Spring Reign - Ninkasi Brewing Company

MDDMD

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A-a golden amber color with a small white head and minimal lacing

S-some bready malt, grassy, hints of citrus

T-bready malt and slight sweet caramel flavor with grassy herbal hop notes and decent bitter finish

F-light body with light carbonation, crisp

O-decent blonde ale with good flavor, would be a decent session beer

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2012 04:47:26 | More by MDDMD

SMITHAND

Oregon

3.5/5  rDev -1.7%

05-18-2013 03:35:13 | More by SMITHAND

Chris-MOC9

Oregon

3.25/5  rDev -8.7%

05-14-2013 02:56:41 | More by Chris-MOC9

KStark

British Columbia (Canada)

3.75/5  rDev +5.3%

05-13-2013 14:24:12 | More by KStark

sam_bliss

Washington

3.86/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Pours a dark blonde color with a little white head on top. Smells super citrusy, yet full malts come through in the nose as well. The typical white grapefruit and evergreen hop tastes that we associate with Ninkasi are not restrained in this brew. Some roasted flavors combined with caramel and pale malts to provide a much stronger grain presence and bigger body than most blondes. This one is an American blonde that is not wimpy. One shade blonder than SNPA, with a hint of classic Ninkasi.

Serving type: bottle

05-10-2013 03:32:22 | More by sam_bliss

leftoverburrito

Oregon

3/5  rDev -15.7%

05-08-2013 02:43:11 | More by leftoverburrito

Seanibus

California

4.1/5  rDev +15.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

I have never warmed much to Ninkasi beers, but I have to admit this is one really outstanding ale. It is crisp and clean with a satisfying lemony bitterness and a tangy hop finish that reminds me of a great kellerbier or pilsner more than a blonde ale.

Pours a sunny yellow-orange with a fluffy white head. Aroma is toasty with a lemon edge. The flavor is bright and bitter, with a mouthfilling roundness that grabs the tongue all the way back in the mouth, with some fruit - peach, lemon, apricot - and a rich, throat-filling bitterness on the way down, leaving a bitter tang and a carbonation prickle on the tongue.

Amazingly refreshing and complex for what it is supposed to be.

Serving type: bottle

05-08-2013 01:58:49 | More by Seanibus

jmccraney

Washington

3.75/5  rDev +5.3%

05-07-2013 06:17:37 | More by jmccraney

smekermann

British Columbia (Canada)

2.5/5  rDev -29.8%

05-07-2013 03:42:18 | More by smekermann

DefenCorps

Oregon

3.68/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

For a spring beer, this is a surprisingly dark color. Closer to orange amber than yellow, this beer is capped with a dense, off-white head with excellent retention and lacing. The nose is disappointing. Toasted malt, biscuit and chalky Cascade hops (grapefruit pith, moderate grapefruit zest) as well as a little bit of pine and a touch of other citrus notes.

The palate opens moderately bitter and surprisingly astringent. It drinks closer to an APA than a blonde ale, with the bitterness being fresh, pungent and with a blend of a German herbal/minty/spicy hop flavors and a secondary American citrus character. The malt character is less noticeable here, with a blend of biscuit and toast. Mildly sweet and moderately oily on the finish, this beer is medium-light in body and slightly over-carbonated. The finish has a lingering bitterness that's quite pleasing, with an herbal/minty character. Alcohol is well-hidden, but in all honesty, there's no reason this beer couldn't be brewed at 4.5% - just look at Victory's Summer Love, which combines German hops and a blonde ale remarkably well. Solid.

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2013 03:55:36 | More by DefenCorps

Lazaro

Washington

4/5  rDev +12.4%

05-03-2013 04:30:08 | More by Lazaro

BYOFB

Wisconsin

3.5/5  rDev -1.7%

05-03-2013 04:15:02 | More by BYOFB

Hoptometrist

Oregon

2.7/5  rDev -24.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Served on tap into a shaker glass

A- Poured a very light clear orange color with white soapy head that left no lace

S- Very earthy and herbal, floral notes, oatmeal/soapy notes. Kind of an odd, bitter, earthy smelling beer

T- Big earthy, herbal, and soapy flavors. Some nice floral notes. Very bitter earthiness in the flavor that is not pleasant

M- Fairly light, very low carbonation, finishes a little watery

O- A pretty dull beer with unpleasant bitter earthy notes.

Serving type: on-tap

04-30-2013 01:26:25 | More by Hoptometrist

dertyd

California

4.5/5  rDev +26.4%

04-27-2013 19:57:52 | More by dertyd

horribleheaven

California

3.75/5  rDev +5.3%

04-24-2013 23:16:58 | More by horribleheaven

LiquidAmber

Washington

3.68/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Poured into a Dogfish Head pint glass. Pours a medium golden amber with a half finger white head with good retention and lacing. Aroma of lightly toasted and biscuit malt, faint hops, reminiscent of a light pilsner. Flavor of mild bready and biscuit malt, sligthly nutty, finishing with dry bittering hops with light herabl notes. Medium bodied. Flavors are appropriate for a light Spring ale; but nothing really stands out and could use slightly more hop flavor to balance the bitterness in the finish. A nice dinner beer with pleasant maltiness.

Serving type: bottle

04-23-2013 01:03:27 | More by LiquidAmber

DustinPurvis

Idaho

3.75/5  rDev +5.3%

04-22-2013 00:51:56 | More by DustinPurvis

lsummers

California

3.94/5  rDev +10.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Pours a cloudy copper orange with a one finger eggshell white head that is very sticky.

Smells of a fresh hoppy pilsner or pale ale. Cut grass, touch of pine and blossom. Some sweet malt characters.

Taste is buiscuty nutty caramel sweetness mixed with that fresh cut grassy hop note. I want to say citrusy hops at the same time as floral. I get a mix of both. Bitternotes coexist with it's sweet malty character. One detracting thing might be a slight off note on the aftertaste, very minimal though.

Mouthfeel is sticky and mild carbonation. Lightly chewy.

Overall, this is a perfect spring beer. I would definitely try this beer again. Such a great blend of bitter floral citric hops and sweet caramel malt notes. The only thing keeping it back are some astringent characters towards the aftertaste. I'm overlooking this since I'm really enjoying the beer.

Serving type: bottle

04-20-2013 23:30:13 | More by lsummers

warpedrevolution

Washington

2.5/5  rDev -29.8%

04-13-2013 19:04:36 | More by warpedrevolution

Irrationalist

California

3.5/5  rDev -1.7%

04-09-2013 01:57:07 | More by Irrationalist

1424IpA

California

3.25/5  rDev -8.7%

04-06-2013 23:51:29 | More by 1424IpA

TheSixthRing

California

3.84/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Appearance - Pours a clear, golden orange color with an off-white, finger width head. Fair retention, leaving behind a broken layer of microbubbles on the surface. Lacing is spotty with good stick.

Smell - Floral aroma; touches on bready, toasty malts.

Taste - Moderate amount of lightly toasted biscuit upfront, played off nicely by a relatively strong grassy and slightly citric hop presence that rides out into the finish. Touches on honey. Simple, but assertive. Leaves a mild, lingering lemon/orange pith bitterness on the tongue.

Mouthfeel - Light in body with lively carbonation. Goes down nice and easy.

Overall - I don't know that this fits your classic description of an American Blonde; the flavor hits much closer to an American Pale to me. Regardless, it's another solid effort from Ninkasi, and a definite winner for a spring seasonal release.

Serving type: bottle

04-05-2013 05:36:50 | More by TheSixthRing

CookstLiquor

British Columbia (Canada)

3.86/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Poured from a 650ml bottle. Pours a deep yellow with orange highlights. Nose has lots of lemony hops.Very fresh and clean smelling. Taste is similar with lemon hop notes right up front. There’s good strong bitterness and generic malty sweetness as well. Tastes a bit like an ale version of a maibock.

Serving type: bottle

04-04-2013 23:14:30 | More by CookstLiquor

BESTIALEX

Oregon

3.25/5  rDev -8.7%

04-04-2013 03:35:14 | More by BESTIALEX

artoolemomo

Oregon

3.5/5  rDev -1.7%

04-01-2013 02:17:49 | More by artoolemomo