Nodding Head 700 Level

Brewed by Nodding Head Brewery
Style: Golden Ale/Blond Ale
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA

I really liked this blond ale. Arrived at the table in a large pitcher, was light in color, and slightly aromatic. The aromaticness was quite visually flavorful, whatever that means. Tasted hoppy, a little too hoppy, if you ask me. However, this is one my favorites from Nodding head.

v. light in color/ taste. not v. flavorful at all, but an ideal brew for a hot summer day, when you really need a crisp/light cool-down.

Pours a light golen color with a small white head. Scents of malt and barley with not much else to speak of. If there were any hops in this beer, I would be shocked.

Light blonde color. Funky malty aroma. The smell literally reminds me of the 700 level at the Vet. Metalic notes mingle with lite sweetness. Bitter metalic finish. The funk from the 700 level is alive and well with this brew....somebody hand me a battery.....

Clear yellow, clingy, filmy head. Sulphurous aroma. Chemical. Eggy, underbittered and starchy. Watery with a mild CO2 break. A kolsch/blonde ale that goes the wrong way - like Bohemian Pils often do.

Draught pint at Nodding Head on 1/19/07
Small white head fairly rapidly fades to partial cover/ring. No lacing left behind. Very high clarity and a warm gouda colored body (I get bored of saying brass/blonde/gold/bronze/copper).
Paperiness/acetyldehyde is immediately present in the nose. Grainy, very attenuated malts backed by a touch of light sourness are further apparent. On the end, and growing stronger with warming, are some fresh, though quite subtle, hops. Green and very herbal, it seems like it has more character than your typical saaz and is quite distinct. Can’t quite put my finger on it. Maybe something like hallertauer or brewers gold. A light spicy almost spearmint-like note is produced, and a touch of soft fruits (the blueberries that Egajdzis notes, perhaps) seem to come from the mix of yeast bi-product and hop. Medium-weak to weak strength of aroma overall, with no alcohol. The paperiness and grainy, near astringency needs to go.
Quite fruity in the mouth, with apples quite prominent. A bit of sweetness, actually, from the hops, followed by a dry straw-like flavor that is backed by large amounts of water. Some bitterness on the finish. Somewhat overdone carbonation keeps the malt apparency sparse and seems to highlight the paper/dry-apple flavors. Watery texture, no alcohol noted. The hops are interesting, if still somewhat underdone, but there’s no getting around the brewing flaws.

on tap-pours a creamy white head that laces and pale yellow color. Aroma is saaz hop, herbal, spruce? Taste is mild grain, mild saaz hops, herbal, spruce?. Good character light beer. OK/mild carbonation.

smell is of total yuengling pale lager and boringness. First hit of flavor is very light, watery, and much like the smell, but on the finish you get a little kick of hops and a little malt. still very passable.