Great River Brewing Dirty Blonde

Dirty Blonde
Dirty Blonde

I had a chance to try Great River Brewery‘s Dirty Blonde tonight as Old Capitol Brew Works.

At first, it had a smoky scent and was slightly hazy.  Upon tasting, it was very fruity, almost like Juicy Fruit gum, and a bit of citrus, and not much bitterness.  The carbonation gave the beer a bit of bite, and allowed the beer to have a nice clean finish.  It was a very light and refreshing beer that I could have many of this summer.

Have you tried the Dirty Blonde from Great River Brewery?  Let us know what you think!

Dogfish Head Midas Touch

Midas Touch
Midas Touch

Another beer by Dogfish Head that should soon be in an Iowa store near you, thanks to SF 2088, is Midas Touch.  From their website:

It is an ancient Turkish recipe using the original ingredients from the 2700 year old drinking vessels discovered in the tomb of King Midas.

The beer includes as ingredients barley, honey, muscat grapes, and saffron .  Other than being slightly carbonated, this beer doesn’t remind me much of a beer.  Instead, it seems to be similar to a white wine blended with a bit of a mead .  As a matter of fact, it took three of these on different occasions to begin to pin down the complexity of the drink.

It has a sweet smell, with hints of honey.  The taste is of honey and white wine, and leaves an aftertaste of white wine.  I can faintly make out the barley, but it’s hardly noticeable.  Being 9% ABV, it warms as it goes down.  The carbonation makes it nice and refreshing.  I think this would be a nice drink to ease your wine-drinking friends into beer.

Have you tried Midas Touch?  What did you think?