-
Stop lurking! Log in to search, post in our forums, review beers, see fewer ads, and more. — Todd, Founder of BeerAdvocate
Dirty Blonde
Great River Brewery
- From:
- Great River Brewery
- Iowa, United States
- Style:
- American Blonde Ale
- ABV:
- 4.8%
- Score:
- 81
- Avg:
- 3.53 | pDev: 18.98%
- Reviews:
- 21
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- May 09, 2022
- Added:
- May 11, 2013
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 18
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by FBarber from Illinois
2.78/5 rDev -21.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75
2.78/5 rDev -21.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75
Pours a light copper almost orange color, thick white head dissipates slowly leaving a thin layer of white foam on the top.
Smell has notes of malts, white chocolate and vanilla with a strong grain aroma. Pretty dull overall.
Taste follows the nose with a strong grainy flavor tinged with sweet notes of vanilla, white chocolate, and real bitter aftertaste - not like a hop bitterness more like an acidic grain bitterness. Tastes like a bad AAL with some vanilla/chocolate sweetness thrown in. Sugary sweet flavor coats the mouth as you drink it.
Feel is smooth and full from the sweetness. Moderate carbonation.
Overall this is not a beer I'd drink again willingly.
Aug 01, 2017Smell has notes of malts, white chocolate and vanilla with a strong grain aroma. Pretty dull overall.
Taste follows the nose with a strong grainy flavor tinged with sweet notes of vanilla, white chocolate, and real bitter aftertaste - not like a hop bitterness more like an acidic grain bitterness. Tastes like a bad AAL with some vanilla/chocolate sweetness thrown in. Sugary sweet flavor coats the mouth as you drink it.
Feel is smooth and full from the sweetness. Moderate carbonation.
Overall this is not a beer I'd drink again willingly.
Reviewed by Lone_Freighter from Vermont
3.75/5 rDev +6.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.75/5 rDev +6.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
This one pours a slightly hazy golden yellow color ("dirty blonde" I guess, sure why not?) and leaves the same colored body. It has a one finger foamy white head that dies and leaves some nice lookin’ clingy lacing to the glass. The smell has a toasty yet slightly roasty chocolate-ness that comes through slightly malty in the background The taste is sweet all the way through, and then gets a bit stronger in the chocolate the more it goes down. It has a strong sweet chocolate aftertaste and a dry finish. On the palate, it has a light to medium body and becomes somewhat sessionable with a slightly creamy edge to it. Carbonation is spot on for the style and for me. Overall, this would be my first American Blonde Ale with chocolate in it.
Jun 09, 2017Reviewed by StonedTrippin from Colorado
3.67/5 rDev +4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
3.67/5 rDev +4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
its hard to get a lot of chocolate to work in a beer this light, both in body and in abv and in grain complexion too, and i think this beer does a pretty good job with a difficult task, my first from great river. pale in color, with a weird sort of powdered chocolate nose to it, oddly grainy with it, not all the way cohesive, but not unappealing. the flavor is better, with a drier cocoa flavor to it, a subtle milk chocolate sweetness, and still enough beer flavor to make this sort of work. chocolate always ends up with dark grains in stout and porter and such, but its nice to see it sort of naked and exposed in a beer like this, a pretty light and simple blonde ale. the chocolate is well within balance, and doesnt seem forced to me at all, there is just the right amount, and there is even a little bitterness from it in the end. it could use more carbonation, but the flavors are pretty good for what this is. a rather ambitious brew really, and well executed. i like the chocolate flavor in a lighter beer like this, and could see this having extremely wild appeal, even among the non flavored ale drinkers. i dont need a ton of these, but one was nice!
Apr 18, 2017Reviewed by Nimbus_ from Illinois
3.75/5 rDev +6.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.75
3.75/5 rDev +6.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.75
Look: A beautiful, golden amber color. Only a tiny bit of haziness. A finger of foamy white head that dissipates pretty quickly once drinking.
Smell: There is a presence of bready malts, a little bit of sweet malts, and a cocoa backbone. Maybe I'm just not used to lighter beers like this having chocolate notes, but the overall aroma was sort of off putting. It didn't make me excited to take my first sip.
Taste: I was really surprised with the taste. The same malt and chocolate presence is in the flavor as well, but I think it comes out a lot more balanced than in the smell. It's really delicious, despite the off-putting smell I was getting.
Feel: Not as crisp or refreshing as a typical blonde, but still easily drinkable. Low carbonation. The chocolate doesn't add too much heaviness to the mouthfeel, so the whole feel remains balanced.
Overall: I went in to drinking this brew thinking it wouldn't be very good, and while the smell didn't impress me, pretty much every other aspect left me very pleased. It's a great, light choice for people who still love to have a little bit of chocolate in their beer.
Feb 12, 2017Smell: There is a presence of bready malts, a little bit of sweet malts, and a cocoa backbone. Maybe I'm just not used to lighter beers like this having chocolate notes, but the overall aroma was sort of off putting. It didn't make me excited to take my first sip.
Taste: I was really surprised with the taste. The same malt and chocolate presence is in the flavor as well, but I think it comes out a lot more balanced than in the smell. It's really delicious, despite the off-putting smell I was getting.
Feel: Not as crisp or refreshing as a typical blonde, but still easily drinkable. Low carbonation. The chocolate doesn't add too much heaviness to the mouthfeel, so the whole feel remains balanced.
Overall: I went in to drinking this brew thinking it wouldn't be very good, and while the smell didn't impress me, pretty much every other aspect left me very pleased. It's a great, light choice for people who still love to have a little bit of chocolate in their beer.
Reviewed by Suds from Missouri
3.98/5 rDev +12.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
3.98/5 rDev +12.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
From a can, this brew is a clearish blonde color with a few floaties and a fizzy white head. The aroma has a serious chocolate liquor scent....a hint of malt, and lots of chocolate and light bitterness. Medium Fumm in body and intense.
Sep 11, 2016Reviewed by Back_in_the_Saddle from Vermont
3.74/5 rDev +5.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.74/5 rDev +5.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
This was poured into a pint glass.
The appearance was a hazy burnt yellow color with a light transparency about it. Carbonation could be seen rising at a moderate pace to fill a one finger white foamy head that dissipated within about a minute leaving some light messy lacing all around.
The smell started off with some sweet corn malts. And then pops the chocolate. Yup, that's right, there's chocolate in a blonde ale and you know, it's not bad.
The taste was mainly sweet through the previously mentioned flavors and combined them well. Light lingering sweet aftertaste. Slightly refreshing sweet finish.
The mouthfeel was about a light to medium on the body with a fairly decent sessionability about it. Carbonation seemed good.
Overall, I say this was a pretty good blonde ale with chocolate in it.
Nov 23, 2015The appearance was a hazy burnt yellow color with a light transparency about it. Carbonation could be seen rising at a moderate pace to fill a one finger white foamy head that dissipated within about a minute leaving some light messy lacing all around.
The smell started off with some sweet corn malts. And then pops the chocolate. Yup, that's right, there's chocolate in a blonde ale and you know, it's not bad.
The taste was mainly sweet through the previously mentioned flavors and combined them well. Light lingering sweet aftertaste. Slightly refreshing sweet finish.
The mouthfeel was about a light to medium on the body with a fairly decent sessionability about it. Carbonation seemed good.
Overall, I say this was a pretty good blonde ale with chocolate in it.
Dirty Blonde from Great River Brewery
Beer rating:
81 out of
100 with
83 ratings
We love reviews (150 characters or more)! Check out: How to Review a Beer. You don't need to get fancy. Drop some thoughts on the beer's attributes (look, smell, taste, feel) plus your overall impression. Something that backs up your rating and helps others. Thanks!