Drakes Blonde Ale

Brewed by Drakes Brewing Company
Style: Kölsch
San Leandro, California USA

Draft at Brewery - Friday Evening Open House. Pours clear medium yellow with a moderate white head that leaves a trace of lace. Aroma is lightly malty sweet, with hints of citrus and herbs. The flavor is also lightly sweet, with a slight breadiness accompanying the citrus and herbiness. Light body and moderate carbonation. Refreshing brew, but not much else.

This is incredibly easy to drink. Crisp and refreshing, it’s a fantastic beer for the summer (eventhough it’s January) but can be enjoyable anytime of course. The pour is this cloudy golden goodness with a nice foamy head. Aroma is malty, a tad bit spicy (which I loved) and some citrus. Mouthfeel is moderate/full, finish is very clean and smooth. While it was in my mouth there were notes of a sweet, grasy maltiness character that I found really nice with a touch of lemony goodness. Damn, this is a fine beer that should be enjoyed year round.

Bottle: Pale golden, very vibrant, moderate to small white head, somewhat fizzy, quite nice lacing, very light carbonation.   Soft and sweet malt nose, moreso like hay or dried grass.   Very smooth sweet grassy malt base, very little hop profile if any at all.   Yeah, quite smooth and very very clean.   I am quite pleased with this one.   Body and mouthfeel are moderate.   Lingering sweetness well beyond the finish.   A touch sweeter than I prefer, but still very tasty.   Smooth, clean, and crisp.   Thanks Dan!

Thanks to DarkElf for this beer.

Poured a golden effervescent yellow with a small creamy white head. Crisp corn, hop, and lemon aroma. Taste is clean grassy hops, lemon zest, and a touch of corn... no toffee aftertaste... very smooth. Nicely made and very thirst quenching.

This is a decent, easy drinking brew! Pours a light golden in color with a big, thick head and lots of lacing. Aroma of sweet malt and slight grass. Light in flavor with some citrus and light and toasty, fairly sweet malt. Finish quickly with some citric hops lingering. Give me this over any american macro any day. If only they knew… Thanks Rodger, and good job!

Bottle acquired in trade with DarkElf (thanks!). Poured a lighter, slightly hazy gold color with a smaller sized white head. Sweet and fruit aromas and tastes with some citrus. Starts of sweet and ends in a spicy and somewhat bitter finish.

Pours light gold with a white head, subdued aroma is sweet and a bit spicy. Opens with a fruity sweetness tempered with a bit of spice and hops, finishes clean. Certainly recognizable as a Kölsch but this brewery has a talent for enhancing and giving some distinction to each style they attempt. If I were a fan of this style I would say that this is one of the best.

(12 oz bottle: BevMo in La Jolla, CA) One of the more flavorful and enjoyable entries in the Kölsch style, it’s also one of the few I’ve sampled that has nice balance and actually shares a few characteristics of a Kölsch. Fruity and lightly sweet up front, rather like orange citrus, and becoming moderately hoppy and bitter in the finish. Light body, but not watery, nice and smooth on the palate. The nose is fruity, but I’m not getting much in the way of hops. Pale golden in color and somewhat hazy in appearance. White head pours to an average, half-inch height and gradually slims down to a wide halo, leaving a few patches of lace behind. Still not a style I tend to rave about, but this is a nice, easy drinking, summery beer with actual character.