Sir Smoke-a-Blonde
Csak a jó sör!
- From:
- Csak a jó sör!
- Hungary
- Style:
- American Pale Ale
- ABV:
- Not listed
- Score:
- +8 ratings needed
- Avg:
- 3.26 | pDev: 7.98%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 1
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Aug 04, 2021
- Added:
- Jul 25, 2014
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 1
NO SCORE
-
-
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews.
Reviewed by Jugs_McGhee from Texas
3.53/5 rDev +8.3%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.53/5 rDev +8.3%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Armando Otchoa (Budapest, Hungary) "Sir Smoke-a-Blonde". Smoked pale ale. Reviewed from notes. Served on-draught at Good Beer Only (which Armando owns) into a Mikkeller & Friends pilsner glass. Expectations are high; the premise is intriguing.
Served cold.
No bubble show forms as it's poured.
HEAD: Half a finger in width. White colour. Nice complexion and consistency. No lacing clings to the sides of the glass as the head recedes. Retention is nice - about 4 minutes. Nicely creamy. Decent thickness.
BODY: Murky copper of average vibrance. Nontransparent. Translucent. Clean; no yeast particulate or hop sediment is visible.
Appears well-carbonated. It's not unique or special looking for either a pale ale or rauchbier, but I'm looking forward to trying it as a hybrid of the two.
AROMA: Pale malts and surprisingly diverse hop character - floral notes, melon, mango, and passionfruit. Unfortunately, I find absolutely no trace of any rauch/smoked character whatsoever, which is disappointing. Hopefully it's a bit more evocative in the taste.
No yeast character, overt alcohol, or (other) off-notes are detectable.
Overall, it's a pleasant if somewhat reticent aroma of average strength. It doesn't come off too sweet or too bitter.
TASTE: Ah, there it is - subtle and buried, but there - on the back end. A faint trace of the lightest smoked character I've ever chanced across. It's interesting structurally in that the smokiness lends it a kiss of harshness just as the flavour profile closes out, which makes you crave the next sip for the more straightforward, refreshing clean pale malt and fruity hop character in the first and second acts.
Pale malts predictably provide the bulk of the foundation here, but this beer boasts some impressive diversity of hop character. Fruity hop notes are very well integrated, if a bit shallow: mango, passionfruit, some tropical character (but luckily no pineapple), and melon. I don't get much in terms of nectary, floral, piney, resinous, etc. hop character, but the fruitiness is enough, and works well with the pale malts here. Neither too bitter nor too sweet.
Average duration and intensity of flavour. It's cohesive but not quite gestalt, and balanced but imperfect. Well built overall. It does have nuance - the subtle smokiness ensures that - but it's not the most intricate or complex pale ale out there. And it could certainly be more fresh. But it comes together nicely and has excellent amplitude of flavour, which isn't something I anticipated walking into a smoked pale ale. This is surprisingly well executed, and I definitely like it.
TEXTURE: Clean, refreshing, smooth, and wet - at least up until the finish, where the smokiness imparts some brief coarseness and a kiss of strangely welcome harshness. In a way, the harshness keeps you on your toes, and prevents the beer from ever feeling boring or middle-of-the-road. Well-carbonated.
This texture is to some degree custom-tailored to the taste, but fails to reach perfection or greatness. More softness and suppleness would help.
OVERALL: This beer's biggest success is in its balance. It's difficult not to ruin a pale ale with rauch/smoked character, which is probably why we rarely see smoked pale ales on the market. But this beer incorporates smoked flavour subtly, which is as smart as it is effective. Very drinkable and well worth trying. This isn't just another generic pale ale, and I imagine the discerning drinker will find it very enjoyable. It's one I'd definitely come back to even if it isn't world-class. A good pale from a brewer(y) I'll be keeping an eye out for when in Hungary.
Low B
Jul 25, 2014Served cold.
No bubble show forms as it's poured.
HEAD: Half a finger in width. White colour. Nice complexion and consistency. No lacing clings to the sides of the glass as the head recedes. Retention is nice - about 4 minutes. Nicely creamy. Decent thickness.
BODY: Murky copper of average vibrance. Nontransparent. Translucent. Clean; no yeast particulate or hop sediment is visible.
Appears well-carbonated. It's not unique or special looking for either a pale ale or rauchbier, but I'm looking forward to trying it as a hybrid of the two.
AROMA: Pale malts and surprisingly diverse hop character - floral notes, melon, mango, and passionfruit. Unfortunately, I find absolutely no trace of any rauch/smoked character whatsoever, which is disappointing. Hopefully it's a bit more evocative in the taste.
No yeast character, overt alcohol, or (other) off-notes are detectable.
Overall, it's a pleasant if somewhat reticent aroma of average strength. It doesn't come off too sweet or too bitter.
TASTE: Ah, there it is - subtle and buried, but there - on the back end. A faint trace of the lightest smoked character I've ever chanced across. It's interesting structurally in that the smokiness lends it a kiss of harshness just as the flavour profile closes out, which makes you crave the next sip for the more straightforward, refreshing clean pale malt and fruity hop character in the first and second acts.
Pale malts predictably provide the bulk of the foundation here, but this beer boasts some impressive diversity of hop character. Fruity hop notes are very well integrated, if a bit shallow: mango, passionfruit, some tropical character (but luckily no pineapple), and melon. I don't get much in terms of nectary, floral, piney, resinous, etc. hop character, but the fruitiness is enough, and works well with the pale malts here. Neither too bitter nor too sweet.
Average duration and intensity of flavour. It's cohesive but not quite gestalt, and balanced but imperfect. Well built overall. It does have nuance - the subtle smokiness ensures that - but it's not the most intricate or complex pale ale out there. And it could certainly be more fresh. But it comes together nicely and has excellent amplitude of flavour, which isn't something I anticipated walking into a smoked pale ale. This is surprisingly well executed, and I definitely like it.
TEXTURE: Clean, refreshing, smooth, and wet - at least up until the finish, where the smokiness imparts some brief coarseness and a kiss of strangely welcome harshness. In a way, the harshness keeps you on your toes, and prevents the beer from ever feeling boring or middle-of-the-road. Well-carbonated.
This texture is to some degree custom-tailored to the taste, but fails to reach perfection or greatness. More softness and suppleness would help.
OVERALL: This beer's biggest success is in its balance. It's difficult not to ruin a pale ale with rauch/smoked character, which is probably why we rarely see smoked pale ales on the market. But this beer incorporates smoked flavour subtly, which is as smart as it is effective. Very drinkable and well worth trying. This isn't just another generic pale ale, and I imagine the discerning drinker will find it very enjoyable. It's one I'd definitely come back to even if it isn't world-class. A good pale from a brewer(y) I'll be keeping an eye out for when in Hungary.
Low B
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