BEACHWOOD BLONDE vs Melyssa: Which Should You Drink?

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BEACHWOOD BLONDE

Beachwood Brewing

United States · Blonde Ale

hopIQ rank #2795

82%

Overall similarity

side by side, across 56 flavour tags

Melyssa

Archea Brewery

Italy · Blonde Ale

HOPIQ TAKE

BEACHWOOD BLONDE if you want a crisp, no-nonsense blonde that disappears easy, Melyssa if you want something with a touch more personality and slight richness. Both clock in at nearly identical specs—5% ABV, 15 IBU—so the difference isn't about strength or bitterness. It comes down to malt character and how each brewery interprets the blonde ale blueprint. Beachwood leans into the clean, refreshing lane; Archea gives theirs a fractionally fuller backbone.

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WHEN TO CHOOSE WHICH

Pick BEACHWOOD BLONDE when…

→You're on your third or fourth beer of the night and don't want anything demanding
→You want to taste the brewery's technical competence, not their flavor philosophy

Pick Melyssa when…

→You want a blonde that actually tastes like something deliberate happened
→You're drinking slowly and want something with enough character to hold your attention
→You prefer malt-forward beers even in the lighter styles

SIDE BY SIDE

	BEACHWOOD BLONDE	Melyssa
ABV	4.8%	5%
Bitterness	Mild	Mild
Colour	Pale gold	Golden
Style	Blonde Ale	Blonde Ale
Origin	United States	Italy

WHAT IT TASTES OF

10 shared · 4 distinct

Both beers

cleanrefreshinglighthoneysmooth-drinkingfloralcrispmaltysweethoppy

STRUCTURE — HOW IT'S BUILT

BEACHWOOD BLONDEMelyssa

Bitterness

Body

TASTING NOTES

BEACHWOOD BLONDE

CleanRefreshingHoney

Beachwood Blonde tastes like what a blonde ale should do on a hot day—it just gets out of the way. Super clean grain bill, maybe some subtle honey sweetness on the front end, but nothing that lingers or makes you think too hard. The finish is dry and quick. It's the beer equivalent of a good handshake: no surprises, no complaints, just efficient and pleasant. Perfect when you want to session without tracking every sip.

Melyssa

RefreshingLightSweet

Melyssa has a hair more roundness to it—there's a whisper of breadiness and maybe a touch of biscuit malt that gives it actual weight despite the low ABV. It's still refreshing and clean, but it feels like someone made a deliberate choice with the grain selection rather than going with the house blonde formula. The finish is slightly creamy where Beachwood's is snappy. You notice it more, which isn't a bad thing—just different intent.

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