Ostalgia Blonde - Hopfenstark

kwjd

Ontario (Canada)

4/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Had this on tap at Volo. Pours a cloudy pale yellow/orange colour with a thin strip of white head that doesn't dissipate at all. First smell it seems quite spicy, almost as if it were a saison I think. I would think this may be a Belgian style ale, but what do I know. Nice citrus and bready notes. Very big carbonation on this. A very well done blonde ale.

Serving type: on-tap

03-22-2011 18:46:43 | More by kwjd

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

4.1/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

On tap at Max's tonight.

The beer pours a fairly light gold color with pretty good head retenton and lacing. The nose is attractive and a bit exotic. I get honey, orange blossoms, and a hint of clove. The flavor profile replicates the nose pretty closely, and I'm frankly astonished by the amount of flavor I get in this moderately sweet, 5% abv. blond ale. There's also some attractive underlying bitterness, which helps to balance and dry out the sweetness in this beer. Mouthfeel is medium bodied to full, with a fairly long finish. Drinkability is quite good, considering the abv. in this beer. Just so much flavor in this beer. Wow.

This is very nice.

Serving type: on-tap

12-08-2010 23:33:21 | More by johnmichaelsen

MasterSki

Illinois

4.03/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to papat444 for this extra. Shared for Canadian Thanksgiving. Served in a Cantillon tumbler.

A - Ridiculous gusher!!! Just violently explosive once the cap comes off. Obviously pours with giant foam that eventually settles to a thin cap and leaves tons of splotchy lace. The body is a hazy blonde color that is almost milky due to the riled up sediment.

S - Peppery spices, grain, lemon sourness, obvious brettanomyces, maybe a touch of band-aid.

T - The taste is sweeter with some toasted grains and honey, and then morphs into a sour lemon finish.

M - Low carbonation, medium body, refreshing dry finish. No discernible alcohol.

D - This ain't no American Blonde - it's a Belgian Singel or lower ABV Saison with brett. It was a good beer to start the evening with, and after the drama of the explosive bottle people were disappointed that we lost so much beer to the floor. It's a shame Hopfenstark has stopped bottling.

Serving type: bottle

10-12-2010 16:24:20 | More by MasterSki

bobsy

Ontario (Canada)

4.08/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

On tap at the Mondial de la Biere.

Hazy gold pour with a small white cap of a head. Nice lace left behind. Spicy nose has a whack of pepper in it, but a good citrus kick. Kind of like lemon pepper. Crisp flavour, lots of good biscuit backing up the hops, which overlay a great citrus hit. Nice peppery finish. Really interesting for the style, and definitely superior to most. Zingy carbonation and crisp mouthfeel suited it well.

A pleasing and crisp blonde ale, which made a nice change of pace from some of the more hardcore brews. This is the sort of beer that may be a little underappreciated, but it worked really well for me, and I'm sure it could pair very well with most foods too.

Serving type: on-tap

06-08-2010 13:45:15 | More by bobsy

cfrancis

Ontario (Canada)

4.15/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Bottle from Fred82. Pours a cloudy, straw yellow. Aroma is tart with lemon and malt. Taste is tart with citrus fruit. Dry mouthfeel with popping flavours of yeast, grain and little subtle flavours that really come out as you savor this beer. My first Hopfenstark and definitely not my last.

Serving type: bottle

11-06-2009 04:24:09 | More by cfrancis

grub

Ontario (Canada)

4.03/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Viggo shared this one. thanks eric!

750ml bottle. sampled dec 14/08.

pours hazy yellow with a huge, chunky white head. the head drops slowly and leaves tons of thick clumpy lace behind.

aroma is wild. my first thought was pickle juice. bit of vinegar and spice. bready. bit of barnyard funk.

taste is a little less wild. medium-high bitterness level. hint of cider vinegar. orange peel and other light citrus. clingy barnyard funk. light spice. leather. horse blanket.

mouthfeel is good. medium-high carbonation level. light body with a nice dry finish.

drinkability is good. nice balance. interesting funk. i wouldn't call it an american blonde, but it's good stuff.

Serving type: bottle

12-14-2008 20:14:13 | More by grub

Viggo

Ontario (Canada)

4.03/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Big thanks to Fred from Hopfenstark for hooking me up with this one.

Pours a cloudy dark straw yellow, huge and crazy thick bone white head forms, insanely rocky, like whip cream on my glass and leaves a ton of chunky lacing, fine bubbles rise up from the bottom of the glass. Smell is nice, sweet and sour, honey, wheat, tropical fruit, citrus, hay, some spices, refreshing aroma, pretty neat. Taste is very sweet and fruity, pineapple, mangoes, honey sweetness in the middle, some herbal and spice bitterness in the finish, ends up quite dry, some breadiness. Mouthfeel is light bodied with high carbonation, pretty neat and refreshing, fruit juice, solid bitterness. Thanks Fred!

Serving type: bottle

12-14-2008 19:53:55 | More by Viggo

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.9/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Rather a Belgian styled blond, cloudy yellow/peach and unfiltered. Good yeast and hop and fresh. Grapefruit and orange and some yeast in aroma. Medium plus creamy mouthfeel.Nice hopping. Had 3.5 years later on tap at Volo, funky and hoppy, great blond. Good colour.

Serving type: on-tap

06-01-2007 00:24:17 | More by northyorksammy

Goldorak

Quebec (Canada)

3.93/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

On-tap at Vices & Versa, one of the first batches of this brand new brewery.

Appearance: Peachy golden ale that was slightly opaque with a decent head.

Smell: Excellent crisp noble hop aroma, freshly crushed grain, some hay, kind of reminded me of the bottled Kellerbiers a buddy of mine brought back from Germany. Nothing super fancy here, just well made.

Taste: Perfectly balanced bubbly carbonation, chewy, honest base malt and green, grassy hops. For a first try, they really nailed it! This Beer is going to be amazing during the summer months. Apparently the brewery will sell growlers to go, and I'll be first in line to get some!

Serving type: on-tap

01-27-2007 13:48:01 | More by Goldorak