Hold Fast
Foam Brewers

 

Beautiful beer. Strong fruit /citrus notes. Good bitterness in the finish. Drink cold.

 

From a 16 oz. can dated 09/29/22 and sampled November 11, 2022.

The appearance is a foggy, not hazy, looking straw yellow under a long lasting white head.

The aroma begins with an immediate lemon zest sensation and then citrus or pineapple followed by white bread crust or sourdough bread.

The mouthfeel is light to medium.

The taste is sweet and citrusy with an emphasis on the lemon juice although it does not make me pucker up like a lemon can do. Clean finish.

 

their cans look awesome! love the art and label shape, and this is a killer beer, no surprise from these guys, but what a flavorful and drinkable new school blonde, hoppy as they go but with so little bitterness that even my dad thought it was money. hard to ignore the quality in just about all these guys do, so fire top to bottom. cool to see this in syracuse too, glad to see some reach out of here now. anyway the beer is yellow and vibrant in the glass with just a very light frosted look to it, a head as tall as you want to make it on the pour, looks almost belgian to me, fizzy and with nice retention. so much to like about this, the nose and taste show modern hops, not quite southern hemisphere to me, but with key lime, melon, and under ripe berry notes, herbal too, fresh as they come, and not overdone, dry hoppy but light still, nothing really from the yeast at first, but in the flavor its not exactly neutral either, almost presents like a lager strain, maybe a slight house flavor developing here, not sure what they use, but its right for this, gives it subtle nuance that i love, and dries this right out. i get what must be white wheat and belgian pils malt as a base, i get some neat attention to detail on the water chemistry side, and i get a very fast finish and high refreshment value which make this almost addicting to me. subtle vanilla, white cranberry, and lemongrass as it warms, could be a citra element in here, something newer maybe, cant quite read the hops, but the profile is distinctive and gorgeously proportioned. more than a basic blonde or golden ale here, one they should be proud of, and a perfect all day drinker. great to see these guys in cans, real sharp, the beer is money! way underrated here on BA...

 

On tap at The Sheffield in Brighton, NY.

This one pours a mostly clear golden yellow color, with a small head, and lots of lacing.

This smells like sugar cookie, biscuits, floral hops, caramelly sweetness, and melon.

This is definitely an odd one – it’s got an interesting hop character – melon and berries and such – but it’s a pretty weak hop character overall, without much intensity. It feels more like a average blonde ale than something that seems like it’s supposed to be hop-accented.

This is light bodied, slightly creamy, and pretty drinkable.

This wasn’t quite what I expected – still reasonably good, but not great.

A can from 8/25/22 opened and reviewed on 9/8/22 *Strata*

Look: Totally clear gold, lazy carbonation with scattered white foam cap. Nice, sticky lace.

Nose: Strata hops seem really fruity, earthy-grassy lemon, bright reds, tropical, buttery, clean malt.

Feel & Flavor: Light feel, juicy, not really dry feeling from the dry hopped addition. Super easy, golden malt rides easy breezy. Fruity sweet and candy esque hops, like a hoppy lollipop.

Overall: one of the most interesting Golden Ale's I've had.

 

Hoppy blonde ale. Easy drinking.

 

 

 

 

Has a light/gold tone. Interesting smell. Almost an earthy taste, cant quite pinpoint. Feels refreshing!

 

 

Super refreshing after a long hot and humid southern day. Nice break from IPAs, Pilsners and lagers that I mostly drink in the summer time. Foam is great and this is further proof!

Clear, light yellow with a healthy amount of foamy white head, moderate retention and a bit of lacing. Aroma is...odd. I really don't know what to make of it. It's strong, with maybe some onion / garlic notes. From afar, it doesn't smell bad, but up close, I don't like the aroma at all. Taste is moderately sweet with no hops / malt. Overall, I'm not entirely sure what this beer is trying to be, but whatever it is, I don't like it. The aroma just doesn't work for me, to the degree that I have to hold my breath when I take a sip. In my book, this is a miss from an otherwise good brewery.

I received a can from @Roy_Hobbs. Canned on 5/13/2021. Poured into a pint glass. It pours a hazy, bright, translucent grassy golden-yellow with a half finger of creamy, milk-white head and lacing. Subdued lemongrass on the nose. The taste opens with zippy citrus: lemon and a slight hint of tangerine. It's slightly hoppy but not very bitter. The mouth feel is lite and crisp with lively carbonation and with an ABV of 5.5% a second pour is not an issue. Overall, Hold Fast is tasty and enjoyable - particularly on a warm, early summer afternoon

 

Hold Fast from Foam Brewing. Received in early June 2021 in Ninja box from @Roy_Hobbs. 16 oz can stored at home at 42 degrees. Reviewed 28/6/21. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Bottom stamped “CANNED ON 05/13/21”. Served at 48.7 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. Final temperature 56.3 degrees.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Pale Straw (SRM 2), clear.
Body – Pale Straw (SRM 2), opaque. When rear-lite, translucent.
Head – Large (Maximum 5.5 cm, aggressive center pour), white, medium density initially but quickly opening, average retention, diminishing to leave a 0.4 to 1.3 cm lacy crown and a thick partial cap. Small islands of lacing remain as the head retracts. Second pour produces a dense 1.1 cm head.
Lacing – Good. Wide band of torn curtain lacing beneath the ring of islands left as the head retracts.
Aroma – 3 – Definite hints of DMS. No hops, no malt, no yeast.
Flavor – 3 – Begins with light sweetness quickly switching to slightly bitter with light hop flavor. No malt, no yeast. No ethanol (5.5 % ABV, as marked on container) taste or aroma. Gastric warming does not occur. No diacetyl.
Palate – 3 – Medium, approaching syrupy, soft but lively carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 3.25 Neither clean nor crisp, this looks good but that’s where the resemblance to a good lager ends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a fan of high gravity, hoppy front and back ales, I wasn't expecting to get excited. Yikes was I wrong! This is a very well balanced, crisp and flavorful ale from start to finish. At 5.5 percent, this is the Pappy Van Winkle of "lawn mower beers" and I mean no disrespect. Amazing taste for a low abv beer.

 

Has a somewhat bitter aroma and a pleasant taste. Has the right amount of hoppiness for a golden ale. Foam always makes impressive beers.

Pours a whitish-blonde hue with a one-finger head into my glass. A touch of spice upfront with a light note of citrus hops and cut grass in the nose. It all comes together in a flavorful mix of citrus, cut grass, bread and spice. Clean finish too. I wasn't sure what to expect but I really enjoyed this.

 

 

 

16 oz. can.
Canned 04/09/20.
Moderate to vigorous pour yields a nearly one inch white head over a slightly hazy light golden body with some sticky lacing. Nose of banana, slight spice, and even slighter citrus. Taste follows nose fairly close with banana, a slight sweetness, and a finish of very slight spice. Nice feel and overall, a pretty good representation of the style, highly crushable at 5.5% abv, would recommend and have again. Cheers!