

Commonwealth Ale - Ninkasi Brewing Company

Commonwealth Ale
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7 Ratings
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Ratings: 7
Reviews: 3
rAvg: 3.64
pDev: 6.04%

Brewed by:
Ninkasi Brewing Company visit their website
Oregon, United States

Style | ABV
American Blonde Ale |  5.10% ABV

Availability: Limited (brewed once)

Notes/Commercial Description:
No notes at this time.

(Beer added by: MaltsOfGlory on 04-21-2012)
Beer: Ratings & Reviews
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Ratings: 7 | Reviews: 3 | Show All Ratings:
Reviews by MaltsOfGlory:
Photo of MaltsOfGlory


3.6/5  rDev -1.1%

(Shortened) Pours a pretty solid one finger head into my standard pint glass. The carbonation is for sure high on the appearance. Overall not a bad looking beer for what I am assuming is a golden ale. Yeah this smells like a golden ale or a cream ale. Very light on the nose, somewhat creamy smelling. Pale and other light malts. Slightly sour and slightly sweet smelling, but not overly sweet or sour like some lagers, it's just about right. On Ninkasi's website they say that this beer has 32 IBU's, while that is a low bitterness, I should be at least smelling a tiny bit of hops on the nose, and I'm really not at all. Overall not a bad smelling beer, but an extremely small aroma, and a pretty boring one too. I know this style isn't supposed to be insanely complex, nor insanely high in aroma, but come on, I'm having a hard time smelling anything. Yeah that is a pretty average beer. I mean the flavor honestly makes me think that maybe this is a lager? But on Ninkasi's website it clearly indicates "session ale" that still doesn't really specify what exact kind of session ale they are talking about, any style of beer can be made sessionable. Anywho, this doesn't taste like a session ale, it tastes like a lager. Ok maybe half way between a lager and ale, but still, the fact that I'm even contemplating it isn't good. It does have a nice golden flavor to it, it almost reminds me of honey. However that "golden" flavor isn't big enough to lead me to think there is indeed honey in here. It does have a nice balance of sweetness and sourness, it's really not overpowering on either accounts, and it's pretty dead on overall on those flavors. There may be just the tiiiniest bitterness, but man it's just barely there. On one hand I feel like there isn't a lot of flavor, but on the other hand it seems like there is for sure enough for me to get the different flavor into my head and onto the keyboard. Really a very simple beer, but something about it is nice, maybe it's just that it's RIDICULOUSLY easy to drink, and it still has some flavor to make things interesting. When I first took a sip I was thinking 3, but now I'm at a 3.5, and even contemplating a 4, given the style, the beer is really growing on me. I really can't give it a 4, but it did give my brain a run for it's money, 3.5.

Serving type: bottle

04-21-2012 09:24:13 | More by MaltsOfGlory
More User Reviews:
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3.5/5  rDev -3.8%

02-21-2013 18:37:31 | More by chugamugofsud
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3.25/5  rDev -10.7%

01-05-2013 13:44:37 | More by comrade_tony
Photo of RoryOMoore

New Jersey

4/5  rDev +9.9%

06-24-2012 01:15:12 | More by RoryOMoore
Photo of N3rdM3t4l


3.78/5  rDev +3.8%

Bomber purchased from The Kiva into standard pint. Served fridge temp.

A: Bright orange/blonde with good clarity. Average pour got a finger of white head that fell to a sparse cap with a pencil thin ring around the glass. Tiny bubbles rising to the top from all over the glass.

S: Smells very grainy. Can't identify the specialty grains necessarily but there are grain aromas that are clearly not malted barley. A little earthy hops in there too.

T: Again with the grains, lots of them. Tastes very bready between the hint of yeast and the specialty grains. Balanced with a little hops. One of the lightest hopped beers Ninkasi has to offer in my opinion. Good stuff: earthy, bready, yeasty, and ever so slightly bitter.

M: On the light side of medium like a thicker lager almost. Little carbonation and a very wet mouthfeel makes this beer refreshing and not too heavy. This is how I think a blonde ale should feel. Quite good.

O: Has a good mouthfeel for the style and tastes kind of like it belongs in a bakery. Good beer, good use of specialty grains, overall I would say this is a winner of a brew. Glad I spent the money I don't have to pick up the bottle.

Serving type: bottle

06-06-2012 05:08:52 | More by N3rdM3t4l
Photo of beertunes


3.6/5  rDev -1.1%

This is a limited release brew from the Eugene brewery, with proceeds going to a food oriented charity. Served in straight pint glass. Poured a lightly hazy gold color with about 1/4 inch of bright white head that had good retention and very good lacing.

The aroma was mostly solid, earthy grains, with some nicely gentle hops providing some contrast. The flavor profile follows right along, sharp, crisp grains, just a tang of hops and a slight hint of yeast.

The body was perhaps a bit fuller than is typical for this style, but not heavy, smooth, even and left just of a lingering finish. Drinkability was very good, this is a nice little session beer for watch the NASCAR race (Talladega) and Baseball games that are here at my local pub. Overall, nice, subtle (Subtlety from Ninkasi?! What's the world coming to?) brew that'll make a great companion for a cookout, or just a session with your friends. I recommend trying this limited release brew when you can.

Serving type: on-tap

05-06-2012 18:23:08 | More by beertunes
Photo of rogerthegill


3.75/5  rDev +3%

05-06-2012 17:32:03 | More by rogerthegill
Commonwealth Ale from Ninkasi Brewing Company
- out of 100 based on 7 ratings.