Chicago Blonde
Ram Restaurant & Brewery

 

 

 

A - Clear, pale gold with a small head that sticks around for a few minutes.

S - Sweet and doughy with a light hint of hops. Smells like a thickish macro lager....maybe like Labatt's or something.

T - Again, sweet and doughy with gentle dank hops. Not very assertive or "special", but I think that's the whole point here. Something for the masses.

M - Light bodied, but quite a bit more luscious than macros. This has a creaminess to it that I quite like.

D - Not bad. I'm not really impressed, but then again they didn't brew this for me, they brewed it for people who come to Ram and usually only drink BMC.

Pale yellow to gold colored ale with a mild white head.

The scent is mildly sweet and bready with quite a bit of fruity esters in it. Hop aroma is not much to speak of, mostly a little grass and a little earthiness.

The taste is on the sweetish side and substantially bread in the first taste. Nobel hops appear in the finish and do an admirable job of imitating a Lager. Good solid amount of bitterness in the aftertaste that sets it apart from a macro Lager flavor.

Mouthfeel is good.

This is certainly a drinkable blonde ale and a style I do not normally like all that much. Honestly the only reason I gave this a try was because I expected this to be the mildest flavored ale of the bunch. For a BA this is a little better than average ale.

I have liked all of the beers I have tried at the Ram. The Chicago Blonde is one that I tried while they were filling my Growlers with their Hefe. My first impression was that it is in a similar league with the American "macro lagers", but more along the lines of what they should try to aspire to, if they cared what we thought.

The appearance was golden, with a decent white head, which stuck around, and laced the glass.

The smell was malty, but I am not good with that part yet.

Taste was refreshing and malty, with a bit of hops in there to even it out. Really enjoyed it.

Mouthfeel was light, and well carbonated, but not overly so.

Drinkability was good. I could drink this with dinner, or during the game. I may get a Growler of this one next week.

(Served in an American pint glass)

A- This beer has a light straw yellow color with a pure white head that last a good long time. There is a gentle carbonation that rises through this crystal clear body.

S- The smell if very clean with a hint of pale malt as it warms.

T- This beer has a light pale malt flavor that is pretty neutral with a nice pop of green hops flavor and a hint of hop bitterness at the finish.

M- This beer has a light mouthfeel with no astringency or alcohol heat.

D- This is a very light beer but it has no off flavors and the hops give it a nice taste. It would be good if there were some malt notes to support the hops or a bit of depth to the hops. Not bad.