by Shawn Connelly

Created on: June 23, 2008   Last Updated: November 07, 2008

You've likely seen them on the shelves at your local retailer or on tap at the corner pub ... six packs of brightly colored bottles depicting a snowman in sunglasses and green stocking cap holding a pint of ale or maybe a purple-capped, pumpkin-headed scarecrow figure standing atop a brightly enameled tap handle. These are not the marketing creations of the newest small-batch craft brewer on the scene though your palate may try to convince you otherwise. Despite the whimsical characters and the full-flavored brews that emerge from these eye-catching bottles and taps, these are the limited-release seasonal beers from the company that made the American lager famous - Anheuser Busch.

Lagers these are not, however. The beer-drinking snowman belongs to Anheuser Busch's winter seasonal called Winter's Bourbon Cask Ale - an oaked winter warmer with sweet vanilla notes. The pumpkin-headed scarecrow accompanies the fall release of Jack's Pumpkin Spice Ale - a pumpkin ale infused with spices like cinnamon and cloves. In the spring, you'll find a frisbee-carrying dog on the label of Sun Dog Amber Wheat (which replaced Spring Heat Spiced Wheat in the seasonal rotation, since Spring Heat Spiced Wheat has become a year-round offering and been given a name change to become Shock Top Belgian White Ale - got all that?) - Sun Dog is an American style dark wheat ale.

Summer's seasonal is called Beach Bum Blonde Ale. This one is an American blonde ale and it has the distinction of having taken the bronze medal in it's category at the 2006 North American Beer Awards. Oh, it's obligatory cartoon character? A blonde-headed surfer beach bum, of course. This one manages to hold on to his surf board in one hand and a pint of Beach Bum Blonde in the other.

I'm going to be completely forthright and admit I'm not a huge fan of the imaging campaign concocted for these seasonal beers. The characters on the labels and tap handles are colorful and amusing, yes, but I think they're a little too whimsical if anything and border on downright cheesy in my mind. I have a hard time taking these beers seriously when I'm staring at a snowman in sunglasses, but thankfully there is more to these brews than a cartoon-inspired label. To give you an idea what these beers bring to the table, here's a short synopsis of Beach Bum Blonde's credentials followed by my review in it's totality.

Originally released in May of '06 and available seasonally around mid-May, this American Blonde ale is brewed using American

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