MISHAWAKA, INDIANA
Within walking distance of Mishawaka Brewing, maroon-lettered sandalwood-bricked eatery-bar, GRANITE CITY FOOD & BREW, positioned inside University Park Mall (next to JC Penney), became the 26th of 30-plus Granite City restaurant-breweries along the Midwest trail, July ’08.
Visited November ’09, this midsize watering hole opens to stainless steel bar with white slate columns and wood veneer. Behind left side booths were glass-encased brew tanks serving a terse assortment of light-to-dark brews.
A slight buttery creaminess gave lemony peach-grapefruit-centered…
On tap, traditional autumnal Extra Special Bitter brings sweet and sour dry-fruited nature to piney floral-spiced Cascade hop bittering. Grapefruit, pineapple, and apricot surge ahead of buttery caramel-roasted malts lining mild-bodied gold-hazed seasonal.
Though he’s known for spreading surrealist sociopolitical surreptitiousness in Brooklyn’s praiseworthy TV On The Radio, bespectacled wooly-bearded natty-haired singer-guitarist, Kyp Malone, strove to delve deeper, mining tearful expressions of the heart under the stormy nom de plume, Rain Machine. But it took the urging, benevolence, and planning of respected producer, Ian Brennan, to get Malone’s solo project as Rain Machine off the ground instead of staying on the backburner forever.
Aromatic Southeast Asian pandan leaf uplifts sensuous spice-hopped cocoa and chocolate nibs illusions as well as candied hazelnut-pecan-almond roast. A bit phenol by timid cardboard-y palm sugar finish, but delicate gingerbread nuance and botanical heather lilt tingle backend nicely.
Updated, downgraded, unbalanced version of former ‘Laughing Buddha’ labeled fruit beer (with sinewy yeast sediment) lacks proper mango influence to fragile pale wheat spine. Leathery white grape acridity, comparable to Belgian gueuze, encumbers lemon-soured mango tartness and unripe peach nullity that becomes overbearingly mouth-puckering in its acidic dryness. Serve with barbecue steak or pork to bring out further illusions.
Ripe mega-raspberry theme and chambord liqueur mouthfeel counteract dry eye-squinting lime-like brimstone aromatics of opaque magenta-bodied pink-headed soda-popped fruit ale. Tart cranberry pucker overrides candied apple sweetness, medicinal black cherry coughdrop slurp, and pureed strawberry-blackberry pasting. Syrupy malt extract emulates carbonated soft drink for better or worse.
Enticingly fruit-juiced hop-walloped amber-hazed full body first introduced in ’03 furnishes bright floral-spiced red apple, brown pear, apricot, pineapple, and grapefruit melange over honey-sapped spruce pining. Mild orange peel bittering deepens gin-soaked citric rind bite inundating syrupy nectar finish seasoned hopheads will adore but lightweight novices may ignore.
Woozy 11% alcohol whir provides medicinal strength to peach lacquered caramel apple fruiting and sweet-spiced butterscotch malting overriding peppery hop splotch. Tertiary orange marmalade, tangerine, and pineapple illusions enliven mint-y evergreen freshness but thin wheat spine fractures due to candi-sugared Belgian yeast density.
Conflicted winter ’09 release closer to funky fungi-scented farmhouse ale than ‘saison yeast’-injected amber ale (with strangely off-colored tan-headed brown-bodied appearance). Leathery smoked salami snippet fades out rapidly as inadequate prune-date souring and perplexed brown sugared banana-clove trifle prove less fruity than Saison styling indicates. Leafy earthiness lambastes warbled spicing, resinous backdrop, and cigar ash hint.
Terrific bottle-conditioned autumnal Belgian knockoff works oaken cherry aromatics into sour raisin-prune-plum ripeness and maple-sapped molasses sweetness, leaving funky candi-sugared Belgian yeast in its wake. Boozy alcohol whir picks up strength as tertiary hard cider, pumpkin pie crusting, and buttered pecan illusions surmount dark-spiced hop sharpness.
Enjoyable sipping ale is part of Pugsley’s ’09 Signature Series. Heady 9% alcohol autumnal may lack expected pumpkin pie spicing, but lusciously creamy vanilla malting and hop-tingled cinnamon-spiced ginger-allspice-cardamom sweetness seep into warm gin-soaked boozing with gusto. Abrupt bruised lemon bittering counters advertised pumpkin-nutmeg influence, creating honeyed lemon illusion.
