Smokey Blond Ale tasting

Smokey Blond Ale - 4.5% ABV. Light pale color (SRM about 5.3, IBUs 14)

MASH schedule was 148 degrees for 45 minutes. Boil was 60 minutes with Northern Brewer Hops at 5.6% AA for 14.3 IBUs

This beer was brewed specifically to be a BBQ "thirst quencher" and be lighter in body than my usual brew. To this end, my mash schedule and resulting fermentation hit it bulls-eye.

The beer is very balanced, there is no real hop bitterness and no real heavy malt sweetness. This allows the subtle smoke flavors to show up. It really tastes like my BBQ smells. Smokey oak flavors even after the first few sips.

It's finally got enough carbonation in it to really taste the beer. It'll be fairly effervescent to be compared to any commercial brew, but it is missing the malt sweetness of Shiner's Smokehouse Beer.

It's thinner than what I am used to, more like a commercial beer. It still has a protein hazy issue but I doubt this beer will last long enough for the hazy to completely disappear. This takes 6 weeks of cold conditioning.