Q-mongous
Rusty Rail Brewing Company

Today marks the occasion of New Fat Rusty Head Rail Sunday (Week 714) & this beer marks my third from Rusty Rail today. It seems as though this one (or an early attempt) was originally Side Track Series - #37 Imperial Cucumber Blonde. It is nice to see that it made the cut to become a rotating release.

From the Bottle: "News Alert … Rusty Rail Brewing Co. has created a monster! Witnesses here have described Q-mongous as huge, crushable and full of fresh cucumber flavor. If encountered, residents should remain calm, enjoy, and report any sightings to social media. #Qmongous"; "Imperial Blonde Ale with Cucumber".

Well done to Knapp85 or whomever may have amended the style since a cucumber is, indeed, a fruit! I Pop!ped the cap, feeling elated by this level of correctness. I went with a rather gentle pour since I was multi-tasking at the time & I did not want to mess it up or create a mess. Following my pour, an in-glass swirl raised just under two fingers of fizzy, foamy, rocky, eggshell-white head with limited retention. Lacing was likewise limited. Color was a pretty Golden-Amber (SRM = > 5, < 7) with NE-quality clarity, calling forth The Gelt Gang of Mammon, Midas & Croesus, all clamoring for a taste. Nose was redolent with cucumber! 8=) I love cucumbers! I first got turned onto them as a wee lad at the Hull's house, where Mrs. Hull always put out a veggie tray. My bestie, Tim, reached for the radishes, but for me, it was the cucumbers & the carrots. Mmm. Mouthfeel was medium. The taste was just like freshly-cut cucumbers! I read one wag who said, "Pass the salad dressing!" 8=( There was really no hint of its base being an American Blonde Ale, so put that out of your mind. This was a highly vegetal beer which may not be for everyone. I really liked it. Finish was semi-dry & very much lingering with cucumber flavor.

I tried this from the bottle in a tulip chilled
the color is golden with hazed appearance and thick 2 finger white head
The smell is vegetal -go figure but earthy and has a slight rind-element of cucumber which smells like salad to me
the feel is better than smell with crisp texture and low sweetness with moderately high carbonation and gentle alcohol in the dry finish
SO for a cucumber beer not being sure how much it would bring to the taste, it has a vegetable yet fruity taste with lightly spicy mix with malt and slight hop in the taste with a moderate amount of alcohol mid palate lasting with creamy and lighly dry malt quality in the back. The yeast adds to the flavor with a slight pickle effect which is experienced more as it warms
Overall good for what it is, possibly worth trying if you don't mind cucumber but not worthy of multiple samples in my opinion

 

 

Base style indicated as a blonde ale on the bottle so reviewing appearance as such - Poured into a chalice: color is gold, a bit dark for a blonde, haze is apparent, head is about 1 inch deep and is off white. Head lingers with thin top and some lacing.

Smell is definitely cucumber with a bit of light malt, some toast maybe, hint of grassy hops.

Taste also starts heavily on the cucumber flavor - I've made some cucumber cocktails and the flavor is similar so its likely a pureed cucumber addition, but is interesting how strong the flavor is; base style components are a bit off the blonde ale flavors are hidden quite well by the sweet cucumber flavor. That said the sweetness is quite noticeable especially for an ale clocking in at 8.0% abv. That sweetness and the cucumber hide any boozy flavors.

Mouthfeel is low to moderate carbonation, then moderate sweetness, not quite cloying but definitely sweet and then a lingering dryness on the tongue that builds slowly after each quaff.

Overall a unique flavored brew - not quite something i'd seek out again but a good conversation beer.