Old Court Ale - 16 Mile Brewing Company

    Old Court Ale is an American Pale Ale created by 16 Mile Brewing company which is located in Georgetown, Delaware. According to the bottle, this APA is named after the old courthouse of Sussex County. While the brewery says nothing about it, the beer makes my mind wander to thoughts of colonial Americans brewing early forms of American craft beer. Maybe 16 Mile was looking to create a beer similar to that which our country's founders enjoyed.

    Old Court ale pours a copper color with a tiny head which quickly dissipates and leaves no trace on the glass.

    There is hardly any smell at all to the ale. There is a bit of sweet caramel and roasted malt scent, but not much at all. There is also what seems to be a somewhat...rotten...smell to the ale which is not pleasant and would completely turn me off from this ale if it were any stronger.

    The APA is medium bodied with a low carbonation level. The beer feels more creamy than watery, surprisingly. The ale has an alcohol content of 6.1% ABV.

How many people have sat in that
court room wishing that they had one of these?

 Old Court Ale's flavors are all very light. The ale's first noticeable flavors are sweet, grainy malt flavors. The ale then shows its bitterness with a bit of fruity hops flavor. Once the bitterness mellows out, there is an almost nutty, roasted flavor to the beer which is quite nice. There is no hint of rottenness in the ale's flavor, unlike the smell, for which I am very thankful.

    If you read my blog occasionally, you know that I have a penchant for making up stories, or thinking too far into beer's names. Old Court Ale has once again started up my mind in directions that its creators' never intended. Imagine for a moment, if you will, the Sussex County court house, and everyone inside that court room enjoying a pint as they suffer through the proceedings. Suddenly, you have witnesses and the accused who are more than willing to tell you the truth, as well as every single thing about their life as they sink into their glass. Granted, it would be poor form to allow sentencing of criminals while under the influence, but you never know what punishments might be handed out. I can bet that they would be amusing, such as "eat this bug!" or "do a back flip off of the stand!"

    Silliness aside, Old Court Ale is a very lightly flavored American Pale Ale which focuses more on roasted malt flavors than hops. The ale is pretty easy drinking but doesn't strike me as anything special.

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Blues' Golden Ale - 16 Mile Brewing Company

    Blues' Golden Ale is an American Blonde Ale crafted by 16 Mile Brewing Company which is located in Georgetown, Delaware. I received this beer as part of my second shipment of my craft brew club. According to the bottle, Blues' Golden Ale is named after the Delaware Blues, a military unit which fought in early every battle during the Revolutionary War.

    Living up to its name, Blues' pours a nice gold color with great transparency. There is barely any head to the beer and the bubbles fade quickly. A very pretty pour even without any head to speak of.

    There is barely any scent to the beer. What little can be smelled are sweet notes as well as a somewhat grassy scent. I'm actually disappointed in the lack of  a scent to the ale.

    Blues' Golden Ale is light bodied with a medium level of carbonation which seems to quickly fade away leaving the beer somewhat flat.

A true American Blonde Ale hero.

   The Blonde Ale's flavor is quite light and sweet. There is a grainy flavor to the ale which tastes almost bisquity. There is a sweet fruit flavor to the ale as well that is reminiscent of white grapes. Very little bitterness can be perceived in the ale's flavor, and at 5.9% ABV there is no alcohol presence.

    At this time, I'd like to voice an obvious concern I have about a beer soldier. Honestly I'm surprised we won the war with a soldier that fought in nearly every battle having a blood alcohol content of 5.8%. I'm surprised that the ale was able to get up and fight, let alone point his gun in the right direction. Those Red Coats must have been plastered as well. I mean, it would take like, what, a single tap on his glass exterior to kill Mr. Blonde Ale here? I suppose it could be beneficial to the fledgling United States if the English should kill Mr. Blonde Ale and drink of his alcoholic blood, reducing their effectiveness as well. I'm probably thinking too far into this.

    Blue's Golden Ale is an extremely light ale that I can see being good paired with seafood or other lightly flavored foods. Unfortunately I wouldn't recommend the purely for drinking. The light flavors just don't make the beer special enough to warrant drinking when there are so many better ales in the style out there.

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