Drakes Blonde Ale

Brewed by Drakes Brewing Company
Style: Kölsch
San Leandro, California USA

Serve in Kölsch/Altbier

350 ml bottle from Bevmo. Hazy yellow with almost no head. Bready slightly spicy aroma and taste with a brassy finish.

Light aroma. This is a very light easy-drinking beer that I could down as a session beer quite easily. Dry in the finish, but quite nice.

12 ounce bottle purchased at BevMo in Natomas, CA. Grainy, cereal-like aroma with some floral, sweet aromas present, too. Mildly hazy golden body with a small-ish white head. Refreshing sweet, cereal, malty flavors to start. FInishes with a nice, crisp, spicy hoppiness. It’s nice to see someone brew a Kolsch that is actually similar to the style. My one complaint is that it lacks the paleness and the lemony citrus aromas and flavors that I expect from a Kolsch.

Hazy dark golden with sizeable amounts of off-white head. Really unique aroma - lemony, spicy, dry grass and some husky cereal grains along with some mild yeastiness. Medium sweet flavor with some light, tangy lemoniness, moderate raisin notes along with some more spicy hops, rich doughy maltiness. Finishes moderately hoppy, a little on the sweet side for a kolsch. Well done.

On tap @ Drakes poured a clear yellow with a small lasting white head. Aromas of straw, bread and light citrus. Palate was light bodied, crisp and slightly dry. Flavors of bread, straw and a hint of citrus with a dry crisp lightly bitter finish.

12ozer from moejuck. Soapy and crisp noble hop aroma. Very biscuit, with a fair amount of complexity. Lightly filtered pale auburn. Soft and smooth palate, slightly minerally, with a very gentle and quaffable flavor. Very nicely done.

UPDATED: APR 3, 2007 6-pack, questionably fresh, from the notorious pilsner stock piling Hollingshead Deli. This was refrigerated, however, so I’m going to go with it….
Bottle consumed over the weekend, 3/22-3/24/2007
Extremely frothy, large white head is slow to recede and laces moderately well. Clarity is high. Carbonation is forced, with plenty of bubbles in the deep blonde colored body with plenty of straw tones.
Grainy and straw-like malt notes right away show dryness in the malt bill, but a honey-vanilla sweetness creeps on the back end. Soft, fruity and lightly herbal hops are very reserved, though still very aromatic, adding very little bitterness. No flaws in the aroma, medium strength, no alcohol.
I like the variation on the malt flavors; not just all honey, or vanilla-cream or cookieish pale malts. The light grainy edge really helps break up the sweetness, as well. Clean yeast, with very low ester production and soft, floral hops with light nectarine/peach fruitiness and some mildly bitter spiciness. A touch of doughiness and a pretty full body relative to style. That’s ok though, it’s better than the beer being watery. Wow, Drakes really are showing themselves to be in the top tier of brewing malty beers. They’ve really got their mashing down solid and don’t skimp on the malt. Maybe not as well suited for a pils or blonde ale, though this one was still very enjoyable, and I have yet to have their pils fresh. Looking forward to the Brandy barrel barleywine and Imperial Stout I have of theirs!

Hand bottled from brewery. Nice, refreshing, crisp kolsch. As much character and flavor as you can expect out of a kolsch.