On tap, impressive full-bodied Imperial Stout (renamed Kujo circa 2011) bestirs superb fresh ground coffee roast with chewy brown chocolate creaminess atop toasted nut coarsening. Oats-sugared crème brulee, Kahlua, and Bailey’s Irish Cream illusions candy-coat vanilla, molasses, hazelnut, fudge and anise subsidy contrasting espresso-walnut bittering. The perfect winter aperitif, combining the bitter with the sweet in gloriously dramatic fashion.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: FLYING DOG BREWERY, FREDERICK, MD.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: SOUTHERN TIER BREW. CO., LAKEWOOD, N.Y.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Well-balanced blend of brewers’ Hoppe Imperial Extra Pale Ale with Un-Earthly Imperial IPA contrasts sharp dry-wooded grapefruit-peeled bitterness against sugary caramel malting and vibrant pear-peach-apple-pineapple-mango-cherry fruiting. Slight alcohol burn and piquant black currant souring backend splendid nickel-hued medium-bodied Double IPA.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: GREAT DIVIDE BREW. CO., DENVER, CO.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Stylishly confounding lactic-soured wee heavy lacks expectant sweet Scotch rampage, but impulsive earthen peat soiling above wavered caramel-chocolate malting finds space amongst blackstrap molasses, sour date, cola nut, and fennel illusions. Pungent compost-wafted fungi-smudged damp-wooded soy milking infiltrates chalky cocoa subsidy. Closer to a brown or black ale given low Scotch profile.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: HORSEHEADS BREW. CO., HORSEHEADS, N.Y.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Perplexed dry-bodied coffee stout from New York’s remote Finger Lakes area recalls oily schwarzbier or less intense Cascadian dark ale (a.k.a. Black IPA). Earthen peat moss seeps into malt-smoked black grape, black cherry, and blackberry souring to mild cocoa-chalked coffee ground bottom. Tertiary espresso, black chocolate, and fudge illusions linger far behind.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: MAGIC HAT BREW. CO., SOUTH BURLINGTON, VT.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: MAGIC HAT BREW. CO., SOUTH BURLINGTON, VT.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Slick Black India Pale Ale (redefined as Cascadian Dark Ale) may lack sufficient hop bite and malt thrust, but its overall appeal maintains predictable efficiency. Black grape, blackberry, and black cherry (usual Black IPA suspects) reach mildly creamy milk chocolate center. Weedy fennel spicing and terse black currant dicing reach recessive molasses-sapped nut-tinged chicory coffee bittering.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: COTTRELL BREW. CO., PAWCATUCK, CT.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Basic moderate-bodied session beer perhaps closer to easygoing toasted lager than fruitful pale ale. Jaunty cereal-grained almond, pecan, and marzipan conflux drapes citric-dried lemon zest tingle. Mild orange-tangerine tang envelops roasted caramel malting. Phenol hop fizzing underscores doughy salted pretzel buttering.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: SIXPOINT CRAFT ALES, BROOKLYN, N.Y.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
On tap, brusque German-style bohemian pilsner retains musty bread-crusted grain malting, dried-out yellow-fruited pungency and earthen hop musk. Sweet biscuit-y notion placates raw wheat bottom, sour mash wort and mild resinous bittering. Stylistically robust.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: GREENPORT HARBOR BREW. CO., GREENPORT, N.Y.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
On tap, velvety soft-tongued ‘strong ale’ doesn’t try to knock guzzler over the head with covert 9% alcohol whir. Instead, brisk India Pale Ale-like floral fruiting and sugary caramel-crystal malting overtake relegated spice-hopped bittering. Sweet-buttered peach, pear, and orange tang gains luster over syrupy molasses sapping.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: VICTORY BREWERY, DOWNINGTOWN, PA.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Rustic German pilsner pleats leathery barnyard astringency with wood-dried lemon rot, peach mold, and mildewed orange coarseness. Mowed grass, horsehair, hay, and alfalfa harbor raw wheat backdrop. Iodine-like alcohol acridity, vegetal anomaly, and cardboard papering nearly sabotage protracted citric pungency.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: HARPOON BREWERIES, BOSTON, MA.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Adventurous unfiltered dry-hopped wheat-wined ale blends dark fruited maple-molasses malting with rum-spiced bourbon-burgundy-sherry stimulation and sticky anise-currant viscosity. Fluctuant black cherry, blueberry, raisin, and grape illusions enrich chewy caramel-chocolate ascension.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: BLUE POINT BREW. CO., PATCHOGUE, N.Y.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
On tap, sinister wintry aged barleywine emits creamy molasses-honeyed brown-sugared sweetness and massive IPA-like fruit tang above acetous wood-dried alcohol-burnt juniper bittering. Scotch-malted cherry, blueberry, peach, nectarine, and apricot engage raisin-breaded vanilla-caked Graham Cracker spine. Resinous hop-oiled pine needling bleeds into caramelized rye glaze.

