Brewstomper Golden Ale
Ska Brewing Co.

From the 12 oz can in a snifter. This odd ale pours a pale golden leaning towards
straw with a nice head of white foam that settles to a fat ring and layer with nice lacing.
Nose of breaded malts, honey, and little else. Flavors follow the nose with breaded malts,
honey malts, subtle grape and faint lemon zest. Mouth feel is thin and verging on
watery with medium light carbonation and a faintly dry finish.

Overall.....boring.

L: Pale straw, lots of carbonated bubbles
S: Crackers, lemon
T: Crackers, lemon, bitter finish
F: Light body, lively carbonation

My jaw dropped upon seeing that Ska Brewing had made it to the Friendly Greek Bottle Shop (FGBS) in Lancaster, PA! I had a great afternoon at their place in Durango, CO in 2007, but I never envisioned them CANming to me. 8=O This marks a high moment for The CANQuest (tm)!

From the CAN: "Music-Execution-Talk-Recycle-Revolution-Roots-Radicals-Recycle-Moon-Punk-Rockers-Recycle"; "Brewstomper Beer Golden Ale"; "Let's Go"; "A collaboration between Ska Brewing and Rancid originally brewed for The Bash Fest."; "Visit TheBashFest.com"; "Independently Hand-Crafted in Durango, CO".

I Crack!ed open the vent & beCAN a slow, gentle C-Line Glug into the awaiting glass. This resulted in the formation of just under two fingers of foamy, soapy, rocky, bone-white head with decent retention. Color was not "Golden", as advertised, but instead Pale-Straw (SRM = 1 - 2) with NE-quality clarity. Nose had a pronounced breadiness, like proofing dough! Mmm.

I could sniff that all day! I love baking & although I have not done so for a long time, my oven has been churning away since the lockdown/quarantine beCAN.

Mouthfeel was thin-to-medium, not watery, but not terribly far removed from it, either. The taste was rather ethereal, slightly vinous & grape-y with a bready sweetness. It was decent but innocuous, lacking a solid presence. I just could not get a read on what they were going for. Finish was semi-dry to dry, but rather bland overall. I CANnot understand what they were shooting for here. It was a liquid snooze-a-thon. It may as well have been an AAL. If I were at a CANcert & paid an inflated price for this, I would have been irate! Yinz CAN do better! YMMV.

 

Aroma is fruit/mild sweetness, malts and a hint of floral hops. The flavor is malts/grains, mild fruit, a smaller hint of tropical fruit and a slightly sweet/tart/beery finish.

On draught at Gaslight Social Club.

Pours a clear pale gold with a finger of foam.

Smells malty, grainy, light hoppiness.

Taste is grain(not corn)malt, nice light level of bitterness, very refreshing.

Excellent mouthfeel, excellent brew for the summertime heat. May I have another?

12 ounce can. Pours a pale gold with an average white head. Aroma of malt and grain. Taste is malt, grain, a bit of grass, and a bit of citrus. Not much going on here.

 

12 ounce can into pint glass, best before 9/14/2019. Pours slightly hazy/cloudy pale golden yellow color with a 2 finger fairly dense and fluffy white head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Thick spotty foamy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of lemon, peach, pear, melon, red apple, cracker, corn, white bread dough, lightly toasted biscuit, wood, herbal, floral, grass, peppercorn, and yeast earthiness. A bit too fruity/yeasty aromas, but not overwhelming. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance of pale malt/grains, and light-moderate earthy hop/fruity yeast notes; with solid strength. Taste of lemon, peach, pear, melon, red apple, cracker, corn, white bread dough, lightly toasted biscuit, wood, herbal, floral, grass, peppercorn, and yeast earthiness. Light-moderate herbal, floral, woody, grassy, peppery bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of lemon, peach, pear, melon, red apple, cracker, corn, white bread dough, lightly toasted biscuit, wood, herbal, floral, grass, peppercorn, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Great robustness and balance of pale malt/grains, and light-moderate earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; with a great malt/bitterness balance, and no hop astringency after the finish. Moderately crisp/clean finishing. Light-moderate increasing dryness from lingering bitterness and carbonation. Medium-plus carbonation and light-medium body; with a very smooth and moderately creamy/bready/grainy/sticky balanced mouthfeel that is great. Zero warming alcohol as expected of 5%. Overall this is a delicious American blonde ale. All around nice robustness and balance of pale malt/grains, and light-moderate earthy hop/fruity yeast flavors; very smooth, crisp, clean, and refreshing to drink with the mellowly bitter/drying finish. Nicely soft feel. Very flavorful and not watery for the ABV. Great clean pils malt/grain showcase; with great noble hop presence/balance for the style and restrained fruity yeast. Mild residual sweetness with crisp drying. A very enjoyable offering, and well made style example. Not overdone on adjuncts, but I wasn't exactly expecting them though.

On-tap at Tempe Tavern, Tempe, AZ:

Pours clear yellow with a thin head that slowly descends to an island. Light lacing sticks down the glass.

The smell is of light bread/dough, slight floral note.

The taste is of dough with a sweet honey-like kiss. Subtle floral balance.

It is light bodied, fairly creamy. Refreshing.

Pretty much your run-of-the-mill blonde ale. Nothing special, but decent.

 

12oz can poured into Duvel tulip. BBD 09/14/2019 printed on bottom of can. So this one still has almost 3 months of freshness left in it. Picked it up at the grocery store as part of a $10 six pack mixer.

Appearance - Pours a large white loose head with good retention and irregular, patchy lacing. Mostly clear light-medium gold body with decent carbonation. 4

Smell - Very round oat malt and slight corn musk. After a swirl, the alcohol is extremely noticeable, particular for the relatively average/low ABV. Some dark fruit character as the beer warms. 3.5

Taste - Alcoholic. Hoppy. Moderate hint of dark fruit. Lacks any of the delicate nature of a blonde. 3.5

Mouthfeel - Bitter and astringent. Light to medium bodied. 3

Overall - I can't say I've had many American blondes, but this is nothing like the Belgian varieties I've tried. Much more aggressive and hoppy. 3