Hop On A Blonde
Saugatuck Brewing Company

Hop On A BlondeHop On A Blonde
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From:
Saugatuck Brewing Company
 
Michigan, United States
Style:
American Pale Ale
ABV:
5%
Score:
84
Avg:
3.7 | pDev: 11.62%
Reviews:
7
Ratings:
36
Status:
Active
Rated:
Sep 17, 2019
Added:
Oct 04, 2013
Wants:
  2
Gots:
  6
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Kerry1:
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Rated by Kerry1 from Michigan

4.5/5  rDev +21.6%

Aug 06, 2014
More User Ratings:
Photo of rodbeermunch
Reviewed by rodbeermunch from Nevada

3.68/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Had this back on the 2014 Midwest reunion trip. Was cool bc there was this blonde (not normally my thing) that I hopped on as soon as I got home. Fun for what it was Brittany. I'm guessing there are shrieking purple hair 1/2 tons who have a problem with the label, but I'm gonna give it a .25 bump in the look/appearance category for it.

Anyways, pours a familiar beer yellow. 1/2" white head. Aroma wasn't as hoppy as I hoped. Kind of fell into one of those, well its kinda hoppy for a blonde ale, might even be below average hop aroma for a pale ale.

Taste was largely the same hit of light, dry and well carbonated malt feels, hit with a 45ibu level of bitterness. Dig the crispness to it. Straddles the line between blonde ale and pale ale, I think its interesting and good enough. Would buy again, a good summer beer to have in the cooler for days at the softball park, football game or on the river.
Sep 17, 2019
 
Rated: 3.75 by Tivlavrie from Canada (AB)

May 07, 2016
Photo of biboergosum
Reviewed by biboergosum from Canada (AB)

3.69/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
12oz bottle, at 7.1% ABV, and part of the Saugatuck mixed-pack recently made available in Alberta. Cheeky as all get-out name and label imagery on this one, I'll tell you whut.

This beer pours a hazy, medium golden yellow colour, with one finger of wanly puffy, frothy, and mildly bubbly dirty white head, which leaves some random swaths of chunky lace around the glass as it slowly fades away.

It smells of musty orange and white grapefruit rind, a flinty chalkiness, crackery, and only slightly doughy pale malt, and further leafy wet pine cone hop esters. The taste is sharp citrusy (the same from the nose) and edgy pine and spruce tip bitters, grainy pale malt, a twinge of caramel sweetness, a receding wet stone path thing, and more leafy, floral, and faintly perfumed hops.

The carbonation is nicely fizzy at times, and gently frothy at others, the body a solid middleweight, and generally smooth, especially those moments when the hops aren't looking. It finishes trending dry, the lingering hop selection, crackery malt, and still dozy alcohol colluding as such.

A decent APA, the supposed 'blonde' characteristics mostly restrained to the label, as mentioned. Good and hoppy, with an elevated ABV that knows when to keep quiet, and just make everybody happy, so it's not particularly sessionable as a summery offering, but that's the price to be paid for this one.
Jun 22, 2015
 
Rated: 3.96 by Dustin_A_Stoutdrinker from Michigan

May 09, 2015
 
Rated: 4.15 by vader06 from Michigan

May 08, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by enelson from Illinois

Apr 29, 2015
 
Rated: 3.56 by LloydDobler from Indiana

Apr 04, 2015
 
Rated: 3.25 by Beerguy1969 from Michigan

Mar 29, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by verticalted from Michigan

Oct 21, 2014
 
Rated: 4.52 by digger_jl

Sep 06, 2014
Photo of superspak
Reviewed by superspak from North Carolina

3.88/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
12 ounce bottle into tulip glass; no bottle dating, but is a recent release. Pours moderately hazy golden orange color with a 1-2 finger dense and rocky off white head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings around the glass. Aromas of grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, lemon zest, orange peel, citrus rind, floral, grass, pine, light caramel, bread, and floral/grassy earthiness. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance and complexity of citrus/pine hops and moderate pale malt sweetness; with solid strength. Taste of grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, lemon zest, orange peel, citrus rind, floral, grass, pine, light caramel, bread, and floral/grassy earthiness. Good amount of pine/citrus rind bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, lemon/orange zest, pine, light caramel, bread, and floral/grassy earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Very nice complexity and robustness of bright citrus/pine hops and moderate pale malt sweetness; with a great malt/bitterness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, crisp, and fairly creamy/sticky mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with minimal warming present after the finish. Overall this was a very nice IPA style. All around good complexity and balance of bright citrus/pine hops and moderate pale malt sweetness; and very smooth and crisp to drink. A very enjoyable offering.
Sep 06, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by Hopheadjeffery from Illinois

Sep 06, 2014
 
Rated: 3.88 by vermilcj from Ohio

Aug 13, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by mpalestino from Pennsylvania

Aug 05, 2014
Photo of StoutHunter
Reviewed by StoutHunter from Michigan

3.42/5  rDev -7.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
I picked up a bottle of Saugatuck's Hop on a Blonde last week for $2.29 at The Lager Mill. I've never had this beer before, but I'm fan of this brewery and I thought this was worth a try, so lets see how it goes. No visible bottling date. Poured from a brown 12oz bottle into a imperial pint glass.

A- The label looks nice, it goes well with the name and I think it's eye catching. It poured a nice golden yellow color that took on more of a golden amber color when held to the light with two fingers worth of creamy white head that died down to a thin ring that stayed till the end and it left some spotty and patchy lacing behind. This was a pretty nice looking beer, but I thought it was just a little dark for the style.

S- The aroma starts off with a a slightly higher amount of medium sweetness with the hops being the first to show up and they impart some nice fruity aromas with some citrus and citrus rind like aromas sticking out the most, but there's also a light berry and piney hop aroma showing up in the background. There's also some green onion like aromas that show up more as the beer warms. Up next comes a light creamy aroma that goes right into the malt which impart some sweet malt, pale malt and slightly grainy aromas with some doughy yeast seeming to show up in the background. This beer had a pretty nice aroma, but I could have gone with out the light green onion aspect.

T- The taste seems to be similar to the aroma and it starts off with a slightly higher amount of medium sweetness followed by the hops still being the first to show up, but this time no single hoppy aspect seems to stick out the most and they all seem to show up pretty evenly. Up next comes the malts which impart the same malty aspects that they did in the aroma, but this time they are lighter and that doesn't make this beer too balanced. On the finish comes a low amount of high bitterness that lingers for a little bit and it had a bitter, citrus rind, slight green onion and sweet malt like aftertaste. This was a nice tasting beer, but it wasn't as balanced as I would like and the hops seemed to dominate a little too much.

M- Not the smoothest, pretty crisp, a little oily, slightly sticky, medium bodied with a medium amount of carbonation. This beer had a nice mouthfeel, but I wish it was a little smoother and not oily.

Overall I thought this was a nice beer, but I didn't think that it was a great example of a Blonde Ale, the hops seemed to dominate this beer and when it came to the taste the malts barely came through and it would be hard to identify this as a Blonde Ale and this could easily pass as a pretty bitter IPA and I don't think anyone would question it. This beer didn't have the best drinkability, it wasn't too smooth, pretty crisp, a little oily, slightly sticky, not too filling and the taste didn't do the best job at holding my attention, I think one is enough for me since I don't have any urge to drink another one and I think the lack of balance would start to wear on me. What I like the most about this beer was the appearance and aroma, those were the highlights of this beer and the were both pretty nice. What I like the least about this beer was the balance and drinkability, they just weren't what I would expect from a Hoppy Blonde Ale and I wasn't a big fan of the green onion hops either. I wouldn't buy this beer again, I think I would just rather have a Blonde Ale or a straight up IPA. This is worth a try if you like hoppy beers, but I can't say I would recommend this as a good beer. All in all I was just a little disappointed in this beer, Saugatuck usually does a good job at making beers that live up to it's name, but they got a little carried with hops on this one and the Blonde Ale base ends up getting lost. This isn't close to my favorite Saugatuck beer or Blonde Ale. I appreciate the effort, but I think with just a little bit of work that this could be a pretty good beer, better luck next time guys.
Jul 29, 2014
 
Rated: 3.25 by Chuffbomb from Ohio

Jul 23, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by SaisonRichBiere from Michigan

Jul 17, 2014
 
Rated: 2.75 by Walkerjgt from Ohio

Jun 29, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by PassMeAZima from Kentucky

Jun 28, 2014
Hop On A Blonde from Saugatuck Brewing Company
Beer rating: 84 out of 100 with 36 ratings