Buffalo Bills Orange Blossom Cream Ale

Brewed by Buffalo Bills Brewery
Style: Fruit Beer
Hayward, California USA

Got suckered in by the cool looking bottle and its solid orange cap, and the note on the label that there was "orange flower extract added"... that sounded interesting. Unfortunately, all I can say is yikes! Opening the bottle you are assaulted with the stong smell of a creamsicle. Gave the aroma 4 rating only because I was amazing my how strong the smell was and it smelled pretty good (though again unfortunately, not like a beer). Kind of a uriney color, but had a decent, though fleeting, head. Sadly, the head was the only indication I was drinking a beer. Tasted like Zima and with an unpleasant aftertaste. I would seriously not classify this as beer... perhaps some kind of "malt beverage" would be more appropriate.

Bottle: Pours an opaque golden color with a small, fizzy white head. Smells like a combination of Orange Slice and orange cough drops. Flavor is intoxicatingly orange-filled and sweet. Still, overly fizzy and fake orange flavor. Not very pleasant.

So, I’ve had a couple of bottles now. The first time, I thought the orange flavor was artificial and cloying, verging on medicinal. A day or so later I try it and decide that the orange flavor wasn’t bad, in fact it seemed almost fresh. This is important, because the orange character is pretty much all this has going for it.

2008 Bottle - Of all the faux fruit beers out there, I liked this one the most...powerful orange extract aroma, looks clear golden, pretty blah, not too creamy which is good because I’ve never met a cream ale I liked, flavour is all bitter orange on the front, followed by subdued grain and milk, still is a shit beer, but the best of the shit beers...

powerful orange sherbert aroma. tastes orangy and wheaty. creamier than the last cream ale i tried and its not even listed as a cream ale....loses points for unconvincing orange flavoring

Surprisingly good. It’s exactly what one would expect. Light in body, light orange floral aroma and taste. Sweet but no where near cloying or overpowering. Very well done. Light spice. I think it works well as exactly what’s it’s intended to be. Don’t let it warm up though. Once it gets into the upper 50s the flaws come out.

Amber color. Smell of flowers, orange peal, hops and fake pine. Taste of orange cream, pine, hops and some spicy notes.

Bottle. Pours an orange-amber color with a solid, frothy white head. The nose is entirely artificial orange, which I assume is from the orange flower extract. It’s quite off-putting, more reminiscent of orange candy than the actual fruit. Flavor is surprisingly balanced, a touch of graininess holds up to the sweet and sour orange character. The beer is drinkable, but somewhat perplexing. I don’t quite understand its aim, and I’m really not sure how to judge its success.