This beer came and went very quickly- easy come easy go as they say, right?
Generally well received at the bridal shower that it was brewed for, and even more well received at our house as it was basically just what Kelly wanted it to be- crisp and satisfying and uncomplicated.
Appearance: CRYSTAL CLEAR!!! Well... until the yeast on the bottom is roused. Light golden yellow with a standard grainy head.
Smell: Like a lager, it is crisp and ever-so-slightly sulfuric. Yeasty, wet stone, some honey, and maybe apricots are there too. There are hops in the nose, but not present enough to be notable.
Taste: Lager-like. A hint of apricot wine on doughy crackers with a very faint and generic dry-floral and slightly spiced bouquet underneath it all. The balance is nice, but there is a whisper of a tangy zing from the biscuit malt (think quince paste) that I wish wasn't there.
Mouthfeel: Light to med bodied with high carbonation. "Sudzy".
Overall: Success. Nice in its simplicity, but I think it would do well with the biscuit malt left out-- would help the subtleties of the crackery base malt shine.
Been meaning to send you some feedback on your brews (Recent baby and thesis writing are getting in the way). Will get out some more detailed reviews by December, Jan, but in short, I really enjoyed this. If I didn't know it was a blonde, I would have thought its was a very clean, crisp lager. Only noticeable deviation from a classic lager was the apricot on the nose, which was a pretty cool facet of the beer. Great job keeping this clean and simple, as it totally accomplished what you set out to do.
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