Blonde Ale
Picaroons Traditional Ales

 

Cloudy amber with a thick head. Toasted malt nose. Chewy malt body with good crispness. Decent and accessible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bottle from the brewery store on Queen st.
Pours a deep golden color with a decent sized off white head that dissipates rather quickly. Aromas of bready malt with hints of toffee and butter with a bit of floral spicy hop to counter. The flavor is malty sweet with bits of toffee and caramel. Light earthy hop flavor to counter. Medium body and level of carbonation. Decent enough blonde ale.

 

Serving Type: 500 mL bottle

This was the first time trying Blonde Ale by a great local brewery!

A- Pours a honey-like colour topped by a thin, but persistent head. I was quite surprised by the cloudiness of this beer; the transparency is akin to that of a fine wheat beer. Loads of lacing on the glass with this brew!

S- Notes of citrus immediately come to mind. Other fruity notes such as banana also come into play. The scent of freshly baked bread come in lightly towards the end. Quite subtle and mild compared to what I was expecting

T- The taste is slightly hoppy and displays similar elements to the nose; notes of citrus and bread make their present. Overall, the taste is quite bright and would set well with a hot summer's day.

M- The mouthfeel was disappointingly light and left me shocked. A hearty blonde ale like this would be much better with a thicker mouth. Carbonation was also fairly light.

O- Picaroons stay true to the style and pumps out a pleasant and beautiful blonde ale. I was fairly impressed with this brew and I must recommend it to my beer bros.

Even the dumbest blonde could figure out how this style got its name... but for those out there that are oblivious to the obvious, it's because of the beer's fair, pale complexion. Picaroons Blonde Ale actually has a deeper golden hue and, while brilliant, isn't exactly clear. Still, it's true enough to its name (and maintains a solid mass white suds atop).

You can instantly tell a good Blonde Ale from a bad one just by smelling it. The style shies away from hops and tends to keep its yeast in check; it is a delicate, uncomplicated aroma that will immediately betray anything unnatural or undesired, anything other than clean, bready malt.

Blonde Ales can be characterized as having a very plain, very unadorned, but very wholesome maltiness. It's straightforward and unembellished but still has lots of (one) flavour: white bread. This tastes like a French loaf that's just come out the breadmaker. Again, plain but wholesome.

While there's enough breadiness that drinking a pint practically qualifies one to be a baker, there's also a subtle hint of candied citrus somewhere in the backdrop. The brewery's use of West Coast hops may be restrained but it's not undetectable. This is a very refreshing ale.

It's hard to wax poetic about a style that's so modest and conventional. Make no mistake, however: there are both wonderful and awful examples of this 'ordinary' kind of ale. Picaroons' is the good kind; it's wholesome and flavourful, a confirmation that all you need to make great beer are simple brewing techniques and quality ingredients. Good job.