Pike Naughty Nellies Ale

Brewed by Pike Pub & Brewery
Style: Golden Ale/Blond Ale
Seattle, Washington USA

Draught sampler at the brewpub. Light golden with a fluffy white head. Aroma is fresh but simple. Body is creamy. Flavour of grainy malt and light herbal hops with some citrus rind. Could be a decent session beer, but I expect I’d get bored of it after a couple of pints.

Bottle: Hazy orange with a thin white head, flowery hops in the aroma, light bodied with good carbonation, starts and ends lightly bitter.

A vigorous pour produces a frothy, three-finger thick, pale, off-white colored head in my 25cl tulip glass. The beer is a nice gold hue that shows an almost brilliantly clear, full gold color when held up to the light. The aroma has a sweet grain note to it up front, a touch of grassy grain, a solid cracker-like maltiness and a finish that has a touch of spicy hop character, though only just.

Fairly dry tasting, but there is a touch of grain sweetness here. Mostly the malt provides a grassy grain character with a touch of cracker like malt dryness. The beer finishes with a nice, though soft, biting hop bitterness that serves to further dry out the palate. This beer is pretty crisp, though not like a lager as there is a touch of fruity esters here that help to round things out and provide touches of pear. The hop character is much more evident than in the aroma, though it is about balanced with the malt character. The malt is more noticeable at the front of each sip while the finish is dominated by herbal, slightly pine-like hop flavors and bitterness. This has a nice soft heft to it, is eminently quaffable and has a nice textural offset between prickly carbonation and velvety malt.

This is a nicely made example of a Blond Ale; this isn’t aggressive, but the flavor is well balanced and without flaws and it has just enough character to keep me interested. This would be a solid hot weather beer, and to be honest, I am enjoying this quite a bit more than I expected to.

Purchased: Liquid Solutions

Touts itself as a session beer, and it is just mild enough and flavorful enough to qualify. A nice and relaxing brew.

Sample - North American Organic Brewers Festival - Portland, OR
Aroma – Had a very light ale aroma with a light malt backing.
Appearance – Golden in color with a nice head and clear.
Flavor – A nice beer with a good malt and hops balance.
Palate – Decent Mouthfeel, good texture with a dry finish.
Overall – Nice Pale ale flavor this was a good beer for the hot day.

On tap at Pike in Seattle. Pours a clear gold color. Aroma of sweet malt and bread with some floral. Flavor was bready and pasty, with a bit of apple and flowers. Just ok.

Pacific Northwest Vacation 2007

8/18/2007: Pike Naughty Nellie is a nice golden copper color and has a mild to moderate amount of carbonation. The frothy off-white head leaves behind finely speckled lacing. The aroma is a nice orangy citrus with some light toasty malt. The flavor contains a light amount of toffee malt balanced by a mild to moderate level of citrus and pine hop flavor and bitterness. The body is medium-light to medium, but can come across as a tad thin from time to time. This is an easy to drink beer with characteristics similar to those of a good pale ale.

Draught (pint) at Milano’s in Glacier, Washington. Rating #96 for this beer...

Bit cloudy brass or bronze colored ale with minimal but lasting head and some lacing on the glass. Mild hops aroma, sweet and yeasty. Smelling of sweet dried fruits which are also present in the taste. Full mouthfeel for such a light and crispy, crunchy beer. Not one I'd seek out, but if a friend had 12 in the fridge, I'd surely drink half for him.