Bland moderation with polite grassy hop astringency and wavering lemony grapefruit-orange zest picks up sharp salty spicing. Honeyed cereal malt backdrop stays slick.
(INLET) MONK IN THE TRUNK AMBER ALE
Brewed by Thomas Creek for Inlet, musty-fruited moderation utilizes candi-sugared Belgian yeast for underwhelming and ill-defined singel-amber merger. Murky prune-dried banana bruise and estery grape-stemmed white wining reach tart midst. Moldy fruit rotted core desiccates negligible spiced nuttiness.
HOLY MACKEREL MACK IN BLACK IMPERIAL BLACK ALE
Slick lactose-sugared imperial stout hybrid (bottled by Thomas Creek) blends grain-roasted mocha into pomegranate-juiced dried fruiting. Dark chocolate, burnt caramel, day-old coffee, espresso and black licorice illusions gain molasses-like sinew. Tertiary blackberry, black cherry, red plum, prune and raspberry tartness magnified by sour pomegranate adjunct.
SWEETWATER BLUE
“Surreptitiously clean” light-bodied wheat ale (2013) tastes like blueberry pie. Sweet ‘n sour bluebery tartness rides above wispy honeyed wheat base. Tertiary white peach, boysenberry and cranberry snips flutter by.
SWEETWATER INDIA PALE ALE
“Mammoth” dry-hopped IPA stays balanced while never getting too bitter. Grapefruit-peeled orange rind bittering picks up resinous pine sap to contrast tropical mango-papaya-peach-pineapple-tangerine tang and sweet floral-spiced respite. Toasted hops infiltrate biscuity bottom by brisk citrus finish.
RED BRICK HOP LANTA INDIA PALE ALE
Approachable dry-bodied moderation with brisk citric-hopped entry, piney floral bouquet and creamy caramel malting may be too light for hopheads, but pale ale imbibers will cheer. Subtle lemony grapefruit, orange and pineapple fruiting picks up spicy sweetness over biscuity honeyed wheat spine.
SCHLAFLY COFFEE STOUT – 2017
On tap at Shepherd & Knucklehead, immaculate full-bodied dark ale detailed by the richest French roast coffee theme imaginable. Dark-roasted hop char increases the bittersweet coffee robustness. Wood-burnt barley-oats toasting found in creamy recess. Espresso dots the extravagant java coffee bean finish.
BROOKLYN FIRE & ICE
On tap at Shepherd & Knucklehead, 2013 special release seems compromised by rapidly declining beechwood smoking that would’ve lent a terrific rauchbier-like wood burn to the dark and black chocolate overtones. Maple molasses thickens the oatmeal backdrop and latent black cherry tartness deepens the mocha richness.
FLYING DOG CINNAMON PORTER
Chewy chocolate cinnamon caking abruptly enjoined by black-peppered ginger spicing above sharp hop char. Evenly spread black chocolate, black coffee and espresso illusions enrich the raw molasses-sapped backend.
FAT HEAD’S HEAD HUNTER INDIA PALE ALE
Fiercely outstanding dry-hopped West Coast IPA balances zesty floral fruiting with sticky pine resin above creamy crystal-malted cookie dough yeast. A juicy array of lemon-candied orange peel, grapefruit, pineapple, tangerine, peach, apple, melon, pear and marmalade illusions reach fruition quickly, providing an amazingly resilient bittersweet tang. Ancillary mango, guava and passion fruit tropicalia adds to its roaring thunder.
ANCHOR STEAM BREKLE’S BROWN ALE
Generously detailed mocha-nutty dried fruiting sweetens above minor citra hop bittering. Black cherry, black grape, blackberry and soured prune influence roasted chocolate-cocoa malting as well as penetrating hazelnut-walnut-cola nut resilience. Black-breaded pumpernickel spine picks up brown-sugared molasses sapping.
WYNKOOP B3K BLACK LAGER
Pleasing canned schwarzbier loads smoky dark-roasted black chocolate and caramel-burnt molasses atop musty earthen hops. Sweet toffee midst contrasts soy-sauced souring, burnt toast acridity and rubber-like. Best of a nominal dark ale styling.
