Rating

3.7 out of 5

Aroma

3.9 out of 5

Appearance

3.6 out of 5

Taste

3.4 out of 5

Palate

Total

3.7

3.7 out of 5

Overview

• Brewery: Spinnaker's Brewing Co.
• Beer Style: Blonde Ale
• Pros:

  Unique blend of Blonde Ale and BC Wine traditions

• Cons:

  Somewhat cider-like, not your typical craft beer.

• Conclusion:

  A unique and bubbly blend of a blonde ale and white wine grapes.

Spinnaker’s Brewing Co. – 2014 Ortega Blonde Ale Review

The Spinnaker’s Brewery has a tendency to wax dip beer styles that you may not expect. If you were not sure, wax dipping a bottle helps to seal the beer from oxygen seeping through the beer’s seal. This is important when cellaring a beer or storing it for consumption several months or even years into the future. The Ortega blonde is a relatively mild 5% alcohol but is brewed using Ortega grapes. Collaborating with the Muse Winery this is an amalgamation of beer and wine styles into something truly unique. From the wax-dipped bottle this wine-inspired beer pours as a light, golden-straw colour topped with two thick fingers worth of head. This head settles rather quickly and without a trace. The Ortega Blonde smells similar to a traditional blonde ale but with a bit of a white-wine like grape kick. The beer’s aroma is not overly fruity but does have a defined wine like grape-scent to it.  The beer has a very strong carbonation which sizzles on the tongue. An almost cider-like body of blonde ale-ness and a slightly sour grape flavour is very unique. The high carbonation and a slight ffruitinessmore closely resembles cider than wine but still retains it beer characteristics with a mild hop bitterness which comes in for the finally. For the champagne lovers out there and those that want a unique but rather light twist to craft beer the Ortega Blonde melds industries to make a creative and uniquely BC craft option.

Alcohol – 5.0%
IBU – 24
Size –650ml bottle
Price – $8.50 (Craft retailer)
Spinnakers.com