South Shore Northern Lights Ale

Brewed by South Shore Brewery/Wilmarths Deepwater Grille
Style: Golden Ale/Blond Ale
Ashland, Wisconsin USA

Serve in English pint, Shaker

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GNBF. Poured watery, light golden with a creamy, tight-bubbled beige head. The aroma picked up toasted grains and honey, with herbal and floral accents.. soft and enjoyable. The flavor was on the sweet side, with toasted caramel and pale malts at the core.. lemon and grainy bitterness around.. quick finish. Light-bodied with moderate carbonation on the palate.. watery at times.. OK feel and flow.

This beer is really pretty decent, but still nothing much to it. I like some more complexity.

UPDATED: JUN 12, 2010 As South Shore Herbal Cream Ale: Picked up a single bottle from Cellars Wine & Spirits in St Paul, MN. Pours a cloudy pale golden yellow brew, very nice fizzy white foam. fast dissolving to a fine film and little lacing. Strange aroms of yeast, champagne, and citrus peel. Taste is just as different. Very light and carbonated on the tongue, fairly smooth with citrus flavor. The "herbal" may be some spice, but hard to figure this one out. Palate is thin and citrus finish.

As South Shore Northern Lights: Sampled on draught at the 2010 Wisconsin Craft Beer Festival in Chilton, WI. Pours a clear pale golden colored brew with an average sized white head that leaves behind some spotty lacing. Aroma of golden grain malt, fruity character, grassy hops and a hint of spice. Taste is light to medium bodied, a little carbonation with flavors of golden grain malt, spicy hops and even some white pepper. Finish is semi-dry crisp and a more floral hop with a mild spice aftertaste. A fine summer golden ale with some sweet and mild spices to make this one interesting.

On tap at Fox Cities Brewfest 2010. Pour was light golden with an aroma of crisp wheat and light golden malt. Flavors were very smooth and light with some fruity characters poking through the well attenuated body. Good brew.

12 oz bottle. Pours a clear dark gold body with a large foamy white head that took forever to settle due to the vigorous carbonation. The nose is indeed quite floral and herbal with some light delicate pale malts. The flavor is really pretty decent for what I was expecting. The herbal character is very forward, but it’s quite delicate and nuanced. Very clean rather crisp on the finish for a Cream Ale. Light bodied with a little too much fizzy spritzy carbonation that’s a bit distracting. A very enjoyable beer. Far exceeded my expectations.

Pale straw yellow with an active white head that’s gone in a jiffy. Aroma of corn, flowers, spices and herbs. Taste of herbal hops, malt, lemongrass and assorted spices. Somewhat of an interesting mix of herbs but the beer behind it is pretty ho-hum. Over carbonated and finishes up a little dry.

Hazy golden color with a lasting white head, a lot of carbonation and a little sediment floating around. Hops and cloves on the nose. Malty mouth feel, flavor of lemon zest with a hint of wheat and a slightly tart finish.

BOTTLE: at WA Frost (St. Paul, MN) on 1.25.09. Pours a murky straw color, with herbs/fruit on the nose. Taste is herbs and cherry, not hoppy, and carbonated. Decent beer.

This was an interesting tasting brew. A silky mouthfeel with a hint of spice and herbs, yet still typical in a cream ale fashion of prevalent malted flavors with a touch of hops in the finish.

The issue with this beer is not the flavor. I think it actually tastes pretty decent, like a cream soda with the elements of a good sausage. It doesn’t look like much, other than dirty cream soda, but that’s not really vital. The problem is with the very soft and retreating palate, which makes it feel very limp in the mouth. It has a sweet/sour plus salty/bitter thing going on with the measure of bitterness at the end. Interesting beer, if only it weren’t so ambivalent. The flavors are decent, though not perfect either--there’s a chance I wouldn’t like the flavor if I had it too many times. Bottle.