[redrocker652002]

I have been eyeballing this for a while, but wasn't sure what it was.  The other day I was at Wines and More and thought what the hell.  Let's give it a shot.  It is really good.  Has a very citrus smell, almost grapefruit like.  It is a very light taste and finishes very clean.  I did some looking and Russian River calls it a Hoppy Blonde Ale.  I am going to have to do a bit of research cause this could be something to add that isn't an IPA.  LOL.  Anyway, now I am curious about Blonde Ale's and what you all have in that arena. Based on the description on the Russian River website, they use Citra, Crystal, Comet and
Talus hops.

[erockrph]

I haven't had this beer, but in my opinion a "Hoppy Blond Ale" is just an APA with a fancy name. A more typical Blond Ale isn't going to smell intensely citrus/grapefruit, but it may have a lower amount of that character in balance with some toasty or crackery malt flavors coming from Pale/Pilsner/Vienna malt.

[redrocker652002]

I haven't had this beer, but in my opinion a "Hoppy Blond Ale" is just an APA with a fancy name. A more typical Blond Ale isn't going to smell intensely citrus/grapefruit, but it may have a lower amount of that character in balance with some toasty or crackery malt flavors coming from Pale/Pilsner/Vienna malt.

Cool.  I just went with what the description of the beer was on Russian River's website.  So I will look more towards APA to see what I can find.  It was really good. 

[fredthecat]

blonde ale and cream ale are interchangeable here imho.

belgian blonde ale tends(tended?) to mean a fairly sweet and chewy 6 to 7% ABV beer. i kind of miss those now that i think about them

[Megary]

blonde ale and cream ale are interchangeable here imho.

belgian blonde ale tends(tended?) to mean a fairly sweet and chewy 6 to 7% ABV beer. i kind of miss those now that i think about them

I would agree that Blonde & Cream are very similar, but I think there are differences, however subtle.  Where a Cream should be light, crisp, clean and almost lager-like, I think a Blonde can (and should) have a bit more character...a little bit more malt and hop presence.  And then there's Kolsch, which is another sibling...