Skinners Cornish Blonde

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 6

Cask@GBBF2007. Golden colour, small head. Aroma is mainly wood, some spices and a bit of wheaty notes. Flavour is the same, and quite watery to the palate.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Bottled Cornish wheat beer; clear, golden, with a rocky white head. Some fruit and hops in the aroma with background sweetish malts. Taste is not too bad; a nicely drinkable, fruity, hoppy, citrusy and spicey blond beer. Medium bodied, lightly carbonated. Not really a Xmas beer, but you have to be adaptable in this game!

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 9

Sampled cask-conditioned at The Towan Blystra, Newquay, Cornwall.

Pretty ironic that Skinner's "Blonde" is one of their biggest beers -- the exact opposite of the paradigm used by American brewers to classify their beers. That is to say, this Blonde is neither the weakest nor the lightest offering from Skinner's, but one of their biggest overall.

Anyway, this is made with a fair amount of wheat, and both British and American hops (Cascade, perhaps?). Their website suggests having this with a slice of lemon, but it goes against my very nature to have some sort of fruit in my beer -- especially a carefully crafted and cared-for cask-conditioned ale...!

Very easy drinking for it's ABV -- quite easy drinkability overall.

But this sort of beer need not be pounded down in a moment's notice. No, it's got enough girth in the body and the flavor profile to reward perhaps a bit more conservative enjoyment.

I found myself torn with this beer, to be honest. It was tasty and quite sessionable..., *but* I kept on looking at the other hand-pumps at the bar for possibilites later on. Maybe it's a form of A.D.D. that I can't settle down and enjoy what I have in front of me? Oh well.

Either way, this is a very nice and very enjoyable drop of beer....
//TB