgunner Gold - 6/10

Bad Weather Migration Review

Name: Bad Weather Migration Review
Style: Blonde Ale
ABV: 5%

Today I'm reviewing a beer from a fairly new Minnesota-based brewery called Bad Weather Brewing, which opened it's doors during the second half of 2013. As you may have guessed from the name, most of their beers have a weather-theme to it; After all, we Midwesterners love to talk about the weather! Heck, they were even featured on the Weather Channel this past winter, which you can view on the brewery's website.

For this review, I'm looking at their Migration Ale or Migration Fair Weather Ale if you want to be technical. It's a Blonde Ale brewed with rose hips which, according to Wikipedia, is the fruit of a rose plant. I had no idea that roses could produce fruit, let alone have nutritional value unless you so happen to be a rabbit.

Migration pours a hazy golden color with some moderate visible carbonation. The head is ghostly white and thin and the lacing is quite soapy with no retention.

The nose starts off with a pretty yeast-forward scent with some fairly pungent floral hoppiness, some fruity sweetness which must be from the rose hips and a nice pale maltiness. Even though I have never tasted rose hips before, I can already tell that this isn't your typical Blonde Ale.

Sure enough, the flavor starts out with a fairly strong yeast and floral hop profile, but the fruitiness brought on by the rosehips is unlike anything I've ever seen in a Blonde Ale....and it works out very well! The aftertaste is primarily yeasts, some mild hoppiness and pale malt sweetness.

The palate is considerably light body and heavy in the carbonation department. Though I would've preferred the carbonation to be milder to help one enjoy the flavors, it does provide a nice crisp feel.

I don't consider the Blonde Ale to be a beer style that is most likely to break the mold, but I found this to be very good! The rose hips in particular make this beer stand out amongst others of the same beer classification. If you're ever in Minnesota and so happen to come upon this, then I would highly recommend you try this out!

Bad Weather Migration - 9/10

Bent Brewstillery Nordic Blonde Review

Name: Bent Brewstillery Nordic Blonde 

Style: Blonde Ale

ABV: 5.7%

Earlier this year, a new brewery opened it's doors here in Minnesota called Bent Brewstillery, based out of Roseville, Minnesota. The first thing that makes this brewery unique is that Bent Brewstillery merged with another brewery called Pour Decisions Brewing and you can still find some of their beers in Bent's line-up. The other thing that makes this brewery unique is that it also makes spirits (Single Malt Whiskey, Gin, etc.) in addition to beer; Hence the name.

When I was down in the Twin Cities a couple weeks ago, I managed to grab a couple of bottles for myself. The first one I'm going to be looking at is their Nordic Blonde, which is described by the brewery as an "Amber Blonde," though it's classified on Beer Advocate as a Blonde Ale. 

Nordic Blonde pours a mildly hazy golden color with a thin filmy head. The lacing is fairly abundant and the visible carbonation is fairly mild. 

The aroma of starts out with some pale malt notes with some pungent floral hops and an encompassing yet fitting lemon zest. 

The flavor starts out with a fairly strong floral hoppiness, pale & Munich malts, barley and a light lemon zest.  The aftertaste has a distinct and lingering lemon and Munich maltiness.

The palate is generally pretty light with some moderate carbonation to boot, which gives it a crisp feeling yet it allows you to soak in the flavors in this beer.

It's definitely more of a different take for a Blonde Ale but I think it works quite well! On top of that, it's very reasonably priced as I picked this up for around $5. If you're looking for something a little off the beaten path with the Blonde Ale-style, you owe it to yourself to check this out!

Bent Brewstillery Nordic Blonde - 8.5/10

Bell's Third Coast Beer Review

Name: Bell's Third Coast Beer
Style: Blonde Ale
ABV: 4.8%

I know I've reviewed quite a few offerings already from Bell's Brewery but I've never taken a look at one of there more well known staples (unless you count Two-Hearted of course.) Tonight I bring you Bell's Third Coast Beer, a blonde ale style beer. This is not to be confused with Bell's Old Third Coast, which is a barleywine style ale and the total opposite of what the beer in question is

Third Coast Beer pours a hazy yellow color with a thin filmy head, mild carbonation and some decent lacing.

The aroma of has a moderate pale malt base with some mild floral hops & barley. A noticeable pilsner-like earthiness also permeate the nose.

Likewise, the flavor is pretty much the same as the nose. You've got a mild floral hoppiness mixed in with some pils & pale malts with some barley thrown in. The only noticeable difference is that there is a dry but grassy aftertaste.

The palate has a pretty light body and thankfully the carbonation is very light as well. It doesn't have a crisp feeling but it's very easy to drink.

Bell's Third Coast Beer is a decent Blonde Ale that both craft beer and macro lager drinkers will no doubt find something to like about this beer. With that said, it's not terribly impressive in terms of flavor and I can think of better examples of a Blonde Ale......but as I said before, it's decent and you aren't going wrong by giving this a try.

Bell's Third Coast Beer - 7.5/10

Badger Hill High Road Everyday Ale Review

Name: Badger Hill High Road Everyday Ale
Style: International Style Pale Ale
ABV: 5%

**Update: I was informed that this is, in fact, an International Style Pale Ale and uses a variety of hops, malts, found in different beer styles. I have made the changes needed to reflect this information**

It's time to look at another beer from Badger Hill Brewing. This time we have their High Road Everyday Ale, which is classified as an International Style Pale Ale. It is described as a sessionable ale, which utilizes ESB yeasts, Pilsner Malts and a Pale Hop Profile Variety.

High Road pours a very hazy wet straw yellow color with a soapy head. The visible carbonation is quite high and leaves behind no trace of lacing.

The aroma comes off initially as surprisingly fruity. I'm picking up notes of orange peel, mangoes, and citrus hops. The back end leans toward notes toffee and pale malts.

Interestingly enough, the flavor is rather grassy and pils-like up front with notes of barley, pale malts, and light citrus hops. The aftertaste is dry yet fruity at the same time. The overall palate is very lightweight but heavily carbonated. With that said, it's quite crisp.

In my previous draft of this review, I said that I thought that High Road suffered a bit from an identity crisis, and was a bit perplexed by the overall flavor while assuming it was a blonde ale. Knowing that it is, in fact, not a blonde ale, I can give this beer a more deserving score. While I'm still not exactly a huge fan of the "Fruity-Pils" flavor, it's still a decent beer. I'd still say try it out and decide for yourself.

Thanks to Brent from Badger Hill for clearing this up!

Badger Hill High Road Everyday Ale - 7.5/10

Keweenaw Pick Axe Review

Name: Keweenaw Pick Axe
Style: Blonde Ale
ABV: 4.7%

I'm doing something a little different for this review because it's from a brewery that is still relatively obscure according to what I have learned. I'm talking about Keweenaw Brewing, a small brewery from Michigan's Upper Peninsula. They're a pretty new sight on store shelves and we here in Duluth have access to their offerings.

For my first offering, I decided to review their Pick Axe Blonde Ale. Based on the other beers offered by Keweenaw, they all come in 12oz cans.

Pick Axe pours yellow color with a slight haze. The head takes on a filmy white appearance and no visible lacing.

The aroma consists of pale malts, barley, floral hops and slight grassiness. It has sort of a Czech-Pilsner quality to it.

Flavor is pretty much the same as the nose but a bit heavier emphasis on the pale malts which take on a light Pils quality. Aside from that, the barley and mild floral hops are present here. Aftertaste is on the drier side with just a hint of barley.

It's pretty lightweight in terms of body and it has some light carbonation as well. It does feel a bit watery but at the same time it's also a very easy to drink beer

Despite it's simplicity, Pick Axe is a very approachable beer and an affordable one at that. It isn't as good as my favorite blonde ale, Fulton Lonely Blonde, but it makes for a sessionable beer and perfect one for any occasion.

Keweenaw Pick Axe - 7.75/10

South Shore Northern Lights Ale Review

Name: South Shore Northern Lights Ale
Style: Blonde Ale
ABV: 4.3%

Despite Duluth being pretty much the central hub of beer along the shores of Lake Superior, many seem to forget that Northern Wisconsin has it's share of breweries as well. With the exception of Thirsty Pagan located over in Superior, Northern Wisconsin's brewery scene doesn't really get any recognition here in Duluth. South Shore Brewery based out of Ashland, WI is pretty much the only brewery located in Northwestern Wisconsin. The other breweries in the northern part of the state are closer to Rhinelander or situated along Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Today I will be looking at South Shore's Northern Lights Ale, which is their Blonde Ale and the one I most commonly see on the shelves.

Northern Lights pours a hazy yellow color with a surprisingly fizzy head yet no carbonation to speak of that's visible.

Barley, pale malts and yeasts with an encompassing grassiness make up the aroma. There are also some hints of wheat in the nose as well, but it only becomes apparent once it warms up.

The flavor has a surprisingly sweet pale malt and wheat profile, backed up by yeasts and barley. The earthiness that was present in the nose isn't as strong here but it's noticeable. There's also some strange adjunct grainy notes to the taste.

The body is pretty lightweight but the carbonation, contrary to it's seemingly dead appearance, is rather moderate for what it is.

I can't say that Northern Lights Ale blew me away because it certainly didn't. The flavor has a strange and unnecessary adjunct taste to it and could forgo the earthiness; If you remove those, this would've been a great blonde ale but it's an okay blonde ale for right now.

South Shore Northern Lights Ale - 6.5/10

Steel Toe Provider Ale Review

I remember when Steel Toe Brewing opened up back in 2011 because it's opening was delayed due to the MN State Government shutdown during that summer. When it finally did open, the residents of St. Louis Park proudly had a brewery they could call their own. Their availability in liquor is slowly expanding and is currently available at only a select few liquor stores and bars in Minneapolis & St. Paul.

I had their Rainmaker Double Amber Ale last year and found it to be quite good so keep an eye out for that review in the near future. I'll be taking a look at Steel Toe's Provider Ale, which is their blonde ale. It's also the first Steel Toe beer I had ever had after it was recommended to me at the Four Firkins early last year.

It pours a wet yellow color with a fairly strong haze and carbonation. The head itself is decently sized but is rather soapy in terms of lacing and retention.

The nose gives off a strong yeasty and floral hop scent along with some malty notes. Along with that is a very slight earthy scent that reminds me of a Pilsener.

Flavor-wise it's not too different from the aroma. You have your yeasts, floral hops, cloves and malts, which all come off as surprisingly vibrant considering it's style. The earthy scent I mentioned before is not present here.

It's a heavier ale but with a light carbonation which helps add to the flavor, so you'll have no difficulty drinking this beer.

Provider is the beer I keep finding myself coming back to in case I'm unsure what I want to get. It's not complex or perfect but I know it's a beer that I can't really go wrong with and I know that it will go good with dinner regardless of what I'm eating. What I'm trying to say is that when it comes to Blonde Ales, Provider pulls it off quite well.

Steel Toe Provider Ale - 8/10

Sam Adams Double Agent IPL Review

Name: Sam Adams Double Agent IPL
Style: American Pale Lager
ABV: 5.0%

Since I'm over half way through my Sam Adams Spring Seasonal Pack, I figured I would move on to the more interesting beers of the bunch. This time around, it's Sam Adams Double Agent IPL (India Pale Lager). I do have to give Sam Adams credit, they do have some pretty interesting ideas for some of their beers; In their seasonals, regular offerings and limited releases.

Looking over the description of the beer, which is claimed to be, in my own words, a very hop forward lager. The first thing that pops into my head which reminds me of when I had Hop Cream from Capitol Brewing on tap (which I will be reviewing in the not-so-distant future).

IPL pours a golden yellow color with a moderate amount of carbonation. From the start, it looks like your average golden lager.

However once you move onto the smell, it's an entirely different story. The smell is very piney & citrus hop heavy and forward. If one were to close their eyes and take a whiff, they would probably believe they are smelling a rich IPA.

And like the nose, the flavor has strong piney hops notes, along with a strong citrus rind and yeast flavor. Aftertaste is has a strong resin flavor, which sticks around for a while.

The body is fairly light and the carbonation is rather mild as well. This helps in conjunction with the flavor since it already "unique" enough as is.

There's more than meets the eye with this beer, which will be off-putting to those who are used to their golden lagers. However if you're feeling a little adventurous then this beer would be a good choice for you.

Sam Adams Double Agent IPL - 8/10

Brewery Ommegang Iron Throne Blonde Ale Review

For my first review, I thought I would do something special. So I've decided to start out with Iron Throne Blonde Ale from Brewery Ommegang; Though I suspect people are more likely to call this "The Game of Thrones Beer".

Now I must confess I have never seen Game of Thrones, but I would very much like to! The most I really know about the series is from the "Winter is Coming" meme, and that's pretty much it. So far it hasn't made it's way to Netflix so I may be forced to buy the DVD or wait it out until it magically appears in my Netflix Instant Queue. Knowing how protective HBO is of their properties, I may have to settle for the former.

Anyways, on to the beer. To start out it has the typically insanely fluffy & retentive head that is typical in every Brewery Ommegang beer I've had so far. As for the beer itself, it's a cloudy orange color with some mild carbonation. The lacing, as expected, is plentiful here.

On the nose, I'm getting some Biscuit/Yeast notes, along with some mild cloves, spices with a ginger like characteristic and floral hop notes. Smells like a Hefeweizen mixed with a Blonde Ale.

Interesting flavor as there is a Strong Yeast flavor on the front while a piney hop flavor rests more on the back of the palate. Along with that are some mild ginger and clove notes. The Aftertaste is a bit resiny but surprisingly dry at the same time.

As far as the palate goes, it's a bit too strong for my liking as far as carbonation goes. It feels crisp but the carbonation feels a bit too strong considering the flavor and I personally would've like to have seen a more subdued carbonation profile.

Overall, there are some issues with the palate but that shouldn't be a deterrent from what is otherwise a good beer! I'm sure loyal fans of the show will drink this up (no pun intended) and with good reason, it is a good beer that is worth checking out!

Brewery Ommegang Iron Throne Blonde Ale - 8/10