This article originally appeared in Aquarian Weekly March ’10.

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Lavish candi-sugared Belgian-styled dark ale much closer to warm barleywine. Rich orange-bruised cherry puree uprising, sweet caramel apple bounty and tertiary banana-pineapple-mango tropicalia enhance whiskey-slurred bourbon-burgundy-brandy boozing. Brown chocolate-spiced continuance heightens rum-soaked raisin, plum, fig, and date fruiting. Luscious dessert treat is perfect as a nightcap.

Complex 20^th Anniversary commemorator lacks true wild-flowered Belgian-styled yeast funk, but benefits from sharp citric essence. Tangy nectarine, peach, tangerine, pink grapefruit, and red grape sweetness invigorates abrasive spruce-tipped green hop compression of  ’untamed’ medium body. Zesty pineapple-mango-melon-papaya tropicalia contrasts black-peppered orange peel and lemon rind bitterness seeping into creamy candi-sugared crystal malting to honeyed wheat spine. Wispy jasmine, lilac, and fresh mint waft through fruitful hophead delight.

Smooth medium-bodied mahogany-hued Irish-style dry stout proves quite versatile. Full-blown mocha frontage surges past burgundy-bourbon boozing bracing sticky anise-seeded dalliance and black coffee coda. Black cherry souring, ester-y grape tartness, brassy walnut singe, and latent charcoal burn embitter hop-oiled oats-smoked cocoa malting to earthen peat bottom.

On tap, chewy melange of milk chocolate-y creaminess, oak-aged cacao nibs parching and cresting black coffee bittering form robust mocha theme for bourbon-barreled delight. Tertiary peat-y compost dampness and ashen wood coarseness deepen caramel-burnt cocoa-powdered vanilla-sugared cookie dough density. In 22-ounce bottle, cedar-smoked black coffee frontage and mild bourbon persuasion deepen oats-charred maple molasses, dark chocolate, black licorice, vanilla and toffee illusions.  

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Passable ’09-brewed American-styled bock relegates bittersweet chocolate-cocoa malting and coarse hop-roasted char to phenol metallic deficiency. Latent brown-sugared dusting lost amongst fizzy carbolic implosion. Buttery diacetyl notion compromises mocha-chalked dried fruiting.

Offbeat Asian-styled straw-hued moderate-bodied light lager places interesting herbal twist above rice-grained backdrop. Lemon-honeyed crystal malting and palm-sugared ginseng-guarana-ginger-eucalyptus-sage dusting rise above bark-dried sodium salting.

Ambitious citric-soured hop-spiced Belgian-styled strong ale flaunts mild intricacies. Up-front, black-peppered pine-needled bittering underscores splurging bruised lemon zest. At midst, barnyard-dried yeast brettanomyces skew grassy bark-horsehide earthiness and mystical herbal-floral twinge of engaging Brussels lace-strewn straw-hazed endeavor.

Fizzy dry-bodied schwarzbier-like black ale misses mark. Coarse metallic shrill depletes mocha nuttiness of supposed Irish-styled stout. Oily hop-toasted grain-roasted charcoal burn overwhelms bittersweet cocoa-seeded black chocolate harshness, gnarly fig-soured chicory coffee meander and salty soy spell.

Bold ‘old ale’ places brandy-soaked brown chocolate spicing above toasted marzipan sweetness and cognac-boozed orange-bruised cherry puree haze. Toasted almond, candied apple, rum raisin, and overripe prune soak syrupy molasses-sapped toffee backdrop.

Enthusiastic ebony-hued ruby-shaded caramel-malted lactose stout brings rich hop-charred grain-smoked brown chocolate creaminess to brown-sugared vanilla fudging. Cedar-burnt maple-sugared fruit-dried backdrop fortifies viscous blackstrap molasses sapping and French roast coffee tease to hop-charred bottom. Boozy bourbon-dried rum-spiced sherry perk pleats chocolate liqueur and Sambuca hints. Black cherry-pureed fig-raisin continuance deepens tertiary medicinal resolve. Serve as strong dessert-like chocolate milkshake.