Oggis California Gold Blonde Ale

Brewed by Left Coast/Oggis Pizza and Brewing Company
Style: Cream Ale
Del Mar, California USA

This beer rocks. Probably the best "lawnmower beer" I’ve tasted. The aroma is very faint, but is moderately malty and just slightly hoppy. I also detected a pad of butter in the essence. It has a clear, flat, medium golden hue with a small, frothy, white, fully diminishing head and fair lacing. The flavor starts lightly on the bitter side and then is moderately malty and lightly bitter on the back side. Short finish. Medium bodied with a dry, lively mouthfeel. I really enjoyed this beer. It’s a cream ale.

Draught pint at Vista on 3/24/07
Large white head is well-retained, with sparkling carbonation in the clear, sunny-yellow beer. Minimal lacing.
Crisp, aromatic malts in the nose do most of the work, while there is just a hint of peachy fruit ester, very reserved, in the background. It works well as a balance to the grainy maltiness. Softer ale yeast notes provide light minerals and just a touch of dough. Hops are soft and floral, wouldnt have guessed sterling, but something like very fresh, liberal EKG (sterling is close, I guess). Not as much citrus as I’d expect from Sterling (they usually give a nice non-bitter, lemon-lime note). Importantly, no flaws of any kind with a generally high aroma strength.
Crisp, kolsch-like malts have a touch of paperiness to them, but are more or less quite pleasingly crisp. Dry grains, with a hint of honey and just a touch of bitterness. Some light nectarine/peach esters and a very well-carbonated, yet not sharp mouthfeel that was quite quenching. Fruitiness grows as the beer warms, as does the hop flavor. Quite pleasant, and maybe just a bit more softness on the palate from some different malts (the vienna gives it too much of a toasty/bready edge) would be beneficial. Nice one.

Plastic bottle w/ twist off cap. Pours a nice golden color w/ a shallow froth. Head retention is weak and possesses only a fine ring of residual lacing. Aromas of malts w/ slight biscuiting. Medium nectar w/ minimal effers that only show at mid palate. Mildly flavored w/ a moderate malt backbone. A really tasty biscuit nuance shows up early and stays through to the finish. The finish is bittered perfectly w/ an asprin twitch that digs in and leaves a numbing sensation. Not a bad session brew at all and I can’t tell it came from a plastic bottle. Take this one to the beach.

At b/pub. A clean yellow pour with light white head and lace. Hints of wet paper and lite corn. A semi dry beer with a nice bitter finish. A bit of malt as well. A medium bodied cream ale with a bit too much carbonation for me. Very clean crisp drinker that is light enough to be refreshing. Solid drinker that I could drink a number of.

On-tap at Oggi’s Vista. Pours golden yellow with a moderate sized, fizzy, white head, good lace. Smells crisp and cereal malty. Tastes sweet and crisp, cereal malty. Medium body, good carbonation.

The beer emerges from the 12-ounce brown plastic bottle with the twist off cap a clear gold, the head substantial, creamy white that fades leaving a fine curtain of lace. Nose has a nice malt sweetness, fresh and clean to the senses; start is somewhat sweet, a bit of bitterness at the back with the feel to the palate light. Finish has a customary acidity, the hops mild in their spiciness, aftertaste dry, seems like a good candidate for a session beer.

Yellow color with smallish head. Smelled like light oranges. Flavor had a sweet maltiness to itwith an explosive carbonation.

Brewed & sampled on tap at Oggi’s Scottsdale, AZ
This beer is a brilliantly clear, pale straw-gold color, it is topped by a frothy, white head that just barely rings the sides of the glass. The aroma has some slight herbal notes, some grassy grain notes and a sort of green-grape fruitiness.

The beer finishes with a creamy mouthfeel to it. This is accompanied by a lingering grain-like note. The beer is lightly sharp up front with a bit of spicy hop character and a biting note that is a combination of carbonation and hop bitterness. The beer is quite thin overall, which makes it quite refreshing. I could see myself drinking a couple of these on a hot day. This is a pretty standard example of a Blonde ale, definitely a step up from the BMC crowd. This is actually a pretty solid Blonde, but alas it is really not by bag.