Isabella Blonde
Kern River Brewing Company
- From:
- Kern River Brewing Company
- California, United States
- Style:
- American Blonde Ale
Ranked #164 - ABV:
- 4.5%
- Score:
- 84
Ranked #31,912 - Avg:
- 3.7 | pDev: 10.54%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 37
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Sep 25, 2025
- Added:
- Mar 01, 2007
- Wants:
- 8
- Gots:
- 12
SCORE
84
Good
84
Good
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by DraftMonger from Denmark
3.1/5 rDev -16.2%
look: 2 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 2 | overall: 3.5
3.1/5 rDev -16.2%
look: 2 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 2 | overall: 3.5
Copenhagen 9/8 2019. 35,5 cl can from Mikkeller Web-shop. Very brown label with Four different fonts. A bit chaotic.
Pours hazy, golden yellow with a medium-sized white head. Stable. Settles as thin patch of foam unable to cover the surface of the beer. No Lacing.
Aroma is malty, sweet and with a light sour twist. Caramel, grains, bread, light dose of sugar. Quite solide malt-base.
Quite strong carbonation. Slightly thick, oily and lively texture.
Flavor is sweet followed by a very moderate bitterness. Aftertaste is sweetish with a light bitter finish. Lingers shortly.
Quite Sweet and Malty Blonde. Solid but could use an extra dimension to supplement the sweet one.
Sep 25, 2025Pours hazy, golden yellow with a medium-sized white head. Stable. Settles as thin patch of foam unable to cover the surface of the beer. No Lacing.
Aroma is malty, sweet and with a light sour twist. Caramel, grains, bread, light dose of sugar. Quite solide malt-base.
Quite strong carbonation. Slightly thick, oily and lively texture.
Flavor is sweet followed by a very moderate bitterness. Aftertaste is sweetish with a light bitter finish. Lingers shortly.
Quite Sweet and Malty Blonde. Solid but could use an extra dimension to supplement the sweet one.
Reviewed by AlvinBunk from California
3.77/5 rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.77/5 rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Pours clear yellow with very thick head, and slightly hazy.
Getting fruity, maybe berry like aromas.
Nice light bitterness, possibly wheat like tastes.
Thin feeling in the mouth.
Overall, nice but generally a bit too light tasting.
Aug 28, 2024Getting fruity, maybe berry like aromas.
Nice light bitterness, possibly wheat like tastes.
Thin feeling in the mouth.
Overall, nice but generally a bit too light tasting.
Reviewed by Beginner2 from Illinois
3.54/5 rDev -4.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 4.25
3.54/5 rDev -4.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 4.25
Mainstream classic for California Tastes of, basically, pile-in-more-hops and call it flavour. This works well to steal some customers from the mass beer market, but not that good for me.
As for the very Overall Hugs I offer, that's for KRBC. Keeping alive an old gold mining and timber town is worthy work. And sharing beer culture with the Kern River Valley and beyond also is worthy work. And having brewed for almost two decades, I'm betting KRBC's other brews are better than Isabella and I hope to find out.
Dec 25, 2017As for the very Overall Hugs I offer, that's for KRBC. Keeping alive an old gold mining and timber town is worthy work. And sharing beer culture with the Kern River Valley and beyond also is worthy work. And having brewed for almost two decades, I'm betting KRBC's other brews are better than Isabella and I hope to find out.
Reviewed by Brolo75 from California
3.52/5 rDev -4.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.52/5 rDev -4.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Bottle poured into a pint glass
A: Pours a golden straw color with a one finger head, no head retention, good amount of carbonation streaming up the middle, slightly hazy.
A: Tea, lemongrass aromas, malt, grainy, crackers, nothing impressive.
T: Like the nose, tea, lemongrass, slight bitterness, finish is malty, semi-dry finish.
M: Light bodied with a semi-dry finish.
O: Pretty straightforward, not much on the hops, an easy drinking beer that would be good after mowing the lawn on a hot summer day.
Jul 21, 2016A: Pours a golden straw color with a one finger head, no head retention, good amount of carbonation streaming up the middle, slightly hazy.
A: Tea, lemongrass aromas, malt, grainy, crackers, nothing impressive.
T: Like the nose, tea, lemongrass, slight bitterness, finish is malty, semi-dry finish.
M: Light bodied with a semi-dry finish.
O: Pretty straightforward, not much on the hops, an easy drinking beer that would be good after mowing the lawn on a hot summer day.
Reviewed by Zythophile from Washington
3.52/5 rDev -4.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.52/5 rDev -4.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Bottle Date: about two weeks ago
Palate Contaminants: none
Okay, Kern River Brewing. Had a splash of the Citra IPA at a festival, so I figured it was worth the detour.
Appearance is slightly opaque and straw colored. The head is fine, but goes away quickly.
The smell is sweet and like any number of adjunct lagers. I'll say malty with some rice. The sweetness makes it a bit nicer than the adjuncts.
Taste is definitely rice and wheat, but the character is a bit crisper. There is a slight bit of hops for a slight bit of bitterness. It's okay, but surprisingly indistinct. At least it's not overly watery.
Feel is light-moderate with a bit of prickly carbonation. What's there in the taste all sticks around for the aftertaste.
Overall, it's not particularly complex, but it is refreshing. I'm sure it's pretty good for going with a burger after floating down the Kern River on a summer Saturday, but not one that I'd seek out again.
Jun 18, 2016Palate Contaminants: none
Okay, Kern River Brewing. Had a splash of the Citra IPA at a festival, so I figured it was worth the detour.
Appearance is slightly opaque and straw colored. The head is fine, but goes away quickly.
The smell is sweet and like any number of adjunct lagers. I'll say malty with some rice. The sweetness makes it a bit nicer than the adjuncts.
Taste is definitely rice and wheat, but the character is a bit crisper. There is a slight bit of hops for a slight bit of bitterness. It's okay, but surprisingly indistinct. At least it's not overly watery.
Feel is light-moderate with a bit of prickly carbonation. What's there in the taste all sticks around for the aftertaste.
Overall, it's not particularly complex, but it is refreshing. I'm sure it's pretty good for going with a burger after floating down the Kern River on a summer Saturday, but not one that I'd seek out again.
Reviewed by GreesyFizeek from New York
3.33/5 rDev -10%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
3.33/5 rDev -10%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Bottle received as an extra in a recent trade.
This one pours a slightly hazy, mostly clear straw yellow, with a small quarter inch head, and a small amount of lacing.
This smells like tea, grassy hops, and pale crackery malts.
This is not one of my favorite styles, so I'll try to be unbiased. Even for a blonde ale, there doesn't seem like there's a whole lot here. There's some nice dry tea-like hop flavors, a little bit citrus, crackery malts, and a pretty watery finish. There's a decent yeastiness to this that's not super enjoyable.
This has a light, kind of watery body, with a crisp mouthfeel, a high drinkability, and a moderate level of carbonation.
Doesn't quite work here, unfortunately.
Oct 23, 2015This one pours a slightly hazy, mostly clear straw yellow, with a small quarter inch head, and a small amount of lacing.
This smells like tea, grassy hops, and pale crackery malts.
This is not one of my favorite styles, so I'll try to be unbiased. Even for a blonde ale, there doesn't seem like there's a whole lot here. There's some nice dry tea-like hop flavors, a little bit citrus, crackery malts, and a pretty watery finish. There's a decent yeastiness to this that's not super enjoyable.
This has a light, kind of watery body, with a crisp mouthfeel, a high drinkability, and a moderate level of carbonation.
Doesn't quite work here, unfortunately.
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