pFriem Belgian-Style Blonde Ale

30 IBU 7.5% ABV
Beer Advocate score 3.89/5
Untappd score 4.03/5

BJCP Category - 125A. Belgian Blonde Ale


A moderate-strength golden ale that has a subtle fruity-spicy Belgian yeast complexity, slightly malty-sweet flavor, and dry finish.
   
Well, Whole Foods had such a good selection of beers, I decided to go back to pick out another beer from there. Actually, I already had my eye on this one from the last time. I have always wanted to try a pFriem beer, I just didn't know where to start, they all look sooooo good. It must be the packaging, I am a sucker for nice packaging. The entire line-up of brews they offer look like small bottles of champagne, making it seem like the contents of each one is really special. I needed to find out if they tasted as good as they look. Read on to find out what I though.

Aroma: Light spice with soft fruit aroma...possibly pear?  8.25

Appearance: Golden and clear. Nice head. Foams quite a bit; pour slowly.  8.5

Flavor: Sweet spiciness on the forefront. Gives away to a slight citrus bitterness. Quite pleasant.  8.5

Mouthfeel: High carbonation. Leaves the mouth dry and clean. A lot like champagne.  8

Overall: I am impressed with pFriem with the brew. The aroma was pleasant and appealing. Appearance wise, it was what a blonde ale is supposed to be. The carbonation is really high and foams a lot. A nice slow pour is required...unless you like really foamy beer. In that case, get a really large glass and go for it. The mouthfeel is a lot like champagne. The carbonation dances on your tongue and the clean dryness leaves you wanting more.  8.3

Matt's mark: 4.16/5

What a busy day I had. Today, I decided that I wanted to trim the hedge along the fence, pick blackberries and clean out the blackberry canes...all that the same time! Well, 6 hours later and 11 pounds of blackberries picked, I finished the job. But my day wasn't done. Nope. Last week, after picking 14 pounds of blackberries out at my in-laws house and adding them to the 9.5 pounds I had in the freezer, I started a blackberry wine. Why do I tell you this? Well, I needed to transition it to a secondary fermenter. This, of course, took another hour or so to sanitize everything and then another hour for the transitioning and cleanup. It's a damn good thing my lovely wife reminded me I needed to eat at some point in the day (which I fit in before the blackberry wine chore), otherwise I wouldn't have made it to my beer at the end. Boy am I glad I did. It was a tasty brew and amazingly, the packaging did make it feel all the more special. I am definitely going to try all the pFriem beers they offer and I will make sure I tell how they taste.