Blond Melon
Rockingham Brewing Company

16 oz can acclimated to 45°F and poured into a nonic pint glass.

Pours a honey gold with a 1 finger white head leaving light lacing.

Initial aroma is clover honey with caramely or roasty malt and light fruity esters. Brown sugar make an appearance soon after, followed by what appears to be coffee but may be more of that roasty malt, but genuinely smells like coffee to me. After agitating I'm hit with a sourness and yeast smell, agitating again yields a wave of fruit esters.

Initial taste before swallowing is bitter malt followed by cantaloupe, both fleshy and rindy (wouldn't know what it was if I didn't already know). After swallowing I'm hit with a bitterness that likens itself slightly to coffee (also present on the inhale is the coffee) then mellows, revealing a light sweet maltiness and a light honey taste. In the aftertaste on the top front of the tongue is a floral note, very slightly waxy and peppery and bringing to mind white flower petals. As the bitterness lingers into the late aftertaste a note of green olive brine develops. Interesting combination of layers. As I get a little further in the honey becomes impossible for me to detect, being replaced by a hoppy bitterness and the occasional blip of honey springing forward when letting it sit.

Feel is overall nice but very slightly watery A little hard to tell. It certainly sits nicely and I'm not complaining.

Overall it's decent, I would have wished for more honey but it's possible my tastebuds just didn't pick it up properly. I think the layers work pretty well together but I'm not sure if it's exactly what it was trying to be, I can't quite tell. It's good for sure, just wasn't my favorite thing I've had. Not sure why I'm tasting coffee, that's odd.

Not likely to buy again, like I said it's definitely good but I just wish I had tasted more honey. Would definitely buy from the same brewer again, though. I hate being critical, really. It is a very nice beer and I very much enjoyed drinking it, the only thing is that I had hoped for more of the flavor that I expected.

 

 

Never expected a flavor like this. MELONS, fresh Melons! Well balanced and a great summer beverage. If summer ever gets here.

 

 

 

From the 650 ml. bottle. 2015 batch. Sampled on July 8, 2015 in 80 degree weather.

It pours a handsome looking golden color with with a foamy cream-colored head.

The aroma is more fruit forward than malt forward but both can be found. Lots of melon and a modest honey sweetness. Some vague spice.

The body is very smooth but its texture is in the light to medium range.

A mild roasted malt sweetness to start but it does not take long for thew cantaloupe and honey flavors to emerge until they climax with a mildly bitter end. A pretty decent warm weather beer.

 

Bottle from the Drinkery Derry.
Slightly hazy light golden color with a smallish white head. Huge melon on the nose with a sweet bready maltiness and hints of earthy hop aroma to counter. The flavor is big melon as well and bit of a bitter toffee that kind of clashes with the other flavors a bit too much. Medium body with a moderate carbonation. I really dug the melon aroma, but felt the malt was a bit too strong in the flavor to let the fruit shine through. Dial back the crystal malt a bit and this would be fantastic.