H.C. Berger Snowman Ale

Formerly brewed at H.C. Berger Brewing Co.
Style: Golden Ale/Blond Ale
Fort Collins, Colorado USA

Date: 12/07/2000
Mode: Bottle
Source: Wild Wing Cafe, Marietta

yellow, light malt aroma, sligtly sweet malt flavor, no hops or bitterness, bland

Aroma: 3/10; Appearance: 2/10; Flavor: 2/10; Palate: 2/10; Overall: 5/20
Rating: 1.2/5.0
Score: 4
-------- /> The score was calculated based upon the notes and an old scoring system.

Straw color. Pale in flavor. Vapid & Insipid. Like a snowman, good balance in the same sense as water has balance. Would be good if there were some malt and hops flavors.

This bottled brew poured a very small longlasting head of fine to medium sized white colored bubbles that left behind a carbonated slightly hazy yellow colored body and a good lace. The aroma ia a mild malt dough. The mouthfeel is smooth and tingly with a flavor of malty fruit like apricot.

A very, very, very small white head with fine sized bubbles that quickly diminished. The body was mostly transparent with soft carbonation and a pale yellow hue. The nose was lightly malty, sweet, citrus notes and fruity. The flavor was very flat, bland and boring with a sweet and light fruitiness. The mouthfeel was smooth, watery and thin making for a light textured beer with very sparse lacing. Not a beer that I will recommend.

I tried the "Summer Edition" (the snowman is dressed for summer - get it?). Pours a light golden color with a weak white head. Aroma is very light hops and a little fruit. Light bodied with mostly sweet fruit flavors and a mild hops presence. Slight citrus finish. Overall this beer is below average.

Buy a bunch of your favorite winter seasonals - OSA, Our Special Ale, heck, even Old Fezz - and try this one. What the Hell? Winter seasonal? I try not be one of those raters who gets hung up on style categories, but even judging this on its own merits as a Blond Ale it comes across as bland with no outstanding characteristics. This strikes me as beer dreamt up in the marketing department.

Slightly cloudy yellow orange color, the head white and dissipates quickly, the lace is adequate. Nose is malt and clean, light citrus tones, front is malt, the top is thin, the finish is quite acidic, dry, and has hop presence, all in all, not what I like.

this is an ale? sure didn’t seem like one. tasted more like a really bland pilsner - very little hops, very very light (the name ’snowman - an ale’ kind of fooled me into thinking that this was going to be a winter warmer - what a fool I am!). The taste was just way too light and nearly non-existent. when it warmed up a little, at least it had some funky taste to it. just not very good at all.