Blonde Fatale
Peace Tree Brewing Co.

Blonde FataleBlonde Fatale
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From:
Peace Tree Brewing Co.
 
Iowa, United States
Style:
Belgian Pale Strong Ale
Ranked #173
ABV:
8.5%
Score:
83
Ranked #24,294
Avg:
3.65 | pDev: 16.44%
Reviews:
61
Ratings:
253
Status:
Active
Rated:
Dec 28, 2023
Added:
Jul 19, 2010
Wants:
  3
Gots:
  68
This is an unfiltered Belgian Style Blonde Ale. The beer is blonde in color from the pale malted barley varieties. It is delicately hopped with Styrian Golding and Celeia for medium bitterness and aroma. Sugars are added for higher attenuation, following the practices of some Belgian brewers. Belgian ale yeast is used to add complex flavor esters. This beer is unfiltered and yeast is left in for additional conditioning. The beer is named Fatale because it is 8.5% alcohol by volume and will catch up with you if you’re not careful.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by sgttibbs:
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Rated by sgttibbs from Minnesota

4/5  rDev +9.6%

Jan 14, 2014
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.86 by bschmidt_37 from Illinois

Dec 28, 2023
 
Rated: 4.15 by uncleotis from Illinois

Aug 18, 2023
Photo of GrumpyGas
Reviewed by GrumpyGas from Illinois

3.37/5  rDev -7.7%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
12oz can dated 07/13/22 and poured into a pint glass shows a slightly hazed, orangeish-gold body an fails to fully collect a cap of thin, white bubbles, leaving random, running spots.

Aroma is the winner here with fresh banana leaning toward banana runts, but is one note.

The sweet banana flavor becomes overwhelming, regardless of hiding the abv.

Medium feel leans full, with an almost candy stickiness.

Overall a cloying sweet banana hinders my enjoyment.
Mar 18, 2023
 
Rated: 3.46 by Ox8840bo from Illinois

Nov 24, 2022
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Reviewed by Billolick from New York

3.88/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
12 oz. Stubby medium straw pour, with some amber hues, minor head, next to no lacing.

Notes of honey, melon and vanilla on the sniff.

Pleasing Belgian pale ale, moderate stone fruit notes, some bubblegum and yeasty qualities.

Up the carbonation and give this a dry and snappy finish and it would compare more favorably with the heavyweights of the style.
Sep 06, 2022
Photo of defunksta
Reviewed by defunksta from Wisconsin

3.69/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Appearance: Pours a clear, deep orange color with a strong white head that lasts. SRM of 11. (4.00)

Aroma: Moderate aromas of orange citrus, Belgian spices/esters including bubblegum, banana, cloves, and esters. Some bread behind that. (3.75)

Flavor: Strong flavors upfront of Belgian esters including bubblegum and sweet bread malts. Then it follows with more Belgian spices of cloves and coriander. Finishes with a sweet malt flavor mixed with bread, rum cake, and alcohol. (3.75)

Feel: Medium to heavier bodied as expected. Moderate carbonation, but ultimately the body and booze win out and finishes sweet and boozy. (3.50)

Overall: Haven't had a whole lot of the style, but enjoyed this one for what it was. A definite bubblegum and bread flavor. Appropriate Belgian spices. The finish however could have used a better body and carbonation. I think that is where the true Belgian beers are a step higher. Leaned sweet and boozy as the alcohol was detectable. The first 60-70% of this beer was fantastic, but the finish was a sweet, boozy mess. The rating "Good" on beer advocate is appropriate, but generous. (Rating: 3.69)
Jul 28, 2022
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Rated by SteelJackHammer from Iowa

2.7/5  rDev -26%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
Unpleasant aftertaste
Jul 25, 2022
 
Rated: 2.7 by BlueMountain from Iowa

Jun 04, 2022
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Reviewed by StoneTSR from Colorado

4.37/5  rDev +19.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
APPEARANCE: Looked fantastic in my fancy chalice/snifter. Very bright orange in color and super clear. Vibrant, is the word that comes to mind. Vibrant, but also delicate. The half-inch, stark white, bubbly head rests on top for about 20 seconds or so before fading away almost entirely.

SMELL: Not a ton on the nose at first, but a little swirl to wake up that head again brings back that word again - vibrant. A very pleasant bubble gum aroma with wifs of subtle hops wafts from the glass.

TASTE: The bubble gum from the nose hits the palate right away, but a quick and smooth transition towards the spicy side of things brings a mild touch of hop bitterness with it and balances this beer quite nicely. A touch of lemony citrus rounds it out and tees up the palate for that next sip. I believe Peace Tree's goal here, which they have successfully achieved, was to create a blank canvas for Belgian yeast to do it's thing. I mean this one is just right down the middle for of the style, a beautiful Belgian beer.

MOUTHFEEL: For such a pale-colored beer, the body is quite rich. Maybe rich is an overstatement, but it's medium to big bodied and although there's a bubble-gummy flavor to it, it's quite dry, particularly in the finish. The dryness combined with the strong sparkle makes the a highly refreshing beer.

OVERALL: Too bad it's so cold here right now. This would be an outstanding summer patio crusher...it makes me think of and want warm sunshine again. That said, I had zero idea that this was an 8.5% beer until I just now, 3/4 of the way through my glass, looked. Holy cow. There is so little indication of alcohol in this beer other than the buzz I've got right now. Looking forward to my next Peace Tree!
Feb 17, 2021
Photo of Chapman559
Rated by Chapman559 from Wisconsin

3.29/5  rDev -9.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 2 | overall: 3
Boozy. Watch out!
Feb 13, 2021
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Reviewed by BlackBeerPirate from Illinois

3.74/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Taste: Malty. bready, slight stone fruit notes, sweet, some kick to the finish. Rich malt grain nose. Golden hue, clear, with white head and some delicate lace. Medium body. Nice finish.
Jan 29, 2021
 
Rated: 3.73 by Myboymi from Kansas

Nov 07, 2020
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Reviewed by SierraNevallagash from Maine

3.98/5  rDev +9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Thanks to The-Adjunct-Hippie for this stubby little bottle. I've never heard of this before, but I'm ready to dig in.

Stubby bottle that I'm assuming is 12oz (looks a bit large) - no date - poured into a flared ale pint at 46F.

Pours a slightly hazed apricot golden, topped with two largw fingers of loose, airy cream coloured head, that quickly recedes to a razor-thin collar and sparking top. Plentiful visible effervescence.

Nose: Not at all what I was expecting. This is apparently a Belgian-style beer...I didn't get the memo. Sweet wheaty malt, with some of the fruitiest Belgian yeast esters I've ever smelled. If you inhale deeply, you definitwly get that green banana note, but it's completely buried beneath heaps of peach, apricot, Apple juice, cherry, white grape, and melon. It smells like a fruit cocktail in a glass. Some mild hopping presents some floral notes underneath, and the grist actually brings a little bit of a saison, or even gose vibe to it. A tiny hint of acidity. There's a faint hint of caramel malt as well. Really pleasant aroma. Very unique.

Palate: The beer greets the palate with an immediate malt sweetness, followed closely behind by strong fruity impressions. The initial sweetness is much more of a malted barley with a hint of biscuit, but that wheat is not far behind. Sweet malt, wheat, apricot, peach, white grape, cantaloupe, honeydew, and a hint of apple all bloom out, before that Belgian yeast comes charging in with a big green banana note with a hint of bubblegum. A very strong marmalade impression becomes clear after it warms a bit. The fruity notes drop quickly, leaving the wheat to take on a slightly metallic flavour, which is often typical, and then that blends with the yeast esters to turn the whole thing into a Belgian hefeweissen. It's the strangest thing. Between the sweetness and esters, it starts off as an almost fruit ale, then hints at a Belgian golden ale, briefly becomes a saison, before deciding it's a hefeweissen, while almost wanting to be a triple the whole time. The way the flavours evolve is so unique and bizarre. The finish brings more wheat and esters, but this time much drier, and there's the most distant suggestion of bittering hops in the background, and while they want to add a resinous touch, it never leads to bitterness. The beer finishes dry, clean, with just the essence of wheat and Belgian yeast esters.

Mouthfeel/Body: At first, the beer is full-bodied. You get this big fruity sweetness, and for a second, you think it's going to be syrupy amd cloying. However, that quickly peaks, and rapidly dries out when the wheat element ramps up, and then the beer becomes squarely medium-bodied, though it progressively gets lighter and lighter as it evolves. To play it safe, I'll say this is on the lighter side of medium-bodied. Effervescence is average, perhaps a bit fine, but it's plenty for the style...whatever this style is. I don't get much ABV in terms of flavour - I'd guess perhaps 5.5%-6%? However, 3/4 in, and I'm feeling seriously flushed and warm, as if I just drank a 9% beer thinking it was 5%. I'll have to double check the ABV. If this is higher than 6%, then this is one DANGEROUS beer.
Edit: This beer is 8.5% ABV... I am shocked. This hides its ABV better than literally every other beer I've ever had. Very impressive. I gave a pour to someone else, and she said, "That's between 5.2%-and 6.5% MAX". Crazy. This is a sneaky one.

Overall: I don't know what in the world this is. I think I like it. I can't even tell. It's just so strange and unique. No, unique isn't the word. One-of-a-kind is more like it. There needs to be a style called "Peach Tree Blonde Fatale". It's like a drop of every single non-dark beer under the sun put into a bottle. I'd love to have another go with this one. If you want a big beer that goea down like water - this is the one to pop. I don't drink for impact, but if I did, this stuff makes it easy. Strange, potent, complex...What a crazy beer.

Jared, thanks for blowing my mind with this one. I completely understand why you sent it.
Jan 06, 2020
 
Rated: 3.71 by JDizzle from Indiana

Dec 04, 2019
Photo of barnzy78
Reviewed by barnzy78 from Illinois

3.6/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
12oz bottle, no apparent freshness date. Thanks to my aunt Doris for giving me a 6 pack when I was in Iowa gor a visit. Crystal clear light caramel colored ale with a fizzy off-white head that dissipates quickly. Sweeter aroma of bready malt, caramel, spicy Belgian yeast, white grape, and apple. Flavors are similar to aroma: nutty & bready malt, honey, white grape, dry apple, spicy yeast, apricot, and earthy hops all come to mind. Full body, creamy and smooth, alcohol is well concealed, balanced dry finish. Pretty good representation of the style with this one. Always happy to try a new brewery.
Jun 05, 2019
 
Rated: 4.25 by clarkdustinw from Iowa

Apr 26, 2019
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Reviewed by SB2017 from Iowa

3.47/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
Meh meh meh, I've had this beer many times over and every time I'm unsatisfied. Tastes and smells like banana, a little too sweet and fruity. You tryna get drunk? Drink a six pack of this, it's too easy.
Dec 30, 2018
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Reviewed by moonman1994 from Wisconsin

3.93/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Nice and fruity tasting. A bit boozy but that's as to be expected for a 8.5% beer. The smell is pleasant and gives off a somewhat fruity aroma but isn't very strong. Definitely a beer that can appeal to people with a wide variety of palates.
Oct 22, 2018
 
Rated: 4.45 by miltondtoaster from Illinois

Sep 22, 2018
Blonde Fatale from Peace Tree Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 83 out of 100 with 253 ratings