Oshkosh Beer of the Week: Belgian Style Blond from New Belgium

Let’s forget about those bitter beers for a moment and check out something malty for a change. Belgian Style Blond Ale from New Belgium’s Lips of Faith series recently went on tap at a couple of spots in Oshkosh. On the west side, you can catch it at Dublin’s and on the East side it’s pouring at Barley and Hops. The beer tastes great at both spots, so if you’re going to give this one a whirl you might want to opt for the location closest to home. At 8.5% this is a beer that’s going to make an impact upon you. Especially if you have more than one. And you’re probably going to want more than one. This is a delicious ale that masks it’s alcohol and urges you to keep drinking. 

Belgian Style Blond Ale pours bright yellow and slightly hazy with an odd aroma that’s part bread dough, part banana and part musty basement. Hey, it’s supposed to be Belgianesque, what did you expect? There’s nothing dank about the flavor, though. It starts with sweet, doughy malt that would be gooey if it weren’t for the intense carbonation, which makes the beer seem much lighter than it actually is. It finishes off with a little bit of pear-like sweetness before coming to a clean, dry end. You might notice a touch of fusel alcohol in the finish but you’ve got to hunt for it. Overall, I’d say it more closely resembles a Belgian Golden Strong Ale (think Duvel) than it does a Belgian Blond Ale (think Grimbergen Blond), but who cares. It’s an excellent beer and one worth going out of your way for. Luckily, you won’t have to. I had this beer at both Dublin’s and Barley and Hops last week and there wasn’t a shred of difference between the two pours. Now that’s a testament to clean lines!

Let me tell you, it’s tough picking just one beer for Beer of the Week, so here are few bonus beers that are currently blasting through the taps in Oshkosh and bound to please your beery itch.

• At Peabody’s the Blonde Doppelbock from Capital is going strong. And I do mean strong (8% ABV).
• At Oblio’s check out the ever-bitter and always lovely Two Hearted Ale from Bells. My liver is well aquatinted with this one.
• Becket’s has a good thing pouring in Grand Teton’s Bitch Creek ESB. The hop flavor of this British-style beer is more American than British and it’s awesome.
• And at O’Marro’s they’ve got Radeberger Pilsner on tap. I love authentic German Pilsners and this is one of the hoppy best. No green bottle blues, either!