Blue Frog Blonde Frog Ale

Brewed by Blue Frog Grog and Grill
Style: Golden Ale/Blond Ale
Fairfield, California USA

26-Aug-08 (22-oz bottle: Purchased 26-May-07 for $4.49 at BevMo in La Jolla, CA) So this one has seen a bit of aging—unintentionally of course—and this would be death to most blonde ales, but this beer has held up very well indeed. In fact, it may even be better than when I tried this beer fresh a long time ago; I didn’t like it at all back then. The base malts taste more like a pale ale, which may be why the beer hasn’t fallen apart. It’s only slightly sweet, but there’s no breadiness at all, no sign of papery oxidation. The hops are quite floral in flavor and still reasonably bright, with mild bitterness in the finish. Balance is really quite acceptable. There’s a touch of apple skin and mustiness as the beer warms up, but that’s almost certainly the result of extended aging and it’s easy to overlook. As expected, hops are less bright in the nose, with apple skins and vague malts winning the aromatics by default. The body is light-medium in weight and the mouthfeel is reasonably crisp and refreshing on the palate. The beer pours a slightly hazy, golden-yellow body that is capped by a two-inch-tall, fluffy, white head that exhibits excellent retention by slowly settling in rocky fashion to a quarter-inch layer. Large patches of foam stick to the glass. Overall, this is quite a malty and hoppy beer for a blonde ale, and the nearly 7% alcohol is rather on the high side as well. From a marketing perspective here in California, perhaps they should rethink using the term "blonde" in the beer’s name, and the fact that the commercial description on the bottle calls this a pale ale, that is closer to the brewer’s intent. Unfortunately, as a pale ale, it’s average at best.

OBF 2008. Pretty floral for a blonde, citrus hops, fruity malts. Pours orange with a small white head. Crisp palate with a slight spiciness to the hops. Enjoyable and pretty strong for a blonde.

22oz bottle from BevMo Carmel Mountain. One of the better beers from Blue Frog. Pours a clear, faint golden yellow with a big white head. Light hint of hops and wheat, a clean and clear finish.

4oz sample from the Blue Frog in Fairfield, CA. Poured a copper color with little to no head. Not much to this beer, a little bit of malty sweetness with just a hit of floral hops. Nothing special about it.

This one did nothing for me. It tasted like a pale ale more than anything, except bad.

From a 22 oz bottle this poured a cloudy gold with a fat white head that looked like whipped cream, hung on forever, and left large lacing rings. Mouthfeel was smooth and clean, and flavors are fairly complex wth sweet caramel malts, floral hops, and and a hint of citrus. Slightly bitter finish. Fairly easy to drink.

Purchased at Pizza Port in Carlsbad, CA--Poured a pale amber body with a medium white head. Sweet, floral, spicy nose. Quite bitter on tongue. Crisp and clean. Nice.

Don’t think I like the aroma. A little like a bad pale lager. The flavor also seems a bit funky. Seems a bit grainy and wheaty with a tiny bit of hops at the end. Not good.