Summer Fling Ale
The Fort Collins Brewery

 

 

 

 

poured from a 22 oz bomber cold from the fridge on a hot spring day.

A-Attractive peach amber brew with marked clarity and a fluffy eggshell head that settles rapidly.

S-Pungent fruity malts, attractive and perfect for the current warm weather.

T-Orange, mouthwatering malts , sweet, with a full sweet citrus malt flavor and a slight hop tang on the back end.

M-Slightly chewy moderate.

D-Probably better than many reviews give it credit for, but this one is clearly better cold out of the fridge, than letting it warm up. Becomes a bit of a malty mess at warmer temps, but very refreshing cold.

Appearance: clear yellowish orange in color with thin 1/4" head that sported some large bubbles. Some light lacing developed.

Smell: fruit sweetness and some hints of malt are light.

Taste: light caramel, dark fruit sweetness, pears, and a mild bitterness make up a mildly refreshing beer.

Mouthfeel: medium bodied. Lightly crisp to start, smoother towards the finish. Aftertaste is very short.

Drinkability: since this was taken from notes taken last September, I noted this to be mildly refreshing, easy to quaff, and a bit different for a typical "summer" beer.

Pours a hazy orange color with a fizzy white head that fades quickly to a nice sheen and lacing.

Smells like Kashi cereal. Sweet, lactose maltiness with hints of muted citrus hops, white bread and a Nestle crunch bar. Ugh, dont think I will be liking this one...

Tasted in fall of '08 and it does not seem this one rode out the summer months well...very cardboardy and stale tasting. Not too sure about the weizenbock classification, more like an American wheat beer. No bananas, no cloves and no chocolate equals no weizenbock in my mind. A bit cloying and even if it were summer, not exactly summer-esque. Glad I shared a bomber of this with someone else, as it is drinkable...barely. A prime example of a beer not fit for aging.

Dispensed from a 22oz bottle into a pint glass. Beer emerges a hazy, peach tea color. Small white head, no lacing.

Aroma is very malty and quite qweet. Fruity as well. Perhaps the slightest bit of earthy hops.

More malt in the taste but not as much as the aroma. Fairly balanced but is sweet. Slightly spicy with apple fruitiness.

Medium bodied and almost chewy. Slick and sticky on the tongue. I liked this one. This would be good in the summer, fall, winter, or spring. A solid selection and one the malt lovers will enjoy.

Pours from a bomber into a pint glass with a hazy orange color and a good inch of creamy white head.

Aroma is grainy and sweet with just a bit of hops.

Flavor is pretty good with lots of malt and enough hops to balance it out.

Mouthfeel is good, not too heavy, nice amount of carbonation.

Drinkability is very good as most summer seasonals are and should be.

What I like about this summer beer is that it isn't so damn light. Too many of them, even ones from smaller craft breweries, as weaker versions of their best sellers. This one stands alone and could be offered year-round.

Pours a very nice clean/clear golden orange/yellow color, nice carbonation, nice little creamy white head, with some sticky lacing left behind. The nose is malty, and spicy. The taste is sweet, malty, with some spice. Medium body. Drinkable, a nice little brew.

This pours an enticing orangy amber color with a smallish creamy head that dissipates too quickly. There is some retention around the rim and a bit of lacing. The aroma is very pleasant in that I'm picking up some roasted sweet malts, carmelized florals, some bready notes, and candied sugars. There might also be a bit of orange in there as well.

This is a slightly syrupy, fairly thick, medium bodied beer. It is definitely sweet, not much hop presence, some sweet malts, florals, orange notes, candied sugars, honey and doughy flavors as well. There is also a noticeable ABV throatiness to the beer in the finish and the alcohol seems to take over and subsume the nicer floral imparts in the mid section. There may be some hop bitterness in the finish as well, but the ABV masks it a bit, and there is a bit of a spicy syrupy taste on the back end as well. Not a bad beer. A wiezenbock? I suppose that label works.

A: Poured a slightly hazy, deep rustic-orange with a initial sudsy head that settled to a ½ finger foamy topping. Retention was very good, lasting for several minutes as it slowly receded leaving a foamy and patchy covering on the glass walls. Faint traces of carbonation was observed.

S: slighty sour with tangerines and honey flowers. There was some warm orange juice and alcohol notes lingering about as well.

T: The flavor starts off moderately tart with tangerines and fermented oranges with some lingering candi sweetness. A slight display of muskiness and damp citrus makes up the hopping. The flavor starts off well enough but fades rather quickly to a weak and watery finish with only a slight showing of alcohol and oranges before quickly fading off disappointingly.

M: an oily slick texture with a moderate viscosity. Some sour oranges and alcohol make a brief appearance.

D: average at best, wasn't to impressed here as a summer drink or per style. The flavor thins out towards the finish limpering like a horse with a broken leg.

Into a pint glass, pours a reasonably nice and clear amber copper color, with good head to start off with, some nice lacing. The aroma is laced with caramels and some wheat malts, with a hint of citrus. Taste is decent, again some caramel and wheat malts, a bit bready, pretty sweet, quite clean, some nice citrus again hanging in the shadows, some nice hops flirting around, and has a nice creamy finish. The body is solid, good carbonation, easy to drink. Can't say there is anything wrong with this beer, a solid effort, didn't get me excited or anything, but a good session beer, though the abv feels a little higher.

Poured with a head and some lace. Medium amber color. Very limited aromas which were hoppy, bit citrusy, and a bit of malt. Flavor is about the same. Has a pleasant, medium body with plenty of carbonation. Turns a little thin. Still, it's quite drinkable. Has a good finish with a little alcohol. Drinkable.

Appearance: Pours a clear, copper body with a bubbly, white head.

Smell: Light maltiness in the aroma with scents of spicy hops and fresh-baked bread.

Taste: Light caramel maltiness with a small pop of sugar. Some toffee hints follow. Slight taste of grainy bread. Spicy hops, lightly bitter. Sweetish finish with a hint of cream.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation.

Drinkability: Hey, it's not so bad! Somewhat recommended. Say... who on earth placed this under weizenbock?

22 oz. bottle -

Pours golden amber with an off-white head that fizzles down to a thin, lasting cover. a couple of thin, broken rings of lacing stick.

The smell is of some carmelized wheat/dough with a vague, light citric fruitiness.

The taste is of sweet carmelized dough with a hint of wheat zest and a vague citric fruitiness that comes out more in the second half, but still muted. Alcohol is quite noticeable.

It's medium-bodied with medium carbonation.

I liked this more in the second half than the first, as a bit more citrus came through. Still, it only improved to mediocre at best status. To me it was more of an Imperial American Pale Wheat Ale. Since that is not a style, I suppose it fits in best as it is categorized here. I don't really see what is "summer" about it, and comes off as a run-of-the-mill-ish APWA with more caramel sweetness and alcohol. A summer sipper I suppose. There's an astringency along with the alcohol (and general lack of anything particularly interesting going on) that also make it a sipper. I suppose they tried to pump up a standard summer brew, but I don't know that it worked so well. Not bad, but...not all that great either.

Pours an effervescent honey with 4 fingers cream colored head. A modicum of lacing & head retention

S: Bubblegum, bit of apple peel & faint toffee, all fade away as this warms

T: Breadyness, peppery hops & faint pear up front. A bit of grapefruit & ghost booze as this warms, plus apple peel. Finishes with some juicy fruit, a touch of booze & a touch of lemon bitterness

MF: Meduim bodied, spritzy with some chewyness, plus a little wateryness at the end, weird...

Drinks alright, more pseudo saison-weizen then weizen bock IMO, not a bad dalliance or fling for a late Summer's evening.

Weird I didn't see this in CO, but picked it up in Goebbel's in Wichita (this great store is just getting better & better!)

22 oz bottle. Pours a clear golden orange with a creamy white head that retains well and laces the glass.

The aroma is sweet and toasted biscuity malts.

The flavor is a lot of toasted biscuit with some sweetness and a touch of fruits and mint. It has a bit of a bitter alcoholic finish. The mouthfeel is medium to full with sharp carbonation.

Overall, tastes like a sweeter slightly amped up Fat Tire - which I also don't really care for. Toasted biscuits just isn't my thing.

A - Poured out a copper color with hints of ruby. It had a foamy, off-white, two-finger head that left some trails of lace.

S - It smelled of wheat and roasted malt.

T - It tasted of wheat, spices and roasted malt. A nice smooth caramel flavor.

M - Mouthfeel was fizzy and soft. A medium-bodied beer.

D - This is a pretty nice brew. I have limited experience with the style but I think is a nice attempt.

650 ML bottle just purchased from Gary's in Madison... "Summer Fling Ale - Just for the fun of it!" on the green front logo sticker depicting an orange, beach background a girl in a bikini...
A slow and steady pour yielded a medium-to-dark orange hue with no head nor lacing at all...
Strong, estery, slightly alcoholic aroma with hints of tropical fruits, including nectarines, pears, and apples...
The fruit-factor was also apparent in the taste, with a strong burst of oranges, tangerines, esters, caramel, and slight vanilla...
Medium-bodied beer with a decent dose of alcohol to match...
Not an all-out teriffic depiction of the style, but a decent stab nonetheless...