Mission St. Blonde Ale - Steinhaus Brewing Co.

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

3.63/5  rDev +13.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Sparkling honeycomb with butternut edges and an attractive crown of fresh parchment colored foam that speaks of quality brewing. Persistence and stickiness are both worthy of praise.

American blonde ales often struggle to impress in the olfactory department. This one smells like sugary breakfast cereal, although it may not be sweet on the palate. A mild muskiness indicates a modest contribution from hops.

Mission St. Blonde Ale is slightly sweeter than the style average, which is perfectly fine with me. This is actually pretty decent beer whose flavor doesn't run away and hide on contact. It also has a good bit of malt for the ABV. Brewed by Firestone Walker? Hmmm.

Lightly sugar-crusted cereal grains lead the way, followed by a barely balancing nip of non-citric hoppiness that lead into a surprisingly long finish. While nothing really stands out, this is an enjoyable little ale that is flavorful enough to stand on its own. Should be great with a burger and fries too.

The body/mouthfeel lives on the light side of light-medium, which is all that one should reasonably expect at only 4.4%. At no time does it descend into wateriness and the bubble feel is right where it should be.

Mission St. Blonde Ale is not world-class beer that will make the drinker 'ooh' and 'aah'. It is, however, a solid little malty all-rounder that is well worth the asking price of $1 per bottle. Trader Joe's... if you're interested.

Serving type: bottle

03-16-2011 12:22:36 | More by BuckeyeNation

BeerAficionadoMCMXC

California

3.23/5  rDev +0.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Looks like a pilsner with a darker amber hue. Smells like cereal and barley notes with some sweetness to it, let's take a sip...Yep, tastes just like it smells. Drinkable, but it's got a little hop bite to it in the end. Overall, not a bad beer, but I probably wouldn't want more than a couple of these; they're a bit boring.

Serving type: bottle

05-21-2013 06:40:49 | More by BeerAficionadoMCMXC

kristenspaintings

California

3.09/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

Not great, but definitely good and a great deal for the price. This beer is light and refreshing with no major flavor domination. Great to pair with something you do not want to be diminished by the beer. Sometimes it is not just what the beer has, but what it does not have. This beer does not have any bitter or hoppy flavor, and simply clean and refreshing. Add a slice of citrus for a small flavor boost!

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2013 13:31:13 | More by kristenspaintings

yesyouam

New York

2.15/5  rDev -33%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2

Mission St. Blonde Ale is a clear, golden ale with a filmy, white ring. It has a sweet, light, malt extract aroma with a minty, herbal hint. It's light bodied and a little watery with a chalky finish. It tastes quite sweet-- kind of like, well, light malt extract. There's a light, resiny bitterness after the swallow. I dumped most of the bottle into some onions and garlic I was cooking.

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2013 01:33:14 | More by yesyouam

RyanTeeter

New York

2.21/5  rDev -31.2%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.25

a: I poured this bad boy into a tall pilsner glass. Gave off a great looking head that did not hold its figure. Left quickly and in its wake left a very thin and blotchy head for the remainder of the beverage. It pours a very pretty golden straw color with nice plump bubbles trickling towards its top.

s: The smell is quite pleasant. You can smell that sweet mash that ultimately gave me this beer. Very likeable. Really looking forward to drinking this.

t: Definitely a beer that you can drink a lot of. Was a relatively clean taste that came in with little flavor and exited quickly. Reminded me very much of Budweiser (can I say that on here?) A very flat flavor that did not taste very fresh. After about the third or fourth sip the flavor components changed and it began to taste like an old Lager. Maybe something that was stored in a hot garage for a summer and then during the winer months pulled out to serve guests. I am trying not to rant, but this was a let down.

m: Watery and airy. Very light - both on feel and carbonation.

o: Overall I think I already said it - not an impressive beer. I would recommend you buy a 6-pack of the cheap stuff. It will give you what this will give you for half the price.

Serving type: bottle

04-23-2013 02:15:33 | More by RyanTeeter

TheMarkE

California

3.16/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Appearance: Clear gold with a bit of foam and minimal lacing.

Smell: Toasted grains, hints of apple.

Taste: A bit of toasted grains, light citrus.

Mouthfeel: Light bodied, slightly creamy. No aftertaste.

The Verdict: Meh. Rather bland beer not offering much of anything for the tongue.

Serving type: bottle

03-30-2013 03:41:41 | More by TheMarkE

elNopalero

Texas

4.01/5  rDev +24.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Reviewed to style.

Bottled on 2/20/13, drank 3.11/13. So at least it’s fresh. And I wanted something sessionable—under 5% abv—so it fit that criteria.

Contract brewed by our friends at Firestone Walker for sale at Trader Joes stores.

This pours a clear golden color with some foaming and exceptional clarity. The aroma has a light cereal malt note and the faintest hint of green. I can’t say the hops have faded so much as they were not present to begin with. The beer tastes sweet, light, rounded. I wish there was more character and crispness to it. A strange, light green Jolly Rancher note comes across on the aroma and flavor as it warms. Eh.

Serving type: bottle

03-12-2013 06:35:15 | More by elNopalero

matjack85

Illinois

2.44/5  rDev -24%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.25

I picked this up at Trader Joe's where they let you buy one bottle at a time instead of the whole 6 pack. $1.17 for a single 12oz bottle with no freshness date.

The beer poured a crystal clear pale gold color with a half finger of white head that lasted about a minute. Absolutely zero lacing.

There's not much smell to this. Mostly getting apple with some sweet malt and grassy hops.

This should be called a bland ale instead of a blonde ale. It's barely more than carbonated water. Very little flavor here. It has a slight apple taste with a small kiss of honey. Hops are flavorless and don't provide much bitterness, which is OK for a blonde ale, but there's no excuse for the lack of malt.

Light and crisp from the high carbonation. Almost seltzer waterish.

Glad I only bought one of these.

Serving type: bottle

02-21-2013 06:25:42 | More by matjack85

beerhawk41

Illinois

1.5/5  rDev -53.3%

02-04-2013 00:52:31 | More by beerhawk41

LiquidAmber

Washington

3.1/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured into a Seattle Beer Week pint glass. Pours a medium golden amber with a thin white head with good retention and light lacing. Aroma of light bready malt and hops with a sharp citrus component. Flavor follows, light, sweet bready malt with a hint of citrus and a light, sweet hop finish. Flavor is pleasant, slightly sweet, but not memorable. An adequate light blonde ale.

Serving type: bottle

01-24-2013 00:05:54 | More by LiquidAmber

barczar

Kentucky

3.5/5  rDev +9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a brilliant deep golden with a frothy half inch cream head that dissipates slowly, leaving sheets of lacing.

Toasted grain, bready malt, and sweet caramel form the aroma, with light citrus notes in the background.

Flavor is sweet, with bready caramel malt throughout. There's a hit of citrus mid palate, accompanied by grain. The finish is fairly dry, but not bitter.

Body is moderate, with moderate carbonation and some underlying astringency.

Far more bready than anticipated. Tangy flavor is offputting.

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2012 22:15:30 | More by barczar

Jvcshad

3.25/5  rDev +1.2%

12-22-2012 04:11:15 | More by Jvcshad

Tnkemist

Tennessee

3/5  rDev -6.5%

12-22-2012 04:10:02 | More by Tnkemist

Offa

California

3.05/5  rDev -5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

This is a decent beer, a simple bland ale that is rather like a basic, but decent, pale lager.

Dark gold, it has a medium white head soon thinning to foamy ring.

Aroma is nice grain, hay, hint of honeyed bread, overripe apples. It's fairly simple but good.

Taste is not as good, being lightly sweet faint grain, faint grassy-peppery bitterness, faint honey with biscuit finish. It ends up rather simple and rough.

Serving type: bottle

12-19-2012 00:31:50 | More by Offa

BeerBeast

California

3/5  rDev -6.5%

12-18-2012 02:18:32 | More by BeerBeast

darrmitchell

3/5  rDev -6.5%

11-23-2012 06:23:56 | More by darrmitchell

Falcone

North Carolina

3/5  rDev -6.5%

10-22-2012 23:50:03 | More by Falcone

bzach

Indiana

3/5  rDev -6.5%

10-21-2012 05:15:59 | More by bzach

zbloom

New York

3.25/5  rDev +1.2%

08-28-2012 03:59:01 | More by zbloom

nkp765

Iowa

3.5/5  rDev +9%

08-25-2012 04:24:43 | More by nkp765

bellce0

Georgia

3/5  rDev -6.5%

08-19-2012 23:15:00 | More by bellce0

EighthElement

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev +16.8%

08-08-2012 21:07:35 | More by EighthElement

boudreaux

Alabama

1.75/5  rDev -45.5%

07-17-2012 03:33:48 | More by boudreaux

TeamUgly

California

3.5/5  rDev +9%

06-25-2012 03:49:08 | More by TeamUgly

AndrewMichael

Virginia

3/5  rDev -6.5%

06-13-2012 16:32:19 | More by AndrewMichael