Category Archives: Blond Ale

Adrift Hop Blonde Ale – Britannia Brewing Company

by Mike

From Britannia Brewing Company in the Richmond with a tasting room in Steveston Village comes their “Adrift Hop Blonde Ale”.  The beer pours a golden colour with a white head. The aroma is of floral hops, sweetness and fruit. The flavour is of grainy and bready malts, citrus, tropical fruit, grassy notes and mild hops bitterness. The alcohol content comes in at 4.7% with an IBU of 25. This is a good sessionable and aprochable beer. It wont knock your socks off but you should enjoy it. 

Commercial Description: Inspired by our home surrounded by the ocean and mountains this natural ale is brewed with generous late additions of local hops, creating aromas of citrus and tropical fruit. The palate is balanced and dry with subtle bitterness to complete this refreshing ale. “Set yourself Adrift”

Monita Blonde IPA – Andina Brewing Company

by Mike

From Andina Brewing Company in Vancouver comes their “Monita Blonde IPA”.  The beer pours a golden yellow colour with a white head.  The aroma consists of floral hops, citrus and tropical fruits with a sweet finish.  The flavour is of citrus, pineapple, citrus rind and mild bitterness.  The alcohol content comes in at 6.5% with an IBU of 60.  This is an enjoyable although basic IPA and well worth picking up.

Commercial Description:  Pours bright yellow with a touch of honey. Prominent aromas of citrus and tropical fruit come forward from the dry hop additions. By definition, an India Pale Ale is hoppier and higher in alcohol than its little sister, the pale ale, and has become the de facto flagship beer of modern craft brewing. Monita is relatively lighter. The taste is crisp with a solid malt body of honey and biscuit that carries the bitterness throughout but does not have an unpleasantly long aftertaste that you might expect from an American IPA.

Food pairing as per brewery:  Ceviche, Lamb Curry, Grilled Fish

Steve’s Beer Advent Calendar Day 4 – Blonde – Abdij Van St Martin

by steveeh

From Brasserie de Brunehaut for Abdij Van St Martin, Brunehaut, Belgium is their Blonde.

Pouring a cloudy, vibrant orange, there are noticeable suspended particles stationary in the beer though no visible carbonation. The head is thin, white with an orange tinge.

The nose is floral and vanilla with orange blossom. A little bit of grain at the end.

The flavours are effervescent and flit by quickly on the tongue while maintaining complexity. There is a base of lager-y, Molson-like “beer” flavour with a vanilla and honey sweetness to add balance and interest. There is a mineral bitterness to counter the sweet and the finish is of bitter orange.

Commercial description:

  • Look: A golden straw colour, with a strong foam once opened then the bubbles gently rise to the top and a good head remains.
  • Nose: Sharp, lively and nervous, fermentation with a touch reminiscent of a flowery cheese.
  • In the mouth: A round, balance and full flavour. In the mouth it is floral, elegant and direct, almost feminine. A great beer that perfectly suits cheeses with a hard crust or some fine Bries and Camemberts.
  • The aftertaste has a noble bitterness.

Ortega Blonde 2017 – Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub

by Mike

From Spinnakers Gastro Brewpub in Victoria BC comes the “Ortega Blonde” 2017 edition.  The beer is a blend of  wine and Ortega Blonde Ale.  The wine is of the final vintages of the Muse Winery that was the oldest winery on Vancouver Island.  The wine was a Bacchus wine.  The beer poured a golden colour with a white head.  The aroma consists of white wine, citrus and some grassy hops.  The flavour is of white wine, citrus, grain, bread, mild bitterness and a mild spicy hops.  The alcohol content comes in at 6.2% with an IBU of 24.  People that know me know that I do not like wine but this beer is well made and well blended and really refreshing.

Commercial Description:  Building on our 2014 Ortega Blonde, and taking the final vintages from Muse Winery, home of the oldest wines on Vancouver Island, this Ortega/Bacchus blend was introduced to a light bodied Canadian Pilsen based ale resulting in a delicate, complex, effervescent ale, a beer spritzer with citrus notes, and a dry white wine finish. As the saying goes “It takes lots of beer to make a good wine.” We believe in having them both and drinking them both too. Cheers!

Blondes In Stereo – Torchlight Brewing

by Mike

From Torchlight Brewing in Nelson BC comes their “Blondes In Stereo”.  The beer pours a cloudy blonde colour with a white head.  The aroma consists of grainy, citrus, citrus zest and some floral hops.  The flavour is of grain, bready, citrusy, orange, citrus zest, mild spices and mild bitterness.  The alcohol content comes in at 5% with an IBU of 19.  This gives you exactly what you would expect a tasty low hopped ale that drinks a bit like a lager.

Commercial Description:  Did you grab this bottle because it was the brightest one on the shelf?  Well, you’ve definitely made the right call by picking this crisp, refreshing, blonde ale to quench your craft beer thirst.  Made with Wakatu hops from New Zealand, this is the perfect beer to pair with all our sunshine shenanigans.