Central Waters Belgian Blonde Ale

Brewed by Central Waters Brewing Co.
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Amherst, Wisconsin USA

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

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Bottle - Pours clear light amber with a fluffy white head that dissipates quickly. Nose is light bread dough, clove, and a bit of white grape/apple. Pleasant. Taste is roughly the same--doughy and yeasty, with a more pronounced apple component, and a sharp, grassy hop finish. Just a touch of warming alcohol on the way down. Light spicing throughout. Fuller-bodied than what I expected, and the carbonation is a little jacked up. Not too bad...a much better beer that I had expected.

Picked up from the Binny’s build your own 6er rack. Probably older than it should be. Poured a mid-amber color with a quick disappearing head with residual lacing. Malt had a caramel and toffee characteristic, with the slightly resinous hops balancing it out. Very smooth and tasty for an 8.5% abv.

Pours a crisp light golden color with a medium off-white head which fades mostly clean with a few streaks of lacing. If you’re expecting a robust and complex Belgian ale then you will be disappointed. If you want a very drinkable ale with Belgian characteristics, I don’t think you’ll go wrong.

Draft at Alchemy. Hazy orange tan, with a big foamy off-white head. A pretty respectable offering, big fruity yeast esters, but surprisingly mellow and drinkable. Nice Styrian(?) hop balance gives it an authentic flavor. Semi lacking in terms of effervescence. Pleasantly clean and well attenuated, not a sticky mess at all. A pretty tasty beer, above average for a stateside example.

Served at a good temperature with a nice foamy, frothy, off white head that settles down and some lace. Color is a clear gold amber. Aroma is malt, yeast, fruit. Flavor is similar to nose, with sweet on top, followed by yeast flavs and bitterness and a little carbonic tang. Body is a tad flat, other wise full, and a little heavy. Finish is like flavor, on the short side in length. Fairly unremarkable, but not bad.

Pours a slightly hazy orange color with a tall, bubbly white head. Aroma has a sweet, slightly spicy nose, notes of candy sugar, light lemongrass, coriander and finishes with some light grainy presence. Flavor has the coriander coming out slightly stronger than in the nose but not to an extent where it lightens up the beer. Other flavors come in a bit later with lemon, orange and some yeast spiciness making their presence known. Body is light/modest with low, fine carbonation making it a perfect to hold the flavors. Overall an enjoyable brew. Definitely a lighter offering for a Belgian Strong but very well done with semi-complex flavors and a body to hold the flavors perfect without being watered down or cloying.

This is a very mild Belgian style that drinks and tastes much lighter than it is. It pours an almost clear golden w/ a small head of fine bubbles. The nose is a subdued clove spiciness w/ a hint of banana and some grain notes. This general Belgian character is accented by a lemony note once tasted (perhaps from coriander). Texture-wise, it’s American geographic origin shows itself. It is full bodied and w/ mild carbonation, which is a style more suited to hoppy American brew than a Belgian. It’s a decent brew overall but probably won’t really scratch the itch for most Belgian beer aficionados.

Pale orange, very bubbly, medium-to-heavy bodied and fruit (melon?) tastes. I agree with some of the other reviewers that it tastes like champagne. Slightly bitter too. That makes for a strong taste that I imagine some people may not care for, but I thought it was decent. Worth the try, but I probably won’t get it again.

Bottle @ Cafe Benelux. Hazy deep yellow with a small white head. Aroma of sugar, banana/clove yeast, cider and faint toast. Flavor is sweet sugary malt, lots of spices and some minerals. Medium to light body with average to high carbonation and a slightly off finish. Not a big fan of this one and very hard to get through a bottle.

Thanks to the NL gang for this one. Sort of like a thinner, less complex, less sweet version of Duvel. Still it hit the spot and very drinkable for it’s strength. Serving: Bottle

On tap at the Bomb Shelter. Good yeasty above average mouthfeel, pleasant aroma. Golden bodied appearance with a little white head. Decent drinkability. Nothing extraordinary, just something to drink anytime anywhere.