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Beer Reviews

Dirty Blonde

Atwater Block Brewery
Detroit, MI
USA
http://atwaterbeer.com/

Style: Ale
ABV: 4.5%

Jill’s Rating:
   (World class.)


Comments:
It’s been a while since I’ve had some beer from Atwater Block, and after drinking this, it’s made me want to hop in a car and head over to Detroit even more.

This seasonal ale is made with unmalted wheat, coriander, and orange peel, some of my favorite ingredients. It pours with an enormous head and is somewhat cloudy. You can really smell the wheat on the nose, and you also get hints of coriander and orange. The fact that they were faint got me hopeful that the flavors of them would be subtle as well—sometimes it feels like American microbrewers just want to go as big as possible with all the flavors they can. At times this can backfire (see Great Lakes Grassroots Ale), making you wish for a more mellow flavor with a complexity that doesn’t have to smack you upside the head to remind you that it’s there.

Other times, you get something like this Dirty Blonde, which is full of subtle flavors. It’s still light enough that it makes for an easy-drinking beer, and it’s not so complex that you have to puzzle over what’s in it. Just pop open another already, and enjoy!

Get your hands on this while you can—it’s easily my favorite beer of this summer.

Reviewed by Jill Jaracz on July 20, 2009.

Drinkin’ And Thinkin’

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