Kelly Fay Vaughn Blonde
Golden Handle Project

16oz tallboy can purchased at Nectar Wine and Beer, Kendall Yards, Spokane, Washington, for $3.99. According to the stamp on the bottom of the can, this was canned on May 19, 2020.

This beer is named after a Spokanite that was a bartender, musician, activist, DJ (under the name Suzanne Bummers), and artist, who, sadly, lost a battle with brain cancer at the ridiculously young age of 33. I only really met her once, but I have several friends who knew her well and loved her. Golden Handle is donating $1 from every can sold to charity.

Poured into a teku, this was a hazy, orangey-amber color, with a good-sized, beige colored head. Good lace.

Somewhat subdued fruity and tart nose. Lemongrass vies with stonefruit and spicy Belgian yeast esters, but at a fairly mellow level.

The spicy and tart aspects of the nose are present in the taste as well, but the sweet, fruitier aspects are a little more out front. Midway through, there's a slightly odd savory flavor I can't quite pin down, but doesn't particularly clash with the rest of the beer. Finish has a light, mildly peach-like fruitiness and just a tiny bit of lemongrass-like dryness and astringency.

Body is somewhere between light and medium. Mouthfeel doesn't quite have that light effervescence that you might get from a true Belgian example, but it's better than a number of other American ones I've had.

A nice, Belgian-inspired beer that's a tribute to a cool person that left us too soon and raises money for a good cause. I'll definitely have this again.