Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Blonde Fatale

Thanks to Scott of Peace Tree Brewing Company for giving me a bottle of this to review. I've seen and tasted it often, but never had a chance to jot it down. Tasted Monday afternoon while watching the movie 50/50 off tubeplus.com.
8.5% ABV

Appearance: Gold in color with a relatively good clarity. Carbonation is persistent and strong, but fine. There isn't much by way of a head, let alone a foamed ring. Yeast looks to be stripped from the beer, as there are no dreggs present at the bottom of the bottle
Aroma: Yeasty and quite estery. Clove phenols emerge at the end, and perfume from the glass with a vengeance. Honey sweetness which is also complemented with a white wine/ grape scent.
Taste:  Upfront, the sweetness is pretty neutral, but perhaps one can draw a honey quality from it. Pilsner malt? I don't really get any grainy qualities, except maybe in the very finish. Some banana in the back half of the flavor with a minute undertone of clove spicing at the very end. Even some apricot. Yeast is present, but overall the beer tastes extremely clean.Alcohol is well masked, but sensed in the afterbreath, taking on more of a mead or campaign yeast character. Phenols run low, while fruity esters are prominent
Mouthfeel: Lighter body, with a swift acidic bite to it. Watery mouthfeel The carbonation is low, but adequate with a minute bite at the very end. The finish is dry to the tip of the tongue, probably from the phenolics or ethanol.
Overall Impression: A big flavor for a light textured and colored beer. The complexity is very inviting, because it draws from the contradiction that "light" doesn't always mean flavorless. The Belgian yeast comes through especially strong, but complementary to the beer. Esters run rampant, phenols finish it off. For such a high ABV, this beer is actually refreshing!

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