Beer Review: Rivertowne Babbling Blonde

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 5.3 percent

Appearance: This beer had a pretty chroma of straw gold once I poured it out. There was also an initial fogginess in the body that faded just a little as everything settled. After that, this had a strong, crisp appearance. There was an average amount of carbonation trickling upwards. This helped form the quarter inch white layer of foam.

Smell: Babbling Blonde gave way to a few interesting layers of aroma. It was slightly sweet as well as fruity with some orange and lemon. This also featured a few hints of grain and grassiness.

Taste: Oddly, this played quite dry up front. A touch of bread and yeast flavor played well with the fruit flavor. Still, I couldn't really place the fruit flavor as I had in the smell. It just didn't seem like lemon and/or orange. More like a handful of gummi candy. I found that just a little misleading. There was also a minimal hop bite on the back which I was pleased to notice.

Overall Rating: 

I go back and forth with this beer, but if I had to compare it with something it'd be shortbread. Sweet, yet still has that bread/cookie/cake flavor. Hints of fruit. Overall, I love the color of this beer. Has some thickness to the body. The fruit flavors still wander in and out which has me confused at times in which I'm drinking this.

When Will Rivertowne Delivereth the Cans?

I've been talking on and off about local breweries beginning to can their beers and distribute them. It's been quite a while since I've ran the subject through my mind. That's when a Twitter follower mentioned me in a tweet saying something about  Rivertowne Monroeville cans possibly being out this week.

@burghbeersnob RT cans coming this wk!
— Josh Brikis (@JBrikis) January 9, 2013

Other than that, a quick internet search doesn't find much else on the issue. As far as I've noticed, no Rivertowne cans are in nearby distributors. At least not the few stores I've been in recently.

I'm not the world's biggest fan of beer from cans, but I'll quickly get over it if a world of more variety is unlocked for me. I've only come across bottles of Babbling Blonde, RT Lager and Old Wylie's IPA from the Rivertowne selection.

If you take a look at the Our Brews page on the brewery's website you'll notice the images of a few others that Rivertowne brews. The best part is that they're depicted in cans! I'd love the opportunity to stack a few cans of Hala Kahiki in my fridge.