B.C. Beer Reviews is back to take a look at the second entry from Townsite Brewing. This time we will be reviewing one of their core beers, the Zunga Golden Blonde Ale. Townsite is known for making some solid beers, so let’s take a look at this one.

B.C. Beer Reviews with Nic Hendrickson: Townsite Brewing – Zunga Golden Blonde Ale

While it might not be a beer style that is popular during the winter months, a good golden blonde ale is always a refreshing choice. And with the reputation that Townsite Brewing has, this could make for a good beer.

Colour

This beer pours a golden-yellow colour. A bright golden colour when the glass is full. Definitely hits the style.

Nose/Aroma

This one has a nice, sweet malty characteristic to its nose/aroma. The sweetness is spot on with the golden and blonde ale style. Very sweet, but not unpleasantly so. If you like your beer to be malt-forward, this is the type of nose/aroma you would enjoy.

Outside of that, there is not much else to this nose/aroma. There is a very light spicy and herbal scent on the back end of the nose/aroma that points to the use of noble hops for this beer, but that is unconfirmed.

Definitely sweet and malt-forward.

Tasting Notes

The first tasting notes are spot on with what you would expect from the nose/aroma and the respective style of beer. What you smell is what you get with this one: sweet and simple.

There is, much like in the nose/aroma, a subtle spicy and herbal note on the back end of your palate. There are a bit of the hoppy notes, but they are subdued, to say the least. This is not necessarily an unbalanced beer, but a bit more hop character would make the sweetness a bit less powerful.

The fermentation profile is clean. There are definitely yeast notes in this beer. They impart a rather noticeable bready characteristic to this beer. It works quite well with the sweetness of the malt/grain bill.

You would not expect it from how clear this beer pours, but there is a rather significant body to this beer. The mouthfeel and the sweetness together make for a surprisingly heavy beer for this style. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but rather a surprising note.

Other Notes

The branding/labeling is, as always, distinctive to Townsite Brewing. There is what looks to be a female character in an old-fashioned bathing suit swinging from a rope. The background of the picture is a nice design that looks like it came out of the 1940’s or 50’s. It is simple but nice. Points to the fact that this would be a good summer beer by the water.

The head of this beer is moderate, even with a less than meticulous pour. The retention of that head could also be categorized as moderate. There is nothing significant in either department.

The carbonation level is moderate. Not crisp, but enough to combat the powerful sweetness of this beer just a bit. The beer finishes smooth and sweet on your palate.

There is zero lacing in this one. Whatever hops were used, there must have been a very small amount. The glass is virtually clean after finishing this beer.

Final Grade

The malt/grain bill to this beer is very obviously the most powerful note in both the nose/aroma and the tasting notes. It is an overall very sweet and malt-forward beer. If that is what you are into, then this is certainly one worth trying.

However, as stated above, a bit more of a hop characteristic would be nice to balance it out a bit more. This is more of a personal preference rather than saying the beer is unbalanced, which it does not come off as.

The clean fermentation profile and moderate carbonation level make for a nice, smooth-drinking beer that is best suited for warmer weather.

Grade: 7.8/10

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