can - Pours almost clear gold with a small white head. The aroma is very mild with some hops and grainy malt. The flavor is moderately bitter with bready malt sweetness. It’s light to medium bodied and fairly good.

Can. Initially sweet fresh pineapple aroma, and then some malt as it warmed. Hazy golden yellow with a small white head. Light malty flavor with a dry grassy, floral, citrus hops finish. Light crisp body. Very nice, and hit the spot on a hot day.

Pours a hazy yellow under a tall, dense, creamy white head. Light lemon aroma. The flavor is lightly bitter. Not bad for a style that bores me quite often.

Enjoyed on tap at the Boiler Room in Chicago, IL during a power outage hanging out with some friends from Milwaukee who were gonna play next door, but thanks to said power outage we just hung out at this bar. Anyways, aroma was equal parts citrus hops and grassy notes, pretty decent. I can’t really comment on the appearance since there was little light, but it looked like a cloudy bright gold. Taste pretty hoppy for a blonde ale, orange citrus notes, I told someone it tasted similar to Oberon but a little hoppier, and I stand by that. Pretty decent stuff.

Can, at Finch’s. Let me blast my prejudice up front: I volunteered Wednesday to help out at Finch’s canning line. I was paid only in beer. By 5 p.m. we were opening cans that were too dented to sell, So I had this as fresh as you can possibly have a packaged commercial beer. Drinking out of the can didn’t give me a chance to judge appearance, but I’ll make up for that later. I have some problems with Blonde ale style beers that come in too sweet or fruity, but this one showed a determination to be considered as Finch’s "gateway" beer. A basic "beery" smell of light malts with a whiff of hops, the way we think we remember our first beers. A light, slightly toasty malt taste. Not "rich" like, say, a brewpub pilsener, but proper for a lawnmower brew. Hop taste was nicely sharp, with straight bitterness and pepper. Brewmaster Richard Grant confirmed they were Northern Brewer, with, as I recall, some Cascades. Bitter finish hangs just long enough for clueless marketers to think women won’t like it.

On tap. Poured a clear gold with a white head that dissipated to the edges and laced. Aroma had a decent amount of pine and grassy hops backed by a smooth grain and bread backbone. Flavor began with light pine that transitioned to a grassy note that combined with the malty notes of hay and grain.