Braxton "Storm" Golden Cream Ale

Okay, they added an extra word in here that they probably didn't need, but I still think that Braxton's naming is on point. They're short, simple, and easy to understand. I wish I could say the same about the tiny little lettering that they used on the front to say what the ABV was. There's so much bleed from the yellow ink that I really can't make it out that well. Thank goodness it touts the paltry 4.8% ABV on the back in much easier to read lettering.

True to its extra word in the name, this sucker is golden. It sprouts a pretty robust head that takes a while to go down. Once it does, it leaves little more than a dusting across the top of the beer and a tight ring around the outside. The aroma is wheaty, but sweet. So, presentation is pretty good, and I'm getting pretty thirsty.

First sip is very light with the wheat out front and the vanilla and spices backing it up pretty well. The bready malt is doing a good job of laying a base, but it's a fairly bland malt, and there's not a whole lot that's getting heaped on top of it. I could see this being a fairly easy to sip beer for a while, but that's not the way that we get to the flavor of beer, is it?

Tip-in is mild carbonation tingle with grains laying a base for the lighter and creamier vanilla mixed with spices to kind of sail above. The middle is smooth unlike any wheat beer has any right to be. I guess that's why this isn't a wheat beer, and it does very well with its creaminess in the middle. Light spices join the vanilla and the grains at the end for a sendoff that's a little sweet and a little bitter.

Bottom Line: Certainly an inoffensive beer, but it's not one I'm going to remember after a few days.

2.5/5