Beer O'Clock: Founders' Tall Blonde

Having just consumed a superb Tall Blonde at lunchtime (after which I had a beer, ha ha), I resolved that we'd promote it here this afternoon.

A lot's been said about it, and to be perfectly fair very little of what's been said is very important.

The beer itself is certified organic, vegan, GE-free and kosher. Yes, kosher: it has received the Karshrus Certificate from some crowd called the Kosher Kiwi Licensing Authority in Wellington. All that, and it tastes good too, which is probably what's most important.

Established in 1998, Founders was the first brewery in the country to be certified organic. Their beers also conform to the Bavarian Beer Purity Laws of 1516. Which means it tastes good.

The head brewer at Founder’s is John Duncan, a fifth generation brewer -- which means he knows how to brew beer that tastes good. He also says, "we try to operate our business to minimize the negative effects on the environment. We bottle our beer in reusable bottles, use minimal packaging and recycle our brewing byproducts into organic compost through a worm farm. Our spent grain gets used as stock feed.” Despite this, his beer still tastes good, which is no mean feat when you attention is not fully where it should be.

A "zesty blonde lager," the Founder’s Tall Blonde (4.2%) is one of their best selling beers. It's described as a "European style rich golden lager" in which four malt varieties and two types of hops are crafted together to make a full bodied "hoppy" beer. Golden yet slightly cloudy in the glass, it has a fresh nose of hops and spice. In the glass, it has a firm body and a big, bold, bitter finish. That's how one beer scribe described it who enjoyed it.

"A grainy, grassy hop character in the aroma. An austere palate with a high bitterness – unbalanced for a golden lager but nice if you like that sort of thing." That's from another scribe, who didn't quite so much.

I did. Very much.

It tasted good – the ultimate measure of a beer.

It went very well with my lunch, and I look forward to emptying another re-usable bottle or two later on. Buy it here at the Beer Store.

Cheers,
PC

Pictured above is a tall blonde. At right is a golden lager.

DISCLOSURE: In the spirit of this organic, vegan, GE-free and kosher beer, this post has been well recycled from this one here. I'd hate to see such writing just end up in a landfill somewhere.