Capital Blonde Ale
Forked River Brewing Company

Capital Blonde AleCapital Blonde Ale
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From:
Forked River Brewing Company
 
Ontario, Canada
Style:
American Blonde Ale
ABV:
4.8%
Score:
81
Avg:
3.46 | pDev: 14.74%
Reviews:
14
Ratings:
38
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jul 03, 2019
Added:
Jun 01, 2013
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  4
London, Ontario was selected as the site of the future capital of Upper Canada in 1793 by Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe, though later rejected by Governor Dorchester. This beer pays homage to our capital denied, with a defiantly bolder version of the traditional blonde ale. We present an easy-drinking, sessionable beer that balances the sweetness of malted barley and the bitterness from North American hops. The use of a unique hop combination added late in the boil is responsible for the citrus flavour and aroma. This beer finishes out nice and dry, great for any occasion, at any time of year.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by hopsolutely:
Photo of hopsolutely
Reviewed by hopsolutely from Canada (ON)

3.44/5  rDev -0.6%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Thoroughly enjoyed this fresh on tap as well as the bottle that was purchased and opened last week-end. However this second bottle is lacking the west-coast hop elements and most of the carbonation, so am rating it lower than I expected to be.

Pours a crisp and clean light golden, straw colour - if it had bubbles and a white head, would be an attractive beer. Grain forward aroma is bready and koelsch-like. Flavour is also biscuit-forward but with a reasonable bitterness in the finish. Lacking all of the tropical fruit hop elements I remember enjoying last week-end?

I have tremendous hopes for Forked River, but this bottle was a disappointment.
Aug 16, 2013
More User Ratings:
Photo of woodychandler
Reviewed by woodychandler from Pennsylvania

3.79/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Yesterday may have been CANada Day & one of my favorite holidays of the year, but I left SO much on the CANter before I just gave up the ghost & went to bed. I had to run some errands this morning/early-afternoon & by "run", I mean that I used public trans & slowly hobbled around town between stops. Man, my prostatectomy really took the starch outta my sails, or something like that! It took me at least twice & maybe three times as long to get everything done that I wanted to. Still, I want to pick up where I left off yesterday, drinking CANadian CANned beers, CANtesy of my local, in-person trader, @tone77 to keep The CANQuest (tm) moving along smartly, Yeah, believe that! Nothing smart about me or it.

From the CAN: " Taste the Way Less Travelled"; "Complex? No."; "A well-crafted … "; "Food Parings[:] Buffalo wings …" (I'll come back to the transcription)

I was getting anxious to get back to CANada after a longer-than-intended break. I Crack!ed open the vent & beCAN a slow, gentle Glug into the awaiting glass. I watched in rapt fascination as it puffed up to form just under two fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, bone-white head with modest retention, falling to wisps more quickly than I would have liked. Color was an oh-so-slightly-hazy Yellow-Gold (SRM = 4 - 5). The CAN puts it at 5 with 28 IBUs. Nose smelled clean, fresh and bready/biscuity, just the way that the style was designed. Refer to their "Complex? No." remark in CANtemplating my review. Mouthfeel was medium. I was VERY pleasantly surprised by the Saaz-like Noble hoppiness in its taste, something that had totally eluded me on the nose. I was expecting "sex with The (ex-)Old Lady: the same old, same old, but NO!, this actually brought some Ooomph! to what I assume many are CANsidering a dull style. First, ya GOTTA rate to style & NOT to taste! SeCANd, this was not CANplex by any stretch of the CANmagination, but it was head & shoulders beyond so many ho-hum iterations of the style. I was CANtemplating how this would fare in the beach-bound cooler this Summer when I looked down & realized that I had quaffed off easily over half of it without a seCANd glance or thought! Easy-drinking, indeed. Finish landed in the Twilight Zone between semi-sweet & semi-dry. I found it to be more than semi-worthy, but YMMV.
Jul 03, 2019
 
Rated: 3.51 by TheHammer from Canada (ON)

Mar 21, 2019
Photo of tone77
Reviewed by tone77 from Pennsylvania

3.64/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Wow, a brewery from London, Ontario, while I am spending the night in the crappy Eastcourt Motel in that city. Poured from a 16 oz. can. Has a rich golden color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is of biscuity malts, honey, some citrus. Taste is full of malts, some citrus, highly refreshing. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall is an enjoyable beer.
Feb 14, 2019
Photo of patre_tim
Reviewed by patre_tim from Thailand

3.77/5  rDev +9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Golden and thick looking with moderate carbonation and a finger of yellowish head.

Smells of light roasted malts, fresh cut hay, malt bread, and a hint of fruity pears.

Tastes of fresh cut hay, and a light malty sweetness. Its like a solid German pilsener.

Medium body with moderate carbonation, and a slightly tannic finish.

Drinking on Walkers Point, Feb 17th, 2018. Decent, low alcohol brew to drink on a Saturday afternoon in cottage country.
Feb 17, 2018
Photo of bigbid
Rated by bigbid from New York

1/5  rDev -71.1%
look: 1 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1
Not buying again.
Dec 12, 2017
 
Rated: 3.44 by Minlen from Canada (ON)

Nov 17, 2017
 
Rated: 4.1 by StormAles from Canada (ON)

Jun 29, 2017
 
Rated: 3.33 by Czy from Canada (ON)

May 30, 2017
 
Rated: 3.5 by GoHabsGo from Canada (ON)

Aug 28, 2016
Photo of Pmicdee
Rated by Pmicdee from Canada (ON)

3.28/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
Dec 1 2023
Aug 11, 2016
 
Rated: 3.95 by Boo-urns from Canada (ON)

Aug 07, 2016
 
Rated: 3.5 by Jotora from Canada (ON)

Jul 10, 2016
 
Rated: 3.77 by RedAleMan from Canada (ON)

Jun 23, 2016
Photo of taxandbeerguy
Reviewed by taxandbeerguy from Canada (ON)

3.5/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
500 ml bottle served cold into a pint glass. Fourth offering I've tried from Forked River. Purchased for $3.50 CDN from the local LCBO.

Appearance. - pours a mostly clear golden coloured beer with minor cloudiness. A fine finger of soft rocky white head is poured on top. Modest retention and some steaks of lacing linger behind.

Smell - slightly skunky, with some light grain aromas. Not much else other than those two aromas.

Taste - clean and light, some fine grains and floral aspects. Something akin to dill in there too. A little interesting.

Mouthfeel - smooth and light bodied, carbonation is modest.

Overall - Capital Blonde Ale is a nice representative of the style although is a little on the spunky side, and I'm not so certain I would try another sample given the heftier price tag.
Jun 15, 2016
 
Rated: 3.44 by Electros from Canada (ON)

Apr 24, 2016
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Rated by spinrsx from Canada (ON)

3.51/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
From the lcbo for 3.50
Apr 22, 2016
 
Rated: 3.69 by Bf_89 from Canada (ON)

Mar 07, 2016
Photo of BuckyBeerBeaver
Reviewed by BuckyBeerBeaver from Canada (ON)

3.69/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Thanks to D.F. and J.S., Bucky was able to sample a 500 mL bottle of Capital Blonde Ale from the Forked River Brewing Company of London, ON. Capital Blonde was 4.7% alcohol by volume with no visible production or ‘best before’ date.

Capital Blonde poured a remarkably clear (especially for an unfiltered ale) golden-yellow colour, producing about 1.5” of pure white head that faded to a thin collar and film over the next two minutes. Some intermittent lacing and spotting was left down the glass as the head receded. Its aroma was pleasant enough thought fairly tame, with plenty of caramel malt, graininess and a lemony undertone. The flavour consists of a grainy malt sweetness up front, followed in quick succession by a subtle lemon citrus and mildly bitter hop finish The mild bitterness lingers for a few seconds as an aftertaste, and then is gone The beer is light bodied with a with a muted carbonation that contributes to a soft mouth feel. Overall, not a world beater, but a solid, sessionable, ale…which is probably what Forked River had in mind when they created Capital Blonde. Wouldn’t say no to another one.
Jan 10, 2016
Photo of akdo
Reviewed by akdo from Canada (ON)

4.41/5  rDev +27.5%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
I had this beer on tap at Scratch Kitchen, a restaurant in Toronto, Ontario and it was served in a pint glass.

Look: The transparent body is dark yellow, meaning iit is akin to a boiled egg's yellow. There is a static and ongoing carbonation at the same time. The beer produces a half-a-finger white head that unfortunately starts to disappears little by little as soon as we start smelling the beer. Despite the quick dissipation of the head, the beer does not develop a skunky nose and palate as a result of the oxidization unlike industrial European lagers like Heineken.

Smell: The nose offers hints of citrus, lemon and orange zests. In the end, the oranges dominated.

Taste: The palate's front end was similar to the nose. The malt's sweetness can be felt. The best part, however, were the middle and the finish. One can briefly feel notes of woods barrels before the dry and crisp finale. Then, we are welcomed with mild notes of spices and herbs that may remind us of a North American saison and even a wheat beer. Of course, the beer does not suffer from a crisis of identity as its taste is lighter than that of a North American saison or a wheat beer.

Feel: The objective of the brewery was clearly to come out with a session beer. It is mission accomplished. We get an easily drunk and even refreshing beer. Besides, although this beer is very light in flavour and juicy with regards to its texture, which is what you would expect from a blonde ale, it offers a great bouquet of flavours.

Overall: Although I used to loathe blonde ales, this beer made re-appreciate them. Think of this Canadian beer as a lighter version of a North American saison and a wheat beer. Moreover, given that many people do not like bitterness in beers, Capital Blonde Ale is not too aggressive and can be any beginner's gateway to craft beers. Finally, I would have liked to see a better head retention from this beer. Other than that, the beer is excellent for relaxing.
Sep 23, 2015
Capital Blonde Ale from Forked River Brewing Company
Beer rating: 81 out of 100 with 38 ratings