Beer Sydney Brewery Single Hop Blonde

What looks like a wine, smells like a wine, tastes like a wine, but isn’t a wine? An American blonde ale hopped with Hallertau Blanc.

The Single Hop Blonde from Sydney Brewery pours a pale, almost powder yellow, suggesting the wine characteristics of the Hallertau Blanc hops. Swirl and sniff, and get those white wine aromatics of lemongrass, citrus, and green grapes. Take a sip, and the low body and crisp finish could almost have you fooled into thinking you were tasting a dry riesling. But the more you drink, the more the hop character comes through, bringing out a bolder grapefruit character and a light bitterness.

Now that you’ve been reminded this isn’t a wine but a beer you’re tasting, make sure you don’t spit it out.

Mick Wust