Stone Cat Blonde

Brewed by Mercury Brewing and Distribution
Style: Golden Ale/Blond Ale
Ipswich, Massachusetts USA

Big, fluffy head; recedes with a center dome. Cloudy, but solid gold color. Nice soft floral hop aroma. Attractive in a mild way. Slightly sour which is distracting. Otherwise, this is a pleasant, if soft, beer with a light malt flavor. Good hop balance. A touch of fruitiness. Rich body for the style.

12oz bottle from Hannaford in Gardiner. Pours a hazy golden body with a half inch of whiteish head. Smells biscuity and citrusy with a slight hint of DMS. Tastes biscuity and sweet with a fair amount of lemony citrus, and a hint of pith toward the finish. Light to medium in mouthfeel with plentiful carbonation help make this one an easy drinker. Spot on for the style, and one of the best examples of it I’ve had. Little wrong with this one, and a good one for a hot summer day, I’d think.

On tap at Stoney’s Pier Restaurant in Solomon’s Island, Maryland. Smooth, full tasting ale. Good summer drink with crabs!

2004 bottle. Pours a bottle conditioned, mildly hazy vibrant golden-yellow with some touches of orange. Big foamy white head. Aroma has hints of fresh leafy, soily hops. A lovely fresh and very light citrus aroma is subtle on the nose as well. Flavor is of herbal-like hops, minty, leafy and quite flavorful. Moderate sweetness from the light barley malt and a very pleasing palate; lightly bubbly, good chewy texture, wonderful crisp, if not a bit spicy finish. Very fresh tasting. Not a watery light example of the style.
Earlier Rating: 11/21/2003 Total Score: 2.6
On tap at the Black Cow tap and Grill in Hamilton, MA. Draft. Pours a pale gold, clear, with a good amount of white head. very little lacing. Aroma is of a dry straw/hay hops, with maybe a touch of spice. Very dry flavor throughout, body remains medium but lightens up as it warms. Starts out with a very crisp straw hops flavor, light hay, and lots of lemon. Malt is ever so slightly present but never really comes out. Finish is rather bland, dry, lackluster. The hops profile is decent and at least there is a hint of malt, the spiciness is good, but way too much lemon, and a weird sugary thing going on in the finish.

Pours a straw-colored yellow, hazy with a white head. Aroma of grass clippings (my wife said lemon). Tasted kind of herby and floral, with a hint of oil of bergamot. Nice texture.

On tap Boston Beer Summit '02: I rated this awfully high for a Blonde Ale that I don't even remember tasting. I guess it's time for a roadtrip to Ipswich to make sense of this.

This has got a nice aroma, something I should be able to place but can’t right now. Quite dark for a golden, almost orange. Fruity coriander maybe? I was quite impressed with this. The flavor is sharp, maybe a bit too fruity to be a true session beer, but mostly a solid beer. Quite surprised that I liked it so much and that others didn’t.