Ostalgia Blonde - Hopfenstark

Kegatron

Pennsylvania

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

64 oz growler into several glasses. Thanks go to FooFaa for bringing this one to the party.

Pours a hazy pale gold, with a thin covering of bright-white froth, which stays creamy and leaves a solid smattering of lacing behind. The aroma is overall very peppery and tangy in the nose, with a mix of bread, bitter fruit, floral hops, and spice. Just a smidge of light funk from the Brett but more of that will be coming up later.

The taste is sweet with light toasted bready notes and fruit, with a LOT of peppery notes giving this a zesty tanginess. Herbal hops and citrus rind lend this some earthy bitterness. The Brett is much more prominent here in the flavor profile, giving this a freshly crisp and tart bite, which lingers with a drying feel. The mouthfeel is lighter-medium bodied, with a smooth and mellow carbonation that flows very easily in the mouth and down the throat.

This turned out really nice. Lots of American hop attitude in this Blonde Ale and the addition of the Bret gave this a tart drying sharpness that definitely set it apart from others in the style. I really liked this one and will continue to seek out others from this newish brewery.

Serving type: growler

02-11-2010 16:54:09 | More by Kegatron

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

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

Phyl21ca

Quebec (Canada)

4.72/5  rDev +22%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bottle: Poured a hazy bright yellow color ale with a huge pure white foamy head with good retention and some nice lacing. Aroma of clean cereal with bready yeast and some floral notes with slight citrus notes. Taste is refreshing while being quite complex with nice mix of clean cereal with nice floral undertones and some light tart and citrus notes with a yeast strain that is bready and funky at the same time. Body is full with limited filtration and good carbonation. Probably one of the best blonde ale I had a chance to taste.

Serving type: bottle

08-21-2011 02:38:16 | More by Phyl21ca