Cream Ale
Blackfoot River Brewing Company

one of the darker and maltier cream ales i can recall ever having, and at first it turned me off, like i wanted a snappy easy drinker, and i got this sturdy grain forward ale, but i came around on it, and the quality is solid, even if the recipe is weird, not my favorite from these guys either way, but it certainly stands out from the crowd, just not sure how true to style it really is, if that matters to anyone anymore. not amber, but not really blonde either, with an average white head in the pint glass. the nose here is minimal, a little nutty and toasted, perhaps the montana barley its made with has a little more to it than most base malt, but in this case i dont think its all that flattering, even though i like what i taste. no real hops here at all, and a slightly stressed ferment maybe, but its not way off, a little astringency coming through, more of that in the taste when its sat a few minutes. its weird because its more flavorful than a lot of these because of the malt, but its also very one dimensional, less clean than i want it to be, but not bad, just plain. these guys do so much great stuff, i had higher hopes for this, but it really didnt quite do it for me. cool use of the montana grain i guess, and there is some corn in here, but the beer has very little refreshment value in a style that should radiate with it. is this also a bit strong for the style? weird take...

 

Taste and feel of a light beer, but more malt. Goes down easy. Not as pronounced as most cream ales, slightly pale. I want to love it but its a bit too watery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I thought I'd try something a bit outside of my wheelhouse for my final pint at Blackfoot River. I hadn't had a Cream Ale up to this point and thought I'd give it a shot.

Appearance: This beer comes out a hazy light golden color with half a finger of snow white head. Retention is pretty good, and the lacing is okay. From what I understand this style is normally clear, but Blackfoot River doesn't filter any of their beer. This beer is quite hazy as a result, but still decent looking.

Smell: Hard to get a lot out of this, but I do pick up on some pale maltiness. I also get some light, subtle citrus hops and orange zest.

Taste: I pick up on some light malts up front, and the middle and back end is citrus zest and light citrus hops. The malts and hops are integrated superbly. Overall the taste reminds me of orange cream. Pretty damn good, I can't give this under a 4 here.

Mouthfeel/Overall: Light bodied, but somehow still manages to be creamy with very good carbonation. Overall, a super example of a cream ale. If I had a choice of a session beer, this would be very high on my list.