It's more than a little ironic that "American" beer styles are characterized both by a borderline-absurd commitment to intense flavors and over-the-top interpretations of classic styles and barrel-aged this and smoked that…and by subdued versions of classic styles. For every American IPA there's a Light American Lager. For every American Stout there's an American Wheat or Rye Ale.
And there's the good old, inoffensive, approachable, non-aggressive-flavors-having American Blonde Ale. Please don't misunderstand my implication, though: this is still a beer I love to brew and drink, and I breathe a sigh of relief when I'm at a brewpub and have the option of ordering one of these and passing on the latest vanilla-bean-infused Triple Bock. I'm just pointing out that we American brewers have some range.
STYLE
So, what's in this style? The 2015 BJCP Guidelines describe it as an "easy-drinking, approachable, malt-oriented American craft beer, often with interesting fruit, hop, or character malt notes." The name also gives away that it's pale, hence "Blonde" ale! That milquetoast description conceals the reality, though. This can be a remarkably fun and interesting style. So long as you're talking moderate flavors that don't pull it into the specialty categories or one of the stock American "Ale" categories, you can have a lot of fun with flavor combinations, adjuncts, special ingredients, and more and still make a beer that "fits" in the Blonde Ale category. The malts generally skew away from caramel flavors in favor of toasted malt flavors, and the hops are usually American (though not exclusively so), but within that very loose set of strictures almost anything else goes! More important than the flavor profile is that this should be a smooth, drinkable, refreshing pint. It takes the American lagers and Cream Ale and bumps up the flavor volume a bit. Simple enough.