Big Sky Crystal Ale

Brewed by Big Sky Brewing Company
Style: Golden Ale/Blond Ale
Missoula, Montana USA

Serve in English pint, Shaker

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On-Tap @ Papago The beer fresh from the tap is a nice clear blond color with a big fluffy white head that dissipates slowly leaving a fine curtain of lace to cover the glass. Nose has a fresh crisp hint of hops, sweet malt, quite appetizing; start is somewhat sweet with a pleasant grain profile and the top light to moderate in feel. Finish has a stern acidity, hops potent and the aftertaste dry, a real nice drinking beer; I had three pints, just damn good.

Big Sky Crystal Ale--2004 12 oz. Bottle. 5.00% ABV? 20 IBU’s? (4.0 / 5.0) Golden Ale. Foamy white light lace head. Clear bright thin golden color. Mild floral hop front. Crisp mild tangy dry sweet butterscotch ester dough hint Pils body. Refreshing clean mild citrus hop end. OK. Sampled 8/11/2004. Big Sky Crystal Ale--2006 12 oz. Bottle. 4.70% ABV. 25+IBU’s? (4.25 / 5.0) Golden Ale. Mild lacy head. Clear bright thin yellow color. Crisp tangy floral Saaz Pils front. Refreshing tangy mild butterscotch body with a fruit ester hint. Tangy clean balanced hop end. Nice Pils Ale. Wheat hints? Sampled 11/3/2006.

Bottle - This was kind of bland and blah. I have come to never expect greatness from this style. A slightly bready maltiness, with some sweet honey notes. Tastes like the 2nd runnings of one of their other beers, possibly the trout slayer, but just weak and bland all the way though, finishes with a slightly bitter citrus hop note.

Bottle. R-Bar, Bozeman Not sure if this was a really old bottle, but I was very dissapointed. Very clear and light. Minimal nose, overcarbed.

Picked up single 12-oz bottle at John’s Market Place in Portland, Oregon. Pours a clear golden blonde brew with a fast dissolving white head that leaves behind a white ring and spotty lacing. Aroma is very light with a hint of white enriched bread, a touch of orange zest and some herbal spice. Taste is highly carbonated, light bodied with flavors of white bread, some orange citrus peel with a mild bitterness. Finish is slightly gritty with a bready aftertaste at first and then clean cut with no bitterness. Bring on the 100+ F degree sunny day, a few bottles of Crystal Ale at 35 degrees and I’m set.

As expected, clear with white head. Refreshing and light. More flavor than I thought I’d get. I could put many of these away on a hot tejas summer day.

This beer struck me as being a bit under-rated on this site. I’ve noticed Big Sky beers popping up everywhere, and their IPA is certainly no good, but I was curious about some of their other beers, and was plesantly (albeit minorly) surprised by this beer. Its smell is bad (overly corn-ish smelling), but its tasting is faintly hoppy and pleasant. Not a bad beer, and earns a weak recommendation from me. Its appearance is a hazy bright yellow, with a head that is pleasantly abundant consisting of inconsistently sized bubbles. Aroma is a bit off-putting; this beer smells like corn grits. Flavor is good; very light but hoppy. Mouthfeel is unremarkable. There is a fair amount to like about this beer...I would drink this again.

Pours piss yellow with a very small white head. Horrible aroma is bad with that beer on the floor smell. I wish I could explain that crappy aroma. Ttaste is lemon, grass, soap. Not good.

I’m trying to decide if I enjoyed this or if I felt it was a disappointment. This is one seriously fruity kolsch. In the aroma there is apples, some oranges with little hop profile at all. I can deal with it from a kolsch though. Appearance is crystal clear, dark yellow with medium white head. Mouthfeel is light and crisp with a slight dry finish. Flavors are apples, some grassy hops, bready yeast, and some sweet malt. The main part though is it reminds you of drinking golden grape juice, not the concord kind mind you. It is refreshing and it goes down very quickly. Average beer.

12 oz bottle from Bev Mo La Mesa. Pours a deep golden color.....lite white head. Aroma of some hops, maybe some citrus fruits.

Bottled. Pours a light amber with a lacy cream-colored head. The aroma has some citrus and a smidgeon of toffee. The taste had a bigger hop presence than I expected, and also has some toffee and fruit. Dry pine and grapefruit finish. Crisp and refreshing.