Ale Asylum Blonde IPA

It's a Friday, and my husband got a great job offer today.  He starts Monday.  So it's time to celebrate!!!

Additionally, the Great Taste of the Midwest is tomorrow, and some preparatory induction of dehydrogenases is in order.

We picked up a growler of Ale Asylum's Blonde IPA, on the advice of my friend and coworker Julia, who gave it high marks.  I'm a pretty big fan of Ale Asylum;  I think their beers are consistently quaffable and often very interesting (remembering a blood orange beer of theirs this past winter...).  They do hoppy beers extremely well, and while I do LOVE the malt monsters from the brewery on the other side of town, sometimes I really crave those alpha acids.

Blonde IPA is a limited edition beer available on draft at the brewery.  It's a beautiful, slightly hazy, light golden color in the glass with a generous, plush head.

As expected from the brewery and the moniker, the nose on this one is quite hoppy, with a hint of strawberry and warm weather fruit.  The initial taste is hoppy and perhaps a bit thin... but clean and refreshing with none of the skankiness that some overhopped beers have.

I like it more and more as I drink it, perhaps as expected since it is at 7.5% ABV... I still prefer some of Ale Asylum's other brews, but this is a great beer for a summery Friday night.