Brewery Tour: Royal Oak - Bastone

Hello all! My name is Megan, hailing from Grand Rapids, MI.
I went to Royal Oak yesterday to see what the city had to offer by way of craft brews.

Our first stop was to Bastone which is an affiliate of other breweries around Michigan such as Grizzly Peak and Blue Tractor in Ann Arbor and North Peak in Traverse City.

*Brewery Tip* When possible, ask about getting a flight, which is usually a 4-5 oz. sample of each of a brewery's beers - typically not including seasonals. Some places will give you an option to choose your own beers for the flight while others will have set beers.

Of course, I got a flight. There were 6 beers; Monumental Blonde, Main Street Pilsner, Great White Wit, Royal IPA, Dubbel Vision, and Nectar des Dieux Triple. All beers served in a 5 oz. taster glass on draft.

Monumental Blonde: Very clear, this is Bastone's lightest beer. Golden yellow color with virtually no head. Nose is absent and taste is similar. Mouthfeel is light and watery. Taste is salty with light malt notes and almost no hops. Not a beer that I would get very often, but I think this is a great beer for those who are transitioning from your traditional macrobrews into the craft brew world.

Main Street Pilsner: Cloudier than the blonde, this has a head about 2 fingers high. Color is that of lemonade. This has a nose of malt and a little more hop smell than the blonde. Mouthfeel is slightly heavy. Taste is similar to smell. Nothing really special.

Great White Wit: Cloudy, Lemonade look, one finger of head. Mouthfeel is perfect, refreshing. Obvious wheat taste, obvious white taste. Exactly what is advertised. Very delicious, I ordered another in a full pint glass after the flight :).

Royal IPA: Tea colored, a little cloudy, half a finger of head. Nose is hoppy. Mouthfeel is crisp and taste is slightly bitter with the help of sweet malt. Delicious!

Dubbel Vision: Dark brown/red belgian beer with one finger of head. I'm not a huge fan of belgian dubbels and this one didn't change my mind.

Nectar des Dieux Triple: Very fruity! This was one of my favorites. Half a finger of head, good lacing down the glass. Orange/Yellow color, a little cloudy. Taste is citrus fruits and hops when it hits your mouth then warms into belgian malts and bananas. Excellent brew!

I know this one is kind of long...I have 2 more breweries to review but I'll let you soak all of this information in before I post another :)

Megan