Beer Review: Branchline Shady Oak Blonde

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 4.5 percent

Appearance: This blonde was indeed a "blonde" color. It was somewhat closer to a olden color, but with some orange hues mixed in some portions of the body. This brew was packed full of carbonation. The bubbles traveling upwards through the golden body. As the brew was able to warm, these bubble congregations turned into those beady lines I sometime see in Belgian beers. The foam was an explosive rush towards he crown of the glass as soon as I poured it. As fast as it foamed up it still receded nicely and in a timely fashion. For a second I thought this was a beer on nitro. What was left was some cake-like (as I always like to refer to it) lacing inside the glass. This lacing was quite thick and sticky. Almost perfect.

Smell: The aroma was almost dominated by this floral hoppiness. The brew was also a little sweet as well as a bit fruity and estery.

Taste: Overall, this had a thick feel to it. I got sweet malt on the front as well as some of the wildflower honey that was used in the brewing process.. The honey and the fruity esters that followed played very well off of each other. Some yeast character bounced in and out as well at that point. The finish was punctuated with that signature floral hop bitterness. The honey lingered for a good while in the aftertaste, which was an amazing yet tasty attribute.

Overall Rating: 

This was a fabulous drink. I can't wait until I have the chance to try this again in the future. The honey was the key ingredient here, at least for me it was. It played well with the other aspects of the beer and it even lingered in the aftertaste. The carbonation was at an unreal level. Not outrageous, but perfect enough to enhance the beer drinking experience for me. It added that much more texture and crispness.

Beer Review: Guadalupe Brewing Texas Honey Ale

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 7.32 percent

Appearance: This brew poured a nice golden brown with some toasty brownish hues. There was a mountainous head that could have been classified as either a very light beige or a white color. It had some amazing staying power and was strongly fueled by some swiftly moving carbonation bubbles. It was almost as if this beer was on nitro except that it actually came from a bottle. I peered in for a closer look at the head and visually plucked out some thick and fluffy lacing starting to cake the inside of the glass. Very visually appealing.

Smell: This smelled quite bready and grainy. A few roasted notes provided a toast-like essence (I realize that sounds entirely too geeky). There's some sweetness from the honey that was obviously used in this.

Taste: I was kissed by the honey quite fast up front. That sweetness quickly translated into that toasted grain flavor. With that came some bread notes of the medium to dark variety. There was also a slight bitter finish from the hops. The intense carbonation rushed into my mouth to provide an awesome layer of texture. The bubbles still continued to dance as I drank. I swear they even caused a tickling sensation as each sip went down. The after taste was dry and toasty (as in bread toast). I've never once thought a beer could resemble toast with honey on it. This did the job nicely.

Overall Rating: 

This was absolutely amazing. This beer wanted to get dark, but still stayed sweet. Had an interesting grain flavor. Hell, it even had that dry scratchiness that toast seems to give you when you eat it. The honey didn't dominate, but only complimented the other aspects of the beer. The texture was among the best I've ever experienced in my few years of drinking craft brews.