New Belgium Blue Paddle

Brewed by New Belgium Brewing Company
Style: Pilsener
Fort Collins, Colorado USA

Draught in a pint glass. Beer pours a clear, medium-gold color with an average-sized, foamy, off-white, mostly and quickly diminishing head. The aroma is a snooze: Malty with a light note of toasted grain; Hoppy with trace notes of green grass and straw and a moderate note of pine/resin; Yeasty with a trace of bread dough; Trace miscellaneous note of honey and corn. The flavor wasn’t much more engaging. Began moderately bitter, lightly sweet with a long, moderately heavy bitter, lightly astringent finish with corney retros. The body was light-to-medium, the texture was watery and the carbonation was stronger-than-average. More like a premium macro than a Pils. Dull; I don’t think I’d pick this up again.

Smacks more of a standard 50s American lager than a crisp clean pilsener. Like the start, bubbly with some hop and a hint of citrus, but the finish goes into a flat malt. It may be all malt, but it makes me think of wheat. So I wasn’t old enough to drink in the 50’s, but I started, and the same beers were available in the 60’s. In the 60’s this would have left MIchelob in the dust.

Pours a very bubbly light yellow. Small head , fades quickly. Smells very hoppy. The taste starts off fairly sharp, fading into a very malty taste, with just a taste of something sour lurking in the aftertaste. The palate is very light and bubbly, and it smells great, but for me, the taste brought this beer’s rating down quite a bit.

Thanks to tjthresh for this. The beer says best by Nov 4, 2005; so, it’s a little old. Anyway, the beer pours to a champagne colored body and nice bubbles with a thick creamy white head with excellent lacing. The aroma is malty, floral, and perfumey. The malts are a little stale smelling, but the hops make up for that. The flavor is subtle. Light biscuit malt and some grassy floral hops. The palate is very smooth. So light, but not watery. Kinda hard to explain the feeling. Silken. Not too bad. I’d drink it again if few other options existed. A tasty Pilsener but no Prima Pils.

12oz bottle. BB 28APR06. Golden color, sudsy, blothcy white head w/ spotty lace. Subdued aroma of malt & floral, perfumey hops. Pleasent enough, but one must search for it. Good mouthfeel. Bitter, crisp finish. A hop dominated beer, lingering finish shows a bit of that floralness from the nose. Malt is there, but it is just in the background to the hop bitterness. A very enjoyable hoppy pils.

Not too much aroma. This is a nice pilsener. Very easy to drink and deosn’t have the downside of normal lagers. A good introductory for you friends who like crappy beers.

This is the umpteenth New Belgium Brewing Company brew that I have sampled, and I find that I am continually disappointed. Not sure what it is, but everytime I see one I expect to like it. Nice packaging, I suppose. On to the beer: Hazy yellow very blah pour. Smells like an average pils. Hay, hops, etc. Tastes sort of like grass to me... I don’t eat grass, people! Not terrible, just not noteworthy. Malty earthy taste with very hoppy bitter finish.

12oz. bottle best before 4/28/06. Clear, light golden color with a small white head. Fairly unpleasant aroma of sweet biscuity malts with a touch of hops. Flavor was thankfully much better. Mildly sweet malt with some straw and a decent bitter hop finish.