Arctic Blonde Ale
Two Wolves Brewing

 

I like the premise of this one, with the whole helping to preserve wolf habitat....Kudos!

A- Pours a clear, yet slightly chill hazed beautiful golden hued color, and the carbonation appears to be fairly aggressive, with many columns of fizz rising to the top in fast fashion. The head is unfortunately not super impressive, that being a flimsy layer perhaps a quarter finger thick, and fizzling out quickly, leaving only behind a wispy white colored film over top the brew. The lacing is also minimal, with a film of bubbles swiftly gravitating back into the liquid after some swirling.....looks like a darker colored macro to be honest.

S- Just like the label would insinuate, there isnt a dominating malt or hop aroma here. Now with that said, there are some tender aromas of caramel malt sweetness, dry grass and graininess, some diacetyl butteriness, and a finish that is biscuit/yeasty sweet-ish, and only has very faint dry hop character. Again, this is leaning into macro territory....

T- OK, we have some redeeming qualities here.....caramel/crystal malt sweetness, bread yeast richness, dryer flavors of melba toast, grains and prairie grass. I will say that the blend between dry and malt sweetness is pleasant, and towards the finish, there is a noticeable, but not overpowering hop presence.....reminds me more of an extract than fresh hop leaf/cone used....the overall flavors linger after the swallow somewhat and are sticky to a point.

M/O- The carbonation is zesty, and plentiful, which goes well for this light-medium bodied Blonde Ale. It is rather drinkable and nothing is offensive about it. Good well rounded flavor and easy enough to just crack and enjoy....Id liken this to a higher quality macro....it looks and smells like one, but the taste tells that it is craft....I'd buy this again, for the beer and for the preservation attempts the brewery makes!

I just love the smell of this beer. Reminds me of the sunny day I visited Driftwood Brewery in Victoria BC. Great caramel colour, nice three finger head and steady carbonation.

I created an account just to tell you how bad this beer is.

355ml single can - they're kind of being a little too self-deprecating on the label: "...has no dominating malt or hop characteristics". Way to pitch yer suds, guys.

This beer pours a clear, bright medium copper amber colour, with three fingers of puffy, finely foamy, and yet somewhat fizzy off-white head, which leaves some cannonball splash lace around the glass as it slowly and evenly subsides.

It smells of gritty and grainy pale malt, crackery breakfast cereal, a minor pome fruitiness, subtle earthy yeast, and some ethereal leafy, weedy, and floral green hop bitters. The taste is bready and doughy pale malt, a lesser generic caramel sweetness, still indistinct light fruity notes, a faint bland yeastiness, and more well understated earthy, floral, and grassy hoppiness.

The carbonation is adequate in its palate-caressing frothiness, the body a decent middleweight, and generally smooth, with a wee airy creaminess nudging its way in once things warm up a tad around here. It finishes off-dry, the grainy malt really the only lingering game in town.

Overall - yeah, while the malt bill doesn't 'dominate', per se, it does seem to outshine any other essences, especially the hops. Simple, and easy enough to put back, but kind of boring - I don't think that I'd want a whole six-pack of this one.