I don't pick up a lot of cream ales, and my experience has been that there aren't a whole lot of them. There are probably more cream ales than steam ales, but I can't actually think of a steam ale other than Anchor, and I am led to understand that they aren't going to be producing that anymore. I suspect some large brewer will likely buy the broken pieces of that company and produce something that at least apes the same beer like the new Twinkies that don't actually taste like the old Twinkies.
The very pale gold beer has almost no haze to it, and the head sprouts better than it looked like it was going to when I started to pour. However, the head isn't long for this world, and the remaining bubbles cover barely a quarter of the top of the beer with a vague ghost ring on the sides and <sob> no lacing. The aroma is sweet corn that bends toward grains.First sip is impressively easy to drink. It is smooth and crisp as all get-out. The corn sweetness is the main punch, and it gives just enough thickness to avoid the beer getting watery, but it's not like an IPA or something where I need a knife and fork to get through it all. So far, it's well balanced and quite approachable.
Tip-in is light carbonation tingle above the corn sweetness with grains lurking below. The middle arrives with that subdued smoothness that carries the corn and grains into a slightly flowery abyss. The finish is a gradual crispness with a bitter echo that compliments the sweetness very well as corn and grains head into the trail-off.
Bottom Line: She's a keeper.
4.25/5