Fish Tale Blonde Ale

Brewed by Fish Brewing Company/Leavenworth Beers
Style: Golden Ale/Blond Ale
Olympia, Washington USA

The aroma has salt, peat, butterscotch, apricots, oak, and syrup. The appearance is amber gold with a big head. The flavor is not as complex as the aroma but most of the elements are present, especially the peat. The palate is average but nice. Overall I like it but it’s not like any golden ale I have had but maybe thats a good thing.

(12 oz bottle: Hi-Time Wine Cellars in Costa Mesa, CA) Sweet and somewhat sugary nose, perhaps a bit of caramel or honey in there, but not much in the way of malt or hops. The flavor is also somewhat sweet, surprisingly caramely (albeit light, but still...), and very light on malt or hops, but what’s up with this odd woody and slightly smoky flavor that emerges in the finish? Talk about coming out of left field! Light-to-medium bodied, but with only sweetness and no bitterness, it gets cloying and tiring on the palate. Pale amber color is fully clear. The small whitish head eventually fades to a small ring and leaves no lacing. Not terrible, but totally lacking any character or complexity.

The beer pours from the 12-ounce bottle a clear gold, the head two fingers, the texture creamy and the color white, lacing provides a nice concealing sheet upon the glass. Nose has a sweet malt aroma; hint of hops, citrus like crispness, start has a decent malt presence with a bit of bitter bite, top light to medium in feel. Finish sternly acidic, somewhat sweet with the hops present, quite dry aftertaste, a drinkable beer, average at best, nice session beer.

Bottle: Translucent golden, small fizzy head, spotty lacing, lively carbonation.   Pilsener like aroma, slightly skunked and even a bit smokey... WTF!   WHOA, malted peat and ashtray immediately up front.   This comes across as a quasi english pale ale / czech pilsner.   Hop aspect is nil, malt is minor, and WTF factor is high.   It is light, somewhat refreshing, but not at all what I expected.   Lingering campfire or charred wood... WTF?!?!   This seems to be an intermingling of various styles, or a new style completely.   The ashtray reminds me of Full Sail Rip Curl or Redhook Chinook.   Oh, and this is newly bottled too!   Damnit, I want more barrel aged big beers from Fish Tale!!!

Bottle. Aroma had a decent lemon and burnt toast to it. Gold body with small white creamy head. Flavor a spicey up front with the lemon and some vanilla. Last swig left a vanilla malt aftertaste. Not overly bitter but some noticable. Decent brew and refreshing.

Ah, for a blonde it had flavor, but it wasn’t all that great of a flavor. The pour was golden with slight orange hues. Nice initial head, quickly fades, but the lacingg was ok. The aroma was fruity with some wheat notes. The flavor was grainy, fruity, and wheaty, somewhat vegetal, herbal, musty underneath it all, leaving a less than optimal experience, but not a terrible one. Mouthfeel was moderate to heavy for the style but overall light medium. Not bad. Not great.

[Taster – Portland Oregon, Spring Beer Festival]
A golden yellow color, nice head and a great aroma. I liked this beer. The flavors where complex and the rye to me added to the flavor. Really liked how it finished leaving me to want more. Great beer for the summer.

bottle-pours light orange with a big fizzy white head which suggested oxidization. light citrus, some dusty esters (oxidization), some flowery notes that suggest dandelions. Flavors are lots of grains with some woody components. some light oxidization but nothing overbearing. some nice earthy hops on the finish with some light citrus fruits. not bad for a blonde and would love to try on tap.