Carolina Blonde - from the can this time

Back in October when I was on vacation, my nephew gave me some Carolina Blonde to try - two bottles and two cans. I reviewed the bottled variety a short time ago here. My nephew made it clear that he preferred it from the bottle rather than the tall skinny can. Since we're having a Mexican style dish tonight (enchiladas made from turkey) I thought this light lager/pilsner might masquerade as a Mexican style beer. The first thing I noticed when I poured it from the can is that it had no head - none. It has plenty of carbonation, but none of it wanted to form a head. To be fair, I don't remember the bottled version very well, but I do know that it had a head for a short time. The canned version also seems a little fruitier than I remember. Once again, this is an easy-to-drink light colored beer that's very refreshing. I understand why my nephew likes it, although I don't think I have a preference between the bottle and the can.

Urthel Hop-It Belgian Superior Hoppy Blond Ale

This is a very interesting beer - a Belgian style ale with lots of hops. I hesitate to call it an IPA, but it has some of those characteristics - lots of hops, high alcohol level. Accoding to the website www.urthel.com, this beer was created after the brewer made a trip to the US Northwest and tried some of our IPA's. It was actually brewed in the Netherlands by De Koningshoeven. It poured a golden color with a big fluffy head, typical of a Belgian ale. It also had plenty of carbonation, and an alcohol level of 9.5% - all characteristic of a Belgian strong ale. The one difference was the level of hops, which was much higher than most Belgian golden ales I've tasted. The finish was dry. I really enjoyed this one. If the price was a little more attractive, I could handle a six-pack of it - but then I wouldn't have anything new to write about for 5 days.