Quite refreshing, mon petít dejuneu. Kaczynksy, cá? Kaczynsky. Here’s the skinny, toothpick: this is a pale ale style brau, and the brewers replace a little bit of the barley malt with (drumroll) HONEY! They certainly do. And sure, you can taste it. It tastes… a little sweet. But not overly sweet, and I was pleased with that. I sat back in my large, leather-bound chair, pressed the tips of my patrician fingers together and nodded solemnly, twice. As the last of the hundred candles surrounding me burnt out, I rose and strode towards the larder for my third Honey Beer, because these babies go down smooth n quick.

OK so I like this beer, but there’s not a whole hellofalot to say about it. The aroma is very light—a bit of malt and mildly sweet. The beer is quite a pale yellow indeed, as you can see above, mon fraire. (”Hey, Captain! What’s with all the French?” Hey, you… what’s with all you’re stupid.) In fact it’s much the same color as, say, a Miller Lite. But it’s got more flavor. To savor.

The head was stark white and pretty thick, and stuck around for a while. Light malt and, well, a mild honey sweetness defined the relatively light flavor. An active carbonation and mothfeel led to a crisp, dry finish with a bit of hop left on yer tongue. The hop presence in general is light and I didn’t really notice it until said relatively short finish. So a good hot summer day kind of brau, but if you’re a brooding monk ambling among the ancient stones of your 10th century monastery, large wooden stein in your weathered hand, well, you sound pretty cool. I kind of wish you were like, say, an uncle. But anyway, if that’s you stick with a dark roasted Weizen or a Doppel Bock. But Oregon Honey Beer can come on my fishing trip* any day.

*not that I have been on a fishing trip in years, have any plans to go on a fishing trip anytime soon, or, in fact, enjoy fishing at all. But I guess I could go on a nice stream-sitting-next-to or floating-around-in-a-boat trip or something. That sounds OK.