Shiner Blonde - Spoetzl Brewery

ThisWangsChung

Maryland

2.1/5  rDev -29.1%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

12 oz bottle into a pint glass.

A: Pours a light straw color. The head is a typical-looking one finger white shade. It seems to retain itself more strongly than others in the style, which isn't saying much.

S: Unfortunately, it's not far off (at all) from a typical adjunct lager here. Notes of corn and cooked veggies emanate from the aroma. These notes aren't as strong as they are in, say, Bud; if they had a healthy backing of hops behind them I could easily view this as a pre-pro pils and be done with it - alas, it's not the case. Meh.

T: Flavors are as straightforward as they can be - some sweet cream and a touch of corn. No cooked veggies from the aroma are here, thankfully. If this does anything right, it's the fact that the adjunct notes here aren't as off-putting like they'd be in a typical BMC product. Actually, my main problem here stems back to what I said about the aroma: where are the hops? The malt backbone is perfectly acceptable for the style, but without any balancing hops, it's simply too sweet.

M: Typical of a lager, it's light and easy to drink. But it finishes too sweetly, and as such, isn't as quaffable as it could be.

O: This seriously needs more hoppiness to it. What's sad is that this missing feature is all that stands between Shiner Blonde being just another crappy AAL (which it is) and a wholly solid pre-pro pils. A shame, really.

Serving type: bottle

06-03-2013 20:10:06 | More by ThisWangsChung

plaid75

New York

3.25/5  rDev +9.8%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

Poured a medium straw hue with a one finger foamy white head. There was decent retention and lacing.

The smell and taste featured light adjuncts atop a soft pale malt with a grassy hop.

The mouthfeel was typical of the style with a clean, dry finish.

Overall an uneventful adjunct lager. Quaffable however.

Serving type: bottle

06-03-2013 00:39:39 | More by plaid75

Gmann

New York

2.41/5  rDev -18.6%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Pours a pale pale pale straw color, crystal clear, with a pure white airy head that quickly settles into a light ring. Fizzy yellow beer.

The aroma is sweet and grainy. Some cracker malt notes followed by a corn like grainy scent. Ok for the style, I guess.

The taste is watery with some grainy notes; corn like flavor. Surprised that this is not a light lager. Not overly adjuncty due to the lightness of the brew. Some honey sweetness.

The feel is light and watery with fizzy carbonation. Sweet on the palate. It is fine cold but worry if it warms it would become more astringent.

Standard macro lager. Tastes more like a light lager. Meh.

Serving type: bottle

04-28-2013 23:11:45 | More by Gmann

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

2.73/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 2.25 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75

Well that's a pretty tame and weak colored yellow right there. White head, 1", dissipates at a steady clip.

Nondescript aroma, lightly vegetal and grainy. Not much there. Corn and grass.

Taste, unoffensive lager. Not really the hallmarks of flavor, mild corny grain, little to no hops, high carbonation, barely any malt heft or presence. It does have a dry and crisp mouthfeel, no doubt helpful on a hot Texas day.

At best, you only have to drink one of these since it came from a variety pack of Shiner stuff.

Where it really falters is charging more than other BMC quality stuff. Decent enough to give someone without feeling really embarassed, but don't bother buying these in quantity, pick up some PBR, Olympia, Rolling Rock etc. . . they all do the same thing, but this is a little more expensive for some reason.

Serving type: bottle

04-03-2013 16:21:59 | More by Beerandraiderfan

JG-90

New Jersey

2.29/5  rDev -22.6%
look: 1.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.25 | overall: 2.25

Bottle poured into glass leaves a small white bubbly head that quickly dissapears to leave a small ring of bubbles around edge and almost no lacing. Perfectly clear straw/yellow in color. Does not have a remarkable, but not bad aroma, smells like "light beer".

The flavor adds a little more than the taste. At first the taste is "light beer" but then you first get a hint of grapes, then husk and grains. Has a crisp grape/grain taste that lingers in mouth. Light body with high carbonation.

This beer is better than Major Brand X Lite, but not by a lot.

Serving type: bottle

03-31-2013 20:40:06 | More by JG-90

Immortale25

Florida

2.26/5  rDev -23.6%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.25

Poured into an Elysian Brewing pint glass. No freshness date.

A- Pours a crystal clear light golden color with a super fizzy 1/2 inch head that immediately dies away to absolute zero surface foam. Lacing is nonexistent.

S- Slightly sweet aroma of stale bread and a kiss of alcohol.

T- Nearly flavorless save for some husky grain-like flavor probably from adjuncts like corn or rice plus a slight tinge of alcohol.

M- Pretty much just water as far as the consistency goes. Barely any carbonation either, resulting in a lame, lifeless feel.

O- Wow. I figured, out of all in the variety sixer I got, this would only be enjoyable to drink in order to quench my thirst after an intense workout but it's not even accomplishing that for me. This is not what beer is supposed to be like. It's like they didn't even try.

Serving type: bottle

02-22-2013 01:23:44 | More by Immortale25

JerzDevl2000

New Jersey

3/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Picked this up as a single bottle in Totowa, having never tried this before. I expected it to be a lot like Pabst Blue Ribbon and sure enough, it was. While this didn't measure up to the beers that I normally enjoy, it was good enough to down and not pour out, while reminding me of lazily kicking back and soaking up some sun during the warmer months.

The pour to this was straw, clear, and with little head. There was even less lacing to be seen and no discernible aroma at all but thankfully, there was just a bit of carbonation. This wasn't sour like I expected at all and it reminded me more of an Adjunct or a Macro Lager. Some floral notes, a bit of honey, and a starch-like malt base gave a bit of oomph to this, without the mouthfeel of a mass-market beer. This finished clean like any Lager should have and it was just filling and bright enough to keep my attention, even though it didn't quite feel like beer.

That's because of how low the alcohol was, which I never tasted or felt from start to finish. Session beers don't get much of obvious than this and had I bought another, it would have gone down just as easily afterwards. It's nice to find a brew of this style without the fillers that the mass-market beers consist of. Here is just an unassuming beer that goes down nicely without much thought and once in a while, that can be a great thing. I may give this a go again in the Summer!

Serving type: bottle

02-20-2013 22:40:46 | More by JerzDevl2000

Drew966

Florida

3.33/5  rDev +12.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Shiner Blonde pours a pale amber with a white head from a brown twelve ounce bottle.
The aroma is so mild as to be almost non-existent. The flavor is mild and on the malty side. This is a very light beer, really, a nice one for what it is, kind of a high class lawnmower beer if you will. Pleasant enough, goes down easy.

Serving type: bottle

01-28-2013 01:05:37 | More by Drew966

fsimcox

California

3.43/5  rDev +15.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pours a clear transparent straw yellow. Fluffy white foamy head that dissipates quickly, leaving a thin white layer of bubbles. No lacing.

Smells of floral grasses, a hint of hops, and maybe just a bit of lemon and sweet malt, but very faint.

Taste is sweet malt, and grain, a hint of honey suckle, and some faint sweet bread in the finish.

Mouthfeel is a bit thin, but crisp and clean. Very drinkable, with a little carbonation, and a dry finish.

A nice clean crisp lager. It was worth trying, if you like a basic beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2013 17:51:30 | More by fsimcox

AlCaponeJunior

Texas

2.93/5  rDev -1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Well looks wise it ain't much, clear, yellow and fizzy with a small head that dissipated quickly and left not much lacing.

Aroma is kind of sweet, smell more like an adjunct lager brewed with corn than a pure malt brew. A bit of honey and some grains too.

Taste isn't quite as sweet as the aroma led me to believe it would be, but it's still somewhat sweet. It's got a nice graininess and a little grassy flavor too. There's a light bitterness that provides some balance, but nothing notable as being hops.

Body is very light, fizzy, and quite easy to drink.

It's a good lawnmower beer, or a substitute for AALs. It's not much to write home about though.

Serving type: bottle

12-28-2012 02:09:55 | More by AlCaponeJunior

acelin

Kansas

2.9/5  rDev -2%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured into a tall pils glass.

Pours a clear yellow with minimal to no lacing. No head to speak of.

Smells like faint malts.

Tastes like pale malts, slight sweetness, bready, with faint floral hops.

Mouthfeel is average. Very sessionable.

There are many other beers at the same price point that are better.

Serving type: bottle

12-12-2012 01:22:09 | More by acelin

mooseisloose

Florida

2.48/5  rDev -16.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Popping the top it's a bit of adjunct smell. Pours to a bright yellow with wispy white head that disappears in an instant. Taste has a bit of grape and yeast but fades to a weak grape. Mouthfeel is very carbonated, apparently carrying the lack of backbone. Not a keeper.

Serving type: bottle

11-22-2012 02:20:01 | More by mooseisloose

Fatehunter

Oregon

3/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Had a half finger of head. Clear, golden colored body with a few bubbles rising up.
Smells like honey and grain.
Taste has initial sweet note, followed by a dry bitterness.
Medium body, moderate carbonation. Fairly crisp texture.
A decent enough drink.

Serving type: bottle

11-22-2012 01:41:41 | More by Fatehunter

TMoney2591

Illinois

2.7/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Served in a Lagunitas mason jar.

A blonde with a shiner is never a good combination in real life... Anyway, this stuff pours a clear straw topped by a relatively short-lived finger of lightly off-white foam. The nose comprises mildly funky wheat, light grass, and a touch of whole-kernel corn. The taste brings in more of the same, but with more corn, which is now even sweeter than before. The body is fairly light, with a light moderate carbonation and a sorta watery feel. Overall, a pretty limp blonde, barely a step-up from your average adjunct lager.

Serving type: bottle

11-12-2012 05:16:52 | More by TMoney2591

mactrail

California

2.15/5  rDev -27.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Pale golden color in the glass with the usual modest head. There is enough spritziness to be beery.

Kind of sweet with a corn flavor. Maybe it's grits, being Spoetzl. Overall it's pretty insipid. Just a touch of something bitterish at the finish.

I suppose a taste test would reveal whether this is better than Keystone, but we'll probably never know. From the 12 oz bottle as part of the "Family Reunion" six-pack.

Serving type: bottle

11-11-2012 04:56:21 | More by mactrail

tjsdomer2

Illinois

2.18/5  rDev -26.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Appearance: Fairly flat. Straw yellow. The only positive thing is the decent, thin layer of lacing around the glass.

Smell: Sour, burnt caramel and lemon. Skunky.

Taste/Mouthfeel: Sour, skunky lemon and herbal soap (not that I have much experience eating that). Mouthfeel is sudsy, but also soapy.

Overall Drinkability: Just a bad-below average beer overall.

Serving type: bottle

11-04-2012 23:58:52 | More by tjsdomer2

beertunes

Washington

3.18/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured into 9oz Pilsener glass. Poured a clean, clear bright yellow color, with about an inch of white head that had low retention and no lace.

The aroma was mostly lightly sweet malts, a nice bit of grain and some soft hops. The taste was fundamentally the same, a sweet, grainy, "beer" taste.

The body was nicely full for the style, but yet stayed crisp, even, and clean. Drinkability was very nice, the beer went down quickly and easily. Overall, a nice little beer. Nothing spectacular, but probably worth throwing a sixer in the fridge to have when you're in the mood for something a little lighter.

Serving type: bottle

10-27-2012 21:46:51 | More by beertunes

PorterLambic

Florida

3/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a clear, bright straw yellow color. Small white head consists of small bubbles but is nowhere near creamy. Fizzy is what it is. No retention to speak of.
Smell is musty, malt, some light citrusy hops and a touch sweet. Balance is good.
Taste is hops, malt, some citrus and a light sweetness with mustiness. Decently balanced
Medium-ish body, lighter than expected carbonation. Nothing to really recommend this brew except it is better than the megabrew offerings.

Serving type: bottle

10-21-2012 00:02:46 | More by PorterLambic

Darkmagus82

Montana

3.08/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured from bottle into pint glass

Appearance –Pours a clear straw color with a tiny white head that fades almost instantaneously to give no lacing.

Smell – The aroma is mainly of a biscuit nature with a light citrus smell. Along with these aromas are some notes of a paper smell.

Taste – The taste is fairly one-dimensional. It starts out of sweeter caramel with some sweet corn and a lighter bready taste. These flavors persist throughout the taste with very little change; leaving the same flavors that starts out the taste to linger on the tongue.

Mouthfeel – The body of the beer is very light and the carbonation level is rather average. The lighter body and the carbonation are good for the style and do make for a quite easy drinking brew.

Overall – Quite simple and easy drinking. If looking for a session brew or when looking for something very simple, then this will work just fine.

Serving type: bottle

10-19-2012 01:08:34 | More by Darkmagus82

raznug

Ohio

3.38/5  rDev +14.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: It pours a straw golden color and is topped with an 1” of white head that disappears rather quickly.
Smell: It smells rather clean and simple as I expected with just a hint of malt aroma, I wish that there was a bit more in the aroma.
Taste: The taste is rather clean like the aroma but it does have more of a malt taste than the aroma had. It is a tasty representation of a very classic style.
Mouthfeel: Its mouthfeel is spot on where I was expecting it.

Serving type: bottle

09-22-2012 13:01:35 | More by raznug

Bockrules

New Mexico

3.08/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

poured from the bottle into a pilsner glass

A - Pours a slightly gold straw color with plenty of bubbles rising to the, white one-finger head that is disappearing rapidly. A thin ring of bubbles stays intact all the way down the glass. Leaves behind several splotches of lacing.

S - Grains with a tiny hint of mustiness.

T - Clean malt upfront. The all-malt body is acceptable and has just a bit of musty bitterness for balance. A tad more bitterness manages to come through as the beer passes over the back of the tongue leads to a clean grain finish.

M - Light bodied with enough substance not to confuse it with a macro lager. Appropriately, has a substantial amount of carbonation.

Shiner Blonde reminds me a lot of Labatt Blue. It is a simple straight ahead all-malt lager that isn't really memorable. For about a buck a bottle, you can't complain as it beats out nearly every adjunt lager and will suffice in washing down some food. I may come back to this in the Shiner variety pack, even though there isn't much variety, as it offers a lot of acceptable beers at a low price.

Serving type: bottle

08-27-2012 05:09:59 | More by Bockrules

kylehay2004

Florida

2.73/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Single finger head with better than expected retention and decent lacing on a bright straw colored clear body. Lots of breads and biscuits with grain notes for the aroma. Flavor is very light with more grains, minimal malt presenece and a sharp bitter note which comes and goes as it rests on the palate. Light body and high carbonation. This one is very bland and plain. Refreshing and no bad after taste but unimaginative.

Serving type: bottle

08-20-2012 23:12:41 | More by kylehay2004

Coyotebob

4.43/5  rDev +49.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

It's good! I had been looking for an everyday beer since Stroh's committed suicide by aquiring Schlitz and ruining themselves. I bought a 6 of bottles and was quite happy with the overall product. A very good, crisp taste that does not linger on well after the drink. This is not a beer snob beer. It's a working guys beer.

Serving type: bottle

08-19-2012 00:23:15 | More by Coyotebob

Mdog

Minnesota

3.53/5  rDev +19.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Very pale yellow, good head.

Smell: Sweet, corny.

Taste: Mildly sweet lager, hint of grass in the finish.

Mouthfeel: Light and easy to drink.

Another from the Shiner variety 6 pack. A pretty decent blonde, easy drinking and tastes pretty good. You can't ask for much more from a blonde.

Serving type: bottle

08-01-2012 23:40:24 | More by Mdog

Jadjunk

Georgia

2.7/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Available as part of the Family Reunion 2012 Mixed 12 pack or alone in a six pack, the Shiner Blonde is one of Shiner's staple year round offerings, brewed in the Pale Lager/Blonde style. According to the label, "This Bohemian-style Golden Lager is a classic Blonde beer distinctive, flavorful, and refreshing."

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle to my Shiner Pint glass. Served at 43.5º Fahrenheit.

(Appearance) Pours a fizzy white crisp head with little staying power, fading away quickly, leaving a light bubbly clear surface and no lacing. Body color is a pale golden-amber, crystal clear with ample relaxed carbonation. The color is an appropriate tone, neither too dark or pale, but the lackluster head quality and nonexistent lacing gives this beer at the very best an average appearance and I've seen significantly better choices from what we can see. 2.5

(Smell) Aroma is mild, and what can be discerned is geared towards simple tastes. Mild pale malt, a touch of wheat and perhaps a hint of honey malt, none of which truly shine in the light aroma. Aroma is slightly sweet, with little hop bitterness and no hop flavor rounding it out. Nothing is particularly unique nor unusual about this beer. For a light drinking session lager, this is probably a better option than most Macro choices, but I don't have much reason to choose this over my common choices based on aroma alone. 3

(Taste) The taste is less impressive than the smell, and what subtleties are hinted at hardly deliver in the flavor. Very watery pale malt with a thin body and little else in the flavor. Honey or honey malt may be there too, but it is so thin it's hardly enjoyable. One can craft a more impressive Blonde lager with a more developed flavor than this! In my opinion this is only a few steps away from water, largely unenjoyable because no flavor development occurs throughout the entire drink. Sad. 2.5

(Mouthfeel) The mouthfeel would pair better with the taste if there was a more developed flavor, but I prefer the textures of the beer over the flavor, so the mouthfeel is immediately more enjoyable for the style. Very thin and light body, although crispness from the carbonation gives it some significant life potential. Alcohol presence is surprisingly low despite the very light body. A better texture in the mouthfeel than the flavor itself, but unfortunately does little to accelerate the overall impressions of this beer. 3.5

(Overall) Despite being classified as beer, the flavor profile is nearly too thin for my personal taste, even as a session beer I am left longing for so much more. The limited flavor profile doesn't chalk it up to much better than run-of-the-mill macro options like Budweiser or Coors, although there's more potential and a bit more flavor diversity in the little flavor I can get out of the drink. Overall, I'd steer clear of this beer unless light and limited flavor happens to excite the drinker. I'm only more shocked and curious that a light version of this beer somehow exists. How could the flavors get any more light? 2.5

Spoetzl Brewery's
Shiner Blonde
/5.00

Serving type: bottle

07-25-2012 16:33:43 | More by Jadjunk