San Marcos Honey Ale

Brewed by San Marcos Brewery & Grill
Style: Golden Ale/Blond Ale
San Marcos, California USA

Tasted at San Marcos. Clear light orange amber with fizzy white head. Bready aroma and a taste of honey bread with a sweet finish.

Tap at San Marcos Brewing
Amber color, light lacing. Nose of light malt, some husky honey flavor. Light sweetness and lacking in any hop balanced. Fat finish and hard, unbalanced.

My impression of this beer was good. I am a fan of good micro-brewed honey ale’s, and this impressed me. I pours with little head, but a nich golden color. Upon first taste, you will immediatley notice a sweet honey toasted flavor. It’s rich, but not too much to handle. I finished clean and crisp. The is a lighter bodied beer which goes perfect with one of the brewery’s fine cuisines.

(22 oz bottle: Purchased for $3.25 at the brewery) Either this bottle is mislabeled and I’m drinking their fine Amber Ale, or the Wild Clover Honey Ale isn’t too far off from the amber in flavor. Probably the latter. It’s quite malty and toasty, lightly bitter, and mildly sweet. Like most of their beers, it has that signature malt profile dominating the flavor. I’m not getting much, if any, honey or even the sugary sweetness normally attributed to honey beers. The nose is also quite malty, again with a slight honey aroma that’s probably imagined because it’s "supposed to be there." Medium body. Light amber color, fully clear in appearance. Smallish off-white head leaves oddly shaped bits of lacing here and there on the glass. If this is indeed the Wild Clover Honey Ale, it’s the maltiest, most flavorful and enjoyable honey beer I’ve ever had. The only problem is that I don’t really taste any honey! Will probably retry again the next time I visit this brewpub, and I’ll sample it from the tap instead.

This brew pours with a deep golden body topped by a medium thick head with some lacing left behind. The aroma and flavor are both sweet and malty with a slight hint of honey and a slight mustiness. The flavor also has a hint of hops in it. Light bodied and smooth.