Pfriem Family Brewery Blonde IPA

When my rep. gave me this bottle, I was a bit confused. I wasn't sure if he had made a mistake. It looked like something you'd find in Germany or Belgium. The bottle is of dark brown glass, a tall sloping neck, black and dark gold-leaf label with "Pfriem Family Brewery" on the front and a small label on the neck specifying it's type. In this case, "Blonde IPA".

My wife came home from a hard days work at the hospital today and asked for a cider. Considering we didn't have a cold one ready, I just figured the hop-head she is, wouldn't mind this. I poured it into two pint glasses and found a beautiful light golden color with light frothy head. The nose to this beer was of light hops. I didn't really expect much of anything, considering the last Blonde IPA I had was absolutely horrific (Rocky Coulee Brewing Co. See blog below). We sat down and dug right in. My, oh my!! What a great little unknown beer. The front of the palate was crisp and refreshing, give it 1 second to get to the back of the palate and that changes a bit. Here come the hops, but in a good way. The hops are intense and fresh. Not freshly-squeezed, but close enough. The finish is a dry-hopped finish. Like I said, not freshly-squeezed. I have other types of this brewery's beer and I'm already looking forward to tasting them. In the meantime, I do recommend this beer. Interesting change and refreshing for these hot summer days. AP Rating: 90 Pts. 7/15/2015