Viking Brewing Blonde

Brewed by Viking Brewing Company
Style: Pilsener
Dallas, Wisconsin USA

Don’t know if i had a bad bottle, but it poured with virtually no head even with a vigorous sloshing pour. Smelled strong, almost winey. No carbonation. Apple and sweet grapes noted. Just not much positive to say.

I agree w/GrainBeltGuzler: typical, average blonde. Good for mid- to late-session, but not enough substance in flavor or finish to deserve a starting position.

appropriately named, stereotypical blonde. looks absolutely beautiful but little substance. Not real impressed tasted like it could;ve been made in St. Louis

Pure golden, clear coloration, with a nice, creamy head above. Aroma, sweet and malty, honeyish and floral, hints of corn, maybe, but overall, pretty pleasant, very rounded and fresh. Taste, very mild, plain, straightforward, feels foremost of malt, little to no hops, which you would want in any pilsnener, right? All together, very smooth, balanced, tasty, sweet. Light in body, minimal texture, doesn’t impact on the palate much, but it does taste fine throughout the drink, which is more you can say for many a more mightily consumed beer-y beverage out there, in my very humble opinion. Absolutely, nothing wrong with this, but, alas, to please me, it would have to try a bit harder. If you just want a drinkin’ beer, something to slide down, no problemo, look no further.

Dark Honey Coloring. This Through Me Off as a Pilsner. Would like to Try Again, as it’s Possibly One of the Better in the Style I’ve Ever Had. Sweet. More Hops then Malt in Flavor. Different.

Bottle: Surprising the hue is a deep golden color, not the blonde I expected. Rocky lasting head and some lace. The faint aroma has notes of buttery and toasted malts, aromatic hops, ripened apple, and lemongrass. The taste starts crisp with the rye noticeable with indeed adding depth to the basic malt and hops combo. The buttery and sweet corn undertone actually works in this beer. The feel isn’t anything special but again works for this beer. I am really shocked by this beer, outside the weak nose this beer punches my ticket in all other categories. Worth a try for sure. A bonus point in overall rating for the style, becuase when you find a pils you really like, it stands out more.

Slightly amber coloring with little head. A much maltier aroma is present than I expected. Conversely, the taste was primarily hoppy. But that almost seems impossible given that it seemed more on the sweet side. Very strange brew. One of the better pilsners I’ve had, but I’d like to try it again to get a better feel for it.

This beer pours a tarnished copper color. It has almost no head (though some medium lacing is present), and the carbonation is strange: not much is present but what’s there does seem to bubble up quickly in the mouth and in the finish. This novelty element saves VBC Blonde from being rated at 1 or 2 for palate, as it is thin to the point of being irritating. This beer has a pleasant butterscotch aroma reminiscent of some grand styles of the 19th or early 20th centuries, and the rye is more evident in the aroma than in the flavor. (When aroma-tested through the bottle it seems to pick up a metallic tinge, but this is not present when aroma-tested from a pilsner glass.) I couldn’t find an alcohol content from their website, but this beer does seem to pack a stronger-than-expected kick - perhaps the rye doesn’t just add to its quality based on "flavor". It seems that in addition to alcohol, the rye also adds quite a bit of indirect sweetness: the overall flavor of this beer might be described as fruit-flavored in the Dots sense (does anyone remember Dots kids’ candy in boxes, I don’t know if they still make it). I expected something more bready and complex from an unpasteurized rye pilsner brewed in a neighboring state, but this is definitely worth the $3 per bottle if only for the extra kick. This is the first brew I’ve tried from this outfit - I’ll definitely give their others a taste as well.