Renegade Blonde
Iron Fist Brewing Company

Renegade BlondeRenegade Blonde
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From:
Iron Fist Brewing Company
 
California, United States
Style:
Kölsch
ABV:
5.2%
Score:
80
Avg:
3.45 | pDev: 11.59%
Reviews:
22
Ratings:
70
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jan 17, 2021
Added:
Nov 14, 2010
Wants:
  2
Gots:
  12
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by smakawhat:
Photo of Smakawhat
Reviewed by Smakawhat from Maryland

3.72/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Poured from the bottle into a stange glass.

A hazy body, slightly dull, but with a darker orange and mostly deep peach yellow color. Some cola carbonation in appearance, most of it rising very quickly. Head barely forms a finger, soapy white, but settles to a thin puck.

Lemon lime scents on the nose in a nice citrus way. Slight grass and crisp malt sensations. Light and a little bit effervescent gas. Fairly alright.

Clean tasting on first sip. A bit of sharp bitterness while finishing but controlled with some clean malt sweetness. Slightly dry. Some nice crisp qualities to this, with a bit of missing malt density.

Overall though not a great kolsch but not a bad one either, certainly enjoyable.
Aug 16, 2013
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.61 by dfooter from California

Jan 17, 2021
Photo of MattBeer
Reviewed by MattBeer from California

2.46/5  rDev -28.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2
My friend in college, Jon, home-brewed a Kolsch once. I drank it, because, come on. I was feeding his cats while he was out of town and he had about 100 bottles of the stuff in the fridge. What the hell else did I have going on? So I'd crack one open whenever I came over there, think "boy I'm glad this is free, because it's pretty bad," feed the cat, and leave.

This beer tastes EXACTLY like that Kolsch from 20 years ago. My taste has gotten better, but this beer has not.

Drain-pour.
Dec 29, 2019
Photo of BeanBump
Reviewed by BeanBump from California

3.53/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
It's decent.

kind of bready, kind of citrusy and it has a lot of bubbles for a Kolsch. Not awful and you could definitely do a lot worse. To me, it seems almost like a base beer before you add adjuncts. On that subject, I think this beer could actually benefit from some flavor additions: coffee, vanilla, strawberry, etc.
Oct 23, 2019
Photo of TrojanRB
Reviewed by TrojanRB from Texas

3.54/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
Pours an am gold with head that disappeared quickly, and vigorous bubbles in the beer

Nose is grassy and floral.

Taste has some biscuit, a little citrus, a little grass. Kind of a mineral finish.

Above average carbonation, kind of watery
Apr 28, 2019
 
Rated: 3.5 by mrcraft from California

Feb 12, 2018
 
Rated: 3.25 by Mack from Canada (QC)

Dec 28, 2017
Photo of polloenfuego
Reviewed by polloenfuego from Canada (NB)

3.5/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
This beer pours a gold color with the thinnest of heads. Essentially it breaks on pour. Zero lacing. Smell is malts -cereals and a touch of yeast. The taste is pretty middle of the road, malty with the tiniest amount of hops and a touch of yeast present. The feel is thinnish and dry.

I am not a Kolsch fan, but this is just not a great beer by any standard. Seems uninspired. By the looks of the other reviews I am not alone in this feeling.
Nov 20, 2017
 
Rated: 4 by Zach136 from Georgia

Jul 30, 2017
 
Rated: 3.83 by dertyd from California

Jul 23, 2017
Photo of ordybill
Reviewed by ordybill from Georgia

4/5  rDev +15.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured from a 22 OZ bomber into a pint glass. The appearance is a clear golden yellow color with a small white head. the aroma is mild citrus hops.
Mar 31, 2017
Photo of Mitzvahman72
Reviewed by Mitzvahman72 from California

2.65/5  rDev -23.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
With an opaque straw color, this beer can overflow with bubbles, leaning towards the slightly overpowering grassy mulch hops, as the malts sports the cereal malt variety with some toasted biscuit overtones. The spicy bitterness really masks what other flavors are in this beer, but it seems to be like a mix between a kölsch and a hefeweizen. While this is too hoppy for my liking, I can see this is like having a local version of some Czech pilsners. This is a huge change compared to the overly hoppy, even undrinkable, bitter beers that are rampant everywhere in San Diego County. Fortunately, there are a few exceptions, one of them being Ballast Point’s Pale Ale (Now called the California Kölsch, which it isn’t a kölsch!).

On a side note, this bottle really overflowed with the bubbles as soon as I opened it, and it continued to bubble for some time. It must be because it’s bottle conditioned with a lot of yeast, although it’s unusual to have a yeasty beer that can nearly explode after opening it.
Jul 15, 2016
 
Rated: 3.63 by d_kizzle from California

Jan 28, 2016
 
Rated: 3.35 by IRONRakkasan from California

Nov 19, 2015
 
Rated: 3 by GarthT from Hong Kong

Oct 31, 2015
Photo of UCLABrewN84
Reviewed by UCLABrewN84 from California

3.33/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.25
Pours a murky yellow-orange with a foamy khaki head that settles to wisps of film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace drip into the remaining beer on the drink down. Smell is of grain, earth, and grass aromas. Taste is much the same with cracker, earth, and grass flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of hop bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is an above average beer that is drinkable, but nothing really stands out about this one to me.

Serving type: bottle.
Oct 09, 2015
Photo of GarrettB
Reviewed by GarrettB from Colorado

3.23/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.25
Hard to love a blonde (beer) but I keep trying new versions, expecting a powerful, new blonde-based experience around the next corner. And that's what brings me to Iron Fist's Blonde, which I'm pretty sure I originally picked up on a whim at my local no-name grocery store. The blonde, yellow brew props up a frothy white foam, which in spite of a thick head, puts out a steady plume of tangy muscat smell, fresh and herbal. I also get fresh summertime snack smells like celery and apple, garnished with parsley. Herbal, fruity and vegetal, all at once. It must be healthy! The flavor follows-up, with a dry and herbal foretaste, and adding in lots of parsley and parsnip, oddly enough. The carbonation is healthy and hale, though, with hops kind of outlining the whole experience, and generating a long, enjoyable aftertaste. I'm not sure I liked it, but I appreciated it. This is vastly different from the normal blonde offerings, light and airy and sort of flavorless. It's the taste of a summer garden, made drinkable.
Oct 02, 2015
 
Rated: 3.5 by GRG1313 from California

Sep 13, 2015
 
Rated: 3.34 by BDeibs from Colorado

Sep 13, 2015
Photo of WeedWolf
Reviewed by WeedWolf from California

3.6/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.75
Acquired this bottle a year and four months ago and let it sit until today -26/8/15- on account of its bottle conditioning.
Has a nice orange, honey color with small, quickly dissipating, head with little retention and some sediment.
Has little aroma other then a bread-y malt ,lager like, quality with a hint of fruity sweetness.
Tastes very different then other Kolsch styles I've had. More complex, almost like a Pilsener Blonde hybrid, with more fruit and honey characteristics with a Lager like body.
The feel left something to be desired. A bit watery with little carbonation.
Overall I enjoyed it though. Not one of my favorite styles to begin with but this one proved interesting.
Wish I'd have let it sit a few more months though. Might have gotten more honey fruit notes. Next time!
Aug 27, 2015
Renegade Blonde from Iron Fist Brewing Company
Beer rating: 80 out of 100 with 70 ratings