San Marcos Honey Ale

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

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.

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

(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.

On tap at San Marcos Brewery & Grill--Clear copper-amber body with a small wispy white head. Bubbly, sweet, nutty, creamy, nose. Creamy, English flavor. Bready finish.

On-tap at the brewery. Pours golden with a thin white head and specks of lace. Smells of honey with some hops as well. Tastes bitter at first like a pale ale but then the honey kicks in and sweetens it up through the middle to the finish. Medium body, vibrant carbonation. Not bad.

On tap at the brewery. A golden ared pour with a white lace. Almost no aroma but nothing bad to mention. A bit of malt with a good bitter finish(where is the honey)? A little foamy and a bit thin. Another good drinker nothing really exceptional but again a nice drinker.

On tap. Clear deep golden with an off-white head. Sweetish aroma of malt and honey. Medium body, sweet malty. Finishes dry with a whiff of sulphur. 070709

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.