Brewhouse Rarities: Apple Pie Blonde Ale
Flying Dog Brewery

Pours a golden straw color with a finger of head. The nose has notes of sweet apple but not much cinnamon. The apple is in the flavor profile too but it tastes fake.

Appearance:
The word “gold” oft conjures images of treasure chests overflowing with doubloons, shiny bars of bullion, or fistfuls of sunny, metallic wealth; and that’s the shade of gold we’re looking at here. The quintessential yellow-gold. Lustrous, almost to the point of luminous. A porcelain white head comes and goes, almost like it knows it of limited consequence compared to the pure golden hue it was birthed from. And as we all know: no head = no lacing. Just a slippery innertube of bubbles at the edge.

Bouquet:
Freshly sliced Honeycrisp apples, sprinkled with cinnamon and a dash of clove. Teetering at the edge of olfactic perception is a flaky, buttery pie crust.

Feel:
Light as hard cider but with half the carbonation (that’s a good thing, trust me). Just enough bubbly to help those baking spices twinkle on the palate.

Taste:
A sweetly spiced twin of its aroma: apples and malts first, then a soft brush of powdery baking spices. Unlike its twin, the palate brings that flaky piecrust to the forefront during the aftertaste as sparks of cinnamon alight around it. A rough, dry, cinnamon-sting develops as it airs, so drink up while it's cold.

Overall:
Mild, balanced, and quite quaffable. But the flavor gets rough the second its anything less than perfectly cold---otherwise I'd have scored it higher.

Enjoy by 4/23/21. 12oz bottle poured into a tulip. Pours golden with great clarity and transparency and has bubbles racing upwards; creamy white head that sticks around leaving great thick retention and sticky lacing. The aromas have hints of apple and cinnamon. Some crackers and fresh bread. Lots of malts. The flavors follow the nose. More apple leading the way. The cinnamon and spices are subtle and don't overwhelm or overpower at all. Some vanilla and whipped cream. Some pie crust in the mix. The lactose does its thing. It's slightly sweet, but not cloyingly sweet. Low bitterness. Malts do their thing. Alcohol goes unnoticed. Mouthfeel is medium-bodied with moderate to low carbonation. It's slick, fluffy, creamy, smooth and easy to drink.

This is a solid brew. They did a really nice job of emulating an apple pie. It really does have an apple pie vibe going on. It's fitting for the holiday season. Not bad at all.