It’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock and roll

High Voltage- AC/DC

The above adage rings true for many aspiring musicians. And the glorified metal stallions from Australia that coined it ought to know since it took ‘em six years, several albums, and the death of their original lead singer to finally breakout.

The same axiom holds true for AWOLNATION brainchild, Aaron Bruno, whose choppy path to aboveground approval has taken many perplexingly twisted turns. Stranger…

Ashen molasses-smoked malting deepens wood-burnt hop-charred bittering to lactic mocha finish of viscous rum-barreled porter. Maple, cedar, and walnut seep into Black Forest caking, bringing brown chocolate sweetness to pureed black cherry tartness. Flavor profile diminishes over time compared to richer barrel-aged rivals, but at $9 a 6-pack for 7% alcohol elixir, call it a bargain.

Outstandingly celebratory 15^th anniversary ale contrasts creamy caramel malting with red-wined brandy, cognac, and rosé nuances atop clean-watered juicy-fruited plain. Stewed prune, candied apple, bruised orange, pureed raisin and medicinal cherry envelop chewy butterscotch-toffee follow-through. Syrupy whiskey kick and buttered rum caking add to the dewy sweetness of ambitious ruby-browned delight.

Elegant soft-tongued dark German lager retains smooth dried fruit appeal. Brown-sugared caramel malting spreads across candied orange, soured prune, sugared fig, pureed raisin, black cherry and cola nuttiness. Aromatic red-wined bourbon-burgundy illusions vie for attention and chocolate-chalked Devils Food Cake backdrop provides further resilience.

Brusque cider-like oaken cherry souring needs richer flavor profile. Apple-spiced green grape tartness remits vinous lambic-like pucker for mahogany-browned fruit ale. Corky hop dryness usurps montmorency cherry influence.

Slick mocha malting and sour lactic astringency denigrate roasted peanut, walnut, hazelnut, and Brazil nut coarsening of flaccid English-styled Brown Ale. Dry hop-charred bittering depletes caramel-toffee sweetness and earthen peat sneak.

Summery blue-canned moderate body ain’t bad for macrobrewed fluff. Billowy white-headed, pale-yellowed session beer with understated hop-spiced tingle and slim crystal malting plies grassy straw-wheat-hay earthiness to herb-tinged lemon peel zest and faintest pineapple-grapefruit tang. Watery texture lowers appeal.

Dismal updated version of defunct H.C. Berger’s popular red ale done in by phenol hop astringency and iodized metallic tinge, depleting short-lived toasted almond prelude. Scathing alcohol burn restricts apple-soured dried apricot tartness.

Vapid pale-yellowed moderation downgrades mainstream Canadian version. Astringent hop acridity, thin white-breaded base, and soapy pale-malted nut spicing deprive brief spun-sugared sweetness. Nifty citric-rotted lemon-limed spritz needs brighter up-front flavor profile.

Peerless golden-hazed perfume-wafted blonde ale way more interesting, assertive, and dynamic than usual moderate-bodied hefeweizens. Banana-chipped coriander-clove spicing and sweet vanilla-butterscotch creaming spread across soft fizz-hopped pep. Meringue pied apple, melon, peach, pear, and clementine illusions filter through marmalade midst. Further sips reveal tart white and green grape esters, lemony orange-tangerine tang, and lurking bubblegum sensation. On tap 2011, juicy orange tang brightened deluxe interior even better.

Refined copper-bronzed ‘Finnish ale brewed with juniper twigs’ described thusly as a light barleywine, adjunct brown ale, special winter ale and rustic Euro sahti. Subtle medium-bodied intricacy combines brown, white and Belgian chocolate spicing with brown-sugared caramel roast. Molasses rye breading and toasted almond whim settle into the delicate mix. Vanilla bean, rum raisin, maple, cherry, and apple illusions flow through tertiary dark nuttiness. A mild complexity worth exploring.

Striking moderate-bodied witbier brings abundant orange-peeled clementine-tangerine-lemon tang to peppery sediment-chunked Belgian yeast funk. Banana, vanilla and butterscotch further sweeten floral-perfumed citric spunk, delicate clove-coriander-cinnamon spicing and mentholated hibiscus-eucalyptus remnant. Perfect for sunny afternoon consumption. On tap at Nanuet Mall’s Yard House, orange rotted clementine juicing swept thru more pronounced hop-dried juniper bittering and softer white wheat bed.