Island Blonde Ale

Brewed by Island Brewing
Style: Kölsch
Carpinteria, California USA

Serve in Kölsch/Altbier

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(Draught) Pours a clear yellow body with a moderate white head. Aroma of florals, grain, grass, and caramel. Flavor of grass, grain, honey, and light citrus.

Bottle purchased at the source. Pours with a mostly clear golden body with a somewhat longer (than per IBC’s usual) lasting white head. Aroma of candy corn, caramel, honey, bread and spicy hops. Taste is a bit bitter, tannic grain extraction, honey, and hops. Really dry, but not horribly flawed. Some metal notes. Lively bubbles, dry, bitter finish.

Bomber. Nose of light flowery hops, caramel, and yeasty mustiness. Hazy urine yellow with a big pale yellow head. Flavor is a slight tartness, yeast, and a hint of caramel.

Draught at the brewery. Light straw color with a fluffy white head. Faint malt aroma with a touch of floral hops. The flavor is light bread, crisp and light hops, and a mineral hardness. Very low on bitterness and sweetness. Light bodied with high carbonation. The mineral character works alright here, adding a crispness to the finish, but the flavors are pretty mellow overall. Decent for such a light beer

Really faint aroma. Light color, no head. This is disappointing. Not much crisp flavor. Seems more like a pale lager than a kolsch. Certainly not great.

On tap, part of sampler. Pours pale gold with a grassy aroma. Palate is clean and crisp, well suited for summer days. I tasted light flavors of citrus, hops, and nothing fancy. Decent.

Draft at brewery, consumed 02/18/08. Very clear yellow with long-lived active carbonation. Slightly spicy aroma (thank you, Saaz). Lightly bitter up front with a touch of malt. A little sweet on the finish with a berry flavor. Thank goodness for the lack of corn character! While not exciting, this is better than the average brewpub "light" ale that’s supposed to be a gateway for macro drinkers to enter the world of craft beer.

On-tap. Pours a very, very light almost perfectly clear yellow. White head of moderately sized bubbles, that fades and laces the glass slightly. Not a huge nose but it does smell of some citrusy hops with some malt undertones. Crisp and malty, with just enough hops to make this brew very interesting. Thin and crisp. Good carbonation throughout. I love this beer. I had it twice in SB on-tap. Very drinkable and highly recommended.

This had an average head.Not much aroma.It has a hoppy smell.It is a straw color.Has a light flavor of hops mainly.It is smooth tasting and not bitter.Has a soft citris,hoppy finish.Very drinkable with your buddies.If you want more flavor I would try another beer.This is an easy beer to drink that won’t distract you.

(22 oz bottle: Purchased at the brewery) Well, after buying an infected bottle from BevMo, and then having it replaced directly by the brewery with yet another infected bottle, I’ve persistently obtained a third bottle, and finally this one is healthy. Unfortunately, my efforts have been rewarded with a pretty odd tasting blonde ale. In fact, if I didn’t know better, I’d think I was drinking a Belgian Golden. It’s spicy, (Belgian) yeasty, sweet, and has a fairly prominent banana flavor as well. There is moderate bitterness in the finish, but this beer doesn’t taste hoppy at all. Very strange interpretation of what they claim to be a Kölsch-Style Ale. The nose is grainy and sweet, and again shows some of those Belgian characteristics, chiefly banana and Belgian yeast. Light-to-medium bodied, but with the moderate sweetness, it’s edging toward the medium side and certainly heavier than any true blonde ale I’ve sampled. Despite looking still, there is sufficient carbonation on the palate. Pale golden color is clear and still-looking. A very small whitish head forms reluctantly after the pour, but it dissipates completely. So although very far removed from what I expect out of a blonde ale, seeming to take on Belgian characteristics is not a bad direction to go. But a slight unpleasant hang from the bitterness seems to clash in the end. And who knows, it’s probably not supposed to seem Belgian either, so I might have to have this on tap to actually get a proper reading on this beer.