Ever since I was a little kid my family has owned a second home and vacationed in Northern Wisconsin on a small, beautiful lake. I have fond memories ranging from making s’mores to waterskiing to fishing to snowboarding- all things we continue to do to this day, and now have the joy of creating memories for our daughter to cherish. One thing I remember in particular was the wildlife – deer, bald eagles, loons, and a stork looking big bird called the Blue Heron. I guess when I was younger the blue heron was a bit of a rarity – not sure if they were endangered but it was presented to me that seeing one was something special. So on the several occasions when we would see the Blue Heron fishing or hanging out near the pond by our place, as a kid it was quite amazing. All that being said, when I saw this beer on the shelf with the words, Blue Heron Pale Ale – I was struck by the intermingling of my past and present – my fondness of the great and fabled Blue Heron, and my new love for beer, pale ales being a style I’ve been known to enjoy.

Appearance – Cloudy, golden, creamy looking appearance, Blue Moon-esque, small head, disappears into a film rather quickly, looks appetizing.

Aroma – mild hop aroma, sweet, nothing much all together

This beer is light to medium bodied, a bit creamy. A slightly metallic taste at first – but not enough to bother me. Good and proper carbonation and a mild and enjoyable hop bite that lingers and elevates this beer in my mind to a good, mildly hoppy, lighter craft beer. I could see myself enjoying a handful of these on a nice summer day. Not “malty” by any means, but there is enough base pale malt to balance the hops and create properly rounded out beer. I wish I could go on about the flavors- but there’s just not all that much to say. I don’t think this beer was designed to be a complex ale, so my opinion stands – this beer is balanced, slightly hoppy, well carbonated and tasty. In my mind that’s a winner.

ABV: 6.1%

Grade: B