McKenzie Brandywine Gold

Brewed by McKenzie Brew House
Style: Dortmunder/Helles
Glen Mills, Pennsylvania USA

Clear straw with white head, nice lacing. Aroma is medium sweet, cereal, bread, some lemon. Taste is medium sweet, cereal, dough, some lemon, light grassy in finish. Light-medium body, some crispness.

On tap at McKenzie’s. Poured a light and clear yellow color with a smaller sized white head. Aromas and tastes of grass, with some citrus and sweet malts. Lively body.

White head quickly begs for departure. The body looks light gold, hazy and flat. Dulled out floral, leafy, minty and lemony hops offer more nuances than most, but all in an undefined manner, lost in an overdone candyish malt profile that is not the cleanest. Offers interesting bready undertones, but quickly develops lemon juicy nuances that lead into citric and grainy territory. Light-medium body, thin yet oily texture, rather flattish.

The Lure:
Faint citrusy and spicy hops under a sweet malt base. I thought I was going to get a crafty and crisp lager, but this appears to be their house blond bore.

The Festivities:
Sweet malts recall plantanes and pears, as pleasant carbonation offer easy quaffing. Too sweet and not hoppy enough for what I like in the style, the clean finish leaving nothing to hang on to. Well-brewed yes, but horribly boring.

Transcendence:
There is no purpose in smelling and tasting your slice of white bread.

Draft at the brewpub. Pours gold, with minimal head. Aroma of malt, some hops, slight honey. Tastes crisp, malty, with finishing hints of citrus, slight hops, and honey.

Grainy, doughy, floral and minty aroma. Lightly hazy golden body is topped by a low, fine bubbled, white head that recedes to ring with some lacing. Mild herbal, wheat flavour. Light body with strong carbonation. Sampled at the Kennet Square Brewfest 2005.

Poured a golden color with a small, white head that quickly diminished to nothing, leaving no lacing on the glass. Aroma of sweet malt, dough, some straw, and light citrus / grassy hops. Taste of toasted malts, grains, and finishing with a dry, lightly bitter, hop finish.

Pours a clear straw color with a medium white head. The aroma is sweet and malty. Ordinary and bland flavor of malt with lingering sweetness. The body is light and the carbonation is medium. A forgettable experience from a brewery that ususally provides goosebumps.