BLONDES HAVE MORE FUN! (Daleside Blonde)

Member Name: tange

Product:	Daleside Blonde
Date:	25/08/04 (218 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Light and refreshing, Pretty tasty, Good Session Ale

Disadvantages: A little too subtle!

Sometimes Blondes really DO have more fun! I have a great time sampling new beers and then going back and trying old favourites. When we go to Whitby we always look out for Greengrass beer from the Daleside Brewery, so when I saw our local pub had another of their beers at the bar, we just had to have some Daleside Blonde.

~~~THE BREWERY.

Brewing began at the Daleside Brewery in 1987 under the name of the Big End Brewery. They changed their name to Daleside when they moved to larger premises in 1992. You will find them at a place called Starbeck, which is a suburb of Harrogate in North Yorkshire. The brewery was founded by Bill Witty, a gentleman from an old brewing family ~ The Wittys have apparently been involved in the brewing industry since the 13th Century, when their ancestors came to England from Belgium. Daleside is still a family run business and Bill?s sons are involved too.

Many of their beers are produced using traditional recipes ~ for example the Morocco Ale and some of the beers made in association with Ripon Cathedral, Levens Hall and Ripley Castle. As well as the Greengrass Old Rogue Ale, some of the bottled and Cask beers you should look out for include Old Legover (a hoppy mid-brown ale at 4.1 % ABV), Monkey Wrench (a dark, fruity beer at 5.3% ABV) and Night Jar (a sweetish easy drinking bitter at 3.7% ABV). Their beers are now supplied to over 400 places nationwide.

~~~THE BEER.

***A bit of Background***

Daleside Blonde is brewed in the style of a Lager Ale ~ it is produced using pale malts (such as Crystal malt) to make a light coloure
d beer. Apparently it is brewed using top-fermenting yeast (as opposed to bottom fermented) and is cold-conditioned ~ top-fermenting yeast floats to the top of the beer as they ferment and generally produce beers that are sweeter, fruitier and higher in alcohol. Conditioning is the term given to the period of maturation in the cask before the beer is sold ~ some beers are matured in a warm environment and some in a cold one?the cold-conditioning gives a clean, clear lager-like taste.

***Vital Stats***

Daleside Blonde weighs in at a modest 3.9% ABV; a low alcohol content for a top-fermented beer, but certainly putting in the category of an easy drinking Session Ale.

***Look, Aroma & Texture***

Looks wise, this is a golden coloured beer with a light white head that dissipates slowly and clings to the side of the glass. Aroma is mostly hoppy with back notes of malt, combined with a slight hint of fruit and citrus lemon. The texture is slightly carbonated, but very clean and crisp on the palate.

***Taste***

The taste of Daleside Blonde mirrors the aroma! It is predominantly bitter from the hops balanced nicely by citrus and the malt. None of the flavours overpower and the result is a delicate and subtle blend of tastes. Underneath there is a slight sulphur flavour leading to a sharp burst of citrus and a light, crisp and bitter finish. The after taste is refreshing, yet has a tartness that makes you smack your lips a little.

~~~WHAT TANGE THINKS.

I can?t pretend that Daleside Blonde is my favourite ever beer, but it was pleasantly refreshing and I will certainly have it again in the future. It is tasty, but I HAVE tasted better! It is well balanced and well put together, but it is just a bit T&#
79;O easy drinking for me. I prefer a more complex beer with more flavour ~ perhaps I?m not subtle enough for it!

I think that Daleside Blonde is a nice beer to have on a sunny afternoon or evening when you want something pleasant but not too challenging. The lager style will give it an appeal to the lighter beer fans out there ~ it is one of those light, slightly carbonated beers that resembles lager, but thankfully tastes far better!

We have had Daleside Blonde in a couple of our local pubs, the most recent being The Royal Oak in New Tupton, near Chesterfield. We paid £1.90 a pint ~ not bad for a thirst quenching beer on a warm night! Despite it not being my first choice of ale I am still recommending it to drinkers because it is still a good beer. Give it a try and I?m pretty sure you will enjoy it.

~~~BREWERY DETAILS.

Daleside Brewery Office,
Camwal Road,
Harrogate,
North Yorkshire,
HG1 4PT
Tel: 01423 880022

http://www.dalesidebrewery.co.uk/aboutus.stm (website seems to be currently out of action)


Capital letters courtesy of: http://www.chuckleweb.co.uk/fixit.php

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