Redhook Blonde Ale

Brewed by Redhook Brewery
Style: Golden Ale/Blond Ale
Woodinville, Washington USA

This is similar to their rye beer, but much better. Pale blonde colour. It has a plesant creamy, sweet flavour with hints of honey.

had an unpleasant smell that i just couldn't quite put my finger on. thank goodness, it tasted better but it was still unimpressive.

Had this after an IPA and it felt like water in my mouth initially. After some time to adjust the second sip didn't offer much more. Hint of a cream ale, mild bitterness. Not unpleasant---I'd offer it to my bud drinking friends as a training wheel beer...

This was the only non-BMC beer that I could find at a local small grocery store this afternoon, so I thought I'd give it a shot. Poured from the bottle a cloudy golden hue with a small white head that quickly diminished. It smelled very wheat-ish to me - I liked it. Flavor was pretty plain, but certainly nothing inoffensive - even had a few citrusy notes to it, with a nice malty finish. A decent beer for a lazy summer day - worth the $5.25 I paid for it.

When looking for a "refreshing" ale, look elsewhere. This is a ridiculous attempt at a blonde ale. Nothing is right here.

Re-rate 6/29/05: Didn’t recall rating this before so I ordered it on draught at Old Chicago, Eden Prairie, MN. My scores this time around are better across the board, which I attribute to a better draught version and the possibility that it is fresher than the 2 month old bottle I had in July ’03. Some citrus notes in the nose. Gold, slightly hazy body with not much visible carbonation. Decent off-white head. Excellent lace. Lighter in body and flavor than the Widmer Hefe I had previously. This is clearly not as good. But it is still a decent summer refresher for those with lighter palates. I am frankly shocked at the 5.77% ABV. Tastes a lot less than that. Original scores: Ar 4, Ap 3, Fl 5, Pal 3, Ov 10. 7/27/03: Wheat and yeast aroma...seems a little stale. Deep gold body, slowly carbonated. Small white head; fully diminishing. Good lace. Stale flavor in initial mouthfeel. Bottle is dated May ’03, so it shouldn’t be bad. Label says "refreshing". As thirsty as I was before drinking this brew, I thought almost any beer would taste refreshing and Red Hook Blonde simply didn’t. It is a little overly malty to be refreshing. Very light bitterness and light sweetness. Some citrus. Just not fabulous and has a bad aftertaste.

I'm pretty much in line with the other raters on this one -- it's a good example of an acceptable (but not outstanding or distinctive) beer. At the restaurant where I tried it (Good Company in Appleton, Wisconsin), it was the least macro item they had on tap, and under those circumstances it was refreshing enough.

This beer pours a light amber color and has little head and almost no lacing. Very cool color. The aroma is malty with a hint of citrus, but not very strong. The flavor is a little sour and a little bitter at the same time - some hints of citrus also. There's nothing too special about this beer - I didn't not particularly like the flavor, but it wasn't really bad, just not my style.