Bob LeBoeuf - Petit Sault Brewery (Canada - New Brunswick - Edmundston)

Bob LeBoeuf - Petit Sault Brewery (Canada - New Brunswick - Edmundston) 5.2%

Full gold in a glass without much of a head of foam. The malt flavour is somewhat toasted and sweet but with a herbal touch from the yeast that is well suited to the style and very pleasant. It has a somewhat thicker mouthfeel than some other beers but again this is suitable for the style. All in all, a nicely drinkable Belgian Style Blonde Ale.

La Chouffe Blonde Ale (Belgium)

La Chouffe Blonde Ale (Belgium) 8%

A cloudy gold in a glass with a moderate soda like head of foam that fades fairly fast but still leaves nice lacing. A yeasty, herbal aroma with some dry euro hops and toasty malty sweetness.

A herbal, honey, nectar taste with middlelingly bitterness. Quite yeasty and with a creamy mouthfeel so, in that way, it is a little like a Belgian Wheat. However the toasty malt sweetness with subtle grain and the higher alcohol content (which is barely noticeable) makes this stand out as a very nice Belgian Blonde Ale.

Wayward Son - Radical Road Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Toronto)

Wayward Son - Radical Road Brewing (Canada - Ontario - Toronto) 7.5%

Sweet, slightly nectary or floral nose. Tones of the very sweet Belgian candi sugar with just some very slight bitter hop touches. Some red wine and barrel notes as a gentle preview of that flavour to come. Gold and a little cloudy in a glass with a white head. The taste is sweet and a little roasty with distinct red wine and barrel notes. Wayward Son has a bit of a thicker mouthfeel that I think suits this style very nicely. A sugary, sticky, lightly roasted and a bit floral aftertaste.

Radical Road's Wayward Son is a very nice Belgian Blonde or Belgian Gold Ale and the use of pinot barrels adds some really interesting notes that make Wayward Son really stand out. Also the artwork on the box (Michael slaying the Dragon I assume) by Glenn Davis Group is absolutely exquisite and makes the box an item I will proudly display in my home.

Iron Throne Blonde Ale - Brewery Ommegang (USA - New York - Cooperstown) 6.5%

 Iron Throne Blonde Ale - Brewery Ommegang (USA - New York - Cooperstown) 6.5%

Full gold and slightly cloudy in a glass with a big frothy white head. The aroma is yeasty with banana, cloves and is also just a little minty - the latter two traits are from the seeds of paradise the label mentions.

The taste is spicy, lightly bitter (more so it is cold) with a bit of a creamy mouthfeel, from the wheat, and yet it seems a tad thin at times. Some coriander flavours, that also turn out to be accreditable to the seeds of paradise. The slightest bit of lemon. Iron Throne Blonde Ale is a Belgian Blonde Ale that is just a little bit more hoppy than usual and whose mouthfeel come across as a bit attenuated at times but is, overall, pretty nice.

This beer is the first in Ommegang's Game of Thrones series. The next one to be released is a stout by the name of Take the Black.

Suiyoubi No Neko - Yo-Ho Brewing (Japan - Nagano) 4.5%

Suiyoubi No Neko - Yo-Ho Brewing (Japan - Nagano) 4.5%

Gold in a glass, absolutely clear - not cloudy at all. The aroma is of nectar and malty sweetness. From the aroma and appearance it is fair to say Suiyoubi No Neko is more like a Belgian Blonde Ale than a Beglian White so far.

The taste is sweet and nectary like a Belgian Blonde but with coriander touches and a slightly creamy mouthfeel like a Wheat. While the style may be a bit of a mash-up the flavour is wonderful: sweet and floral with touches of apricot along with the nectar and coriander. It is also well balanced and refreshing. Suiyoubi No Neko really does seem to me like a cross between a Belgian Blonde Ale and a Belgian White but that is a pretty delightful combination and, as a result, this beer is thoroughly delicious. Also the can is incredibly cute.

Affligem Blonde (Belgium) 6.8%

Affligem Blonde (Belgium) 6.8%

This Abbey ale is deep gold in a glass and well carbonated. It has an floral aroma of apricots. The aroma is also distinctly alcoholic reflecting its strength at 6.8% ABV.

The taste is along much the same lines: sweet at first, floral, tastes of fruits like apricots and mildly banana, spicy like coriander; then bitter and obviously high in alcohol with a gingery aftertaste. It is right in the middle of the pack as far as abbey beers for alcohol content (or even towards the low end) but because its flavour is relatively mild the alcohol comes through quite clearly.

The flavour of Affligem Blonde is pronounced and interesting when compared to your average beer (and in truth profoundly delightful for those of us who have fallen for Belgian Abbey beers), but it is not nearly as strong as some other Abbey ales, especially compared to, say, Trappist ales. This makes it an excellent ale to use to introduce someone to the style: after having tried and enjoyed Affligem Blonde, some of the more "exotic" tasting (and thoroughly wonderful) Belgian beers will be much more approachable.

Affligem makes several other types of beer, a Dubbel, a Tripel and a Belgian ale, which I suspect will be much more like the explosion of flavour expected of a Belgian Abbey beer and I look forward to tracking them down.

A note on the serving: this beer, like any Trappist ale or Abbey beer (or really anything at all with a pronounced floral nose and spicy taste), should be served in a goblet style glass or, failing Belgian Abbey Ale dedicated glassware, a wine glass would do nicely to capture the aroma and bring out some of the best flavours.

Great Lakes Brewery 25th Anniversary Belgian Saison (Canada - Ontario - Toronto) 6.5%

Great Lakes Brewery 25th Anniversary Belgian Saison (Canada - Ontario - Toronto) 6.5%

The beer is gold and slightly cloudy in a glass with a light, white frothy head. The aroma is of nectar and spice (and everything nice); as I'd expect from a Belgian White or a Belgian Blonde Ale or really any ale made in North America with "Belgian" in the name. There is also wheat tones and just a a bit of hops to the aroma. It has a sweet taste with nectar, a bit of citrus (orange) and clearly coriander, some pretty substantial spiciness that's almost immediately mellowed by the wheat character, and quite a bitter aftertaste. The hops character is present but mellow, a bit of citrus a bit green, and entirely intermixed with the other lovely flavours.


A glance at the ingredient list confirms the coriander and also the taste of seeds of paradise which is actually forehead-smackingly obvious in hindsight (hindtaste?). I discovered from the ingredients list that the spiciness is due to the use of pepper. The pepper is a nice touch that manages to avoid dominating the flavour even though I can feel the spice is strong enough that it is faintly tickling my insides with heartburn since I'm drinking this on an empty stomach (part of review strategy). Great Lakes Brewery 25th Anniversary Belgian Saison could make an interesting or a dangerous pairing with spicy foods, it comes in a big enough bottle that I think I'll try it out at the end of this review. The alcohol isn't very noticeable but there is some chest warming from more than the moderate peppery spice.

Now to the food pairing, I tried it with a bit of salsa and chips and the pepper in the Belgian Saison definitely kicked the spice up a notch. As long as the spicy food you are eating isn't at the high end of your spice tolerance Great Lakes Brewery 25th Anniversary Belgian Saison is a tasty and perhaps unexpected pairing option. This Saison would also be a nice pairing with light dishes like a salad or fish (think white wine) but it is also delicious on its own. If you can still find one of these in stores I'd suggest picking it up and giving it a try.

Brasseurs RJ - Blonde d'Achouffe (Canada - Quebec - Montreal)

Brasseurs RJ - Blonde d'Achouffe (Canada - Quebec - Montreal) 8.0%

A bright gold in a glass with an aroma of honey, fresh baked bread, yeast; quite floral, touching on nectary, like a perfume. Very nice. There is sediment in the bottom of the bottle (as I tend to expect from the style) so the look and taste will tend to change as you drink it unless you pour it into a glass all at once, and that would have to be a big glass since the bottle holds 660 ml. I use a smaller tasting glass so this tasting had to proceed in stages.

Well carbonated, the alcohol comes through to the taste with a bit of a bite and in a chest warming sensation. I suggest serving it warmish so that the alcohol mixes better with the other flavours. The taste is sweet with flavours that are much the same as the aroma: honey and bread, touches of yeast but where the perfume, nectar and floral aspects carried the aroma they are more subdued in the taste. As I got to the midway point of this big bottle the flavour is more malty though the floral, nectar tastes remain. This flavour spectrum continued even after large-ish flaky sediment started finding its way into my glass. A very nice beer that you should definitely try if you like Belgian style Blondes.