Sly Fox Chester County Lightning

I believe this is the beer I had - it was called Highbridge Lightning and was a Malt Liquor, I had it at the Phonixville location, July 2006. A yellow beer with a thin beige head. The aroma is sweet with light notes of metal, alcohol, and malt. The flavor is very sweet and rather alcoholic, leading to a dry end, where the alcohol dries out the mouth. Not bad, though not good either - anyways not my style.

This actually wasn’t as bad as I originally expected, clear golden appearance, very soft & bubbly white head, a little bit of lacing around the glass, aroma of corn & grains, very light body, but actually on the smooth & drinkable side, the flavors were surprisingly decent, but lots of corn & grains in there with a slight hint of fruitiness, a tiny sniff of strong alcohol flavors in the finish, compared slightly to a Bud but I’d much rather drink one of these than just about anything from A-B, the score could be a little on the high end just because of my view of the brewer, I really haven’t had a bad beer from the Sly Fox, but this was by far the one that will find its way to the bottom of the list

Tap in Royersford. Poured medium yellow with a white head. The aroma and the flavor were pretty much the same...foul. Mostly stale tasting grains and corn. Just got a little sample and couldn’t do more than a sip.

On tap at the Royersford location. I ordered the Instigator Doppelbock and they were out of it. The waitress brought me back this instead and said it was very close and almost the same (hmmm, I didn’t realize Malt Liquors & Doppelbocks where that close in style). Poured a medium and clear golden color with a small sized head. Aromas of corn and grain. Tastes of corn and grain with a honey sweetness to it. Has a medium alchohol finish.

On tap at Royersford. Pours a translucent golden yellow with a medium white foamy head that laced. Aroma of sweet malts and corn. Flavor of cereal, honey and a sweet malty corn.

Draught at Brewery: Slight corn aroma. A little sweet smelling, but also a little like dirty saddle and acorns. Pale golden color. Clear and sparkling. Very light for a Sly Fox beer. Large, creamy, white head that lasted. Good lacing. Flavor is very corn syrupy. No noticible hops. Alcohol is not too overpowering. Slightly sweet. Not very tasty at all. Medium body. Lively carbonation. Surprisingly drinkable in texture. The fact that it was brewed for Michael Jackson gives it a little credibility, but overall it does not represent the high quality of Sly Fox beer.

I call ’em like I see ’em (and smell ’em, and taste ’em), and this is the worst beer I have yet had from this marvelous brewpub. I cannot believe that this is 6.8% ABV, as I did not peg it as a malt liquor. It was pale gold with very little head, some corn, pale malt, and honey aromas, and a light-bodied taste that was similar to BMC offerings. I also wonder what demographic they are trying to appeal to with this, as the redneck population of the Royersford area is very low. Women won’t drink this, and men will likely stay away. Still, I applaud new styles; this one just missed the mark.

Poured a golden color with a very small, white head that left no lacing on the glass. Aroma of corn, honey, grains, and faint spiciness. Taste was abrasive, sharp, sweet corn taste, some tin, and alcohol in the back. I’d take a Featherweight Lager over this, I couldn’t finish it.