Zesty lemon briskness punctuates aromatic lemon-peeled bittering, dainty white wine zip, and Shiraz red wine souring of champagne-bubbled Belgian-styled Farmhouse ale. Funky cellar-bound yeast sinew fortifies peach-orange-apple fruiting and spicy coriander-clove sweetness. White-peppered chamomile, lemongrass, ginger, and spearmint herbage fill out tannic grape backdrop. On tap at Copper Mine, lemon-rotted yellow fruiting endures above abrupt basil, thyme, peppercorn and eucalyptus herbage.
MC SORLEY’S IRISH BLACK LAGER
Creamy molasses-sugared coffee ice cream opening fades badly to abrasive nutty sourness. Resinous hop-oiled nut-roasted astringency picks up oats-toasted cocoa chalking, mild chocolate-seeded mellowing, and phenol dried fruiting. Ho-hum.
ROGUE JOHN JOHN DEAD GUY ALE (WHISKEY BARREL)
Boundless whiskey-barreled helles bock takes popular Dead Guy Ale on an intricate journey. Rum-soaked alcohol burn spreads across lingering butterscotch, marzipan, and almondine sweetness, cinnamon-toasted nutmeg spicing, and floral-hopped juniper bittering. Whiskey-smoked Jim Beam/ Jack Daniels illusions amplify caramel-chocolate malting to oaken vanilla finish. Tertiary walnut-hazelnut snip receives latent cocoa powdering. Just a tad less creamy than expected.
FULLERS HONEY DEW ALE
Affable golden-hued English pale ale brewed with honey retains advertised ‘mellow rounded character.’ Sweet honeycomb frontage, creamy butterscotch malting, and floral-spiced hop mediation buttress snippy peach-apple fruiting but buttery astringency overwhelms creamed corn finish.
(THREE SKULLS ALES) PILLAGERS PALE ALE
Amiable amber-hazed medium-bodied delight is reminiscent of Rogue Dead Guy Ale. Hop-spiced tingle affects marzipan, almond paste, and toasted caramel sweetness to raw-honeyed butterscotch finish. Bruised orange and pureed cherry illusions waver.
(NOGNE O) BEER HERE MORKE PUMPERNICKEL PORTER
Brewed and bottled by Beer Here at Nogne O, rich chocolate milkshake creaminess seeps into hop-charred oats-flaked toasting, dry coffee roast and ancillary sesame-seeded pumpernickel prod. Syrupy mahogany pour deepens sinewy molasses-like richness and chewy cocoa-milked stead. Caraway rye bread, black cherry puree, plump raisin, Brazil nut, and walnut illusions sidle recessive black tar bittering. Try in lieu of chocolate malted.
SAMUEL ADAMS SUMMER ALE 2010
On tap, lemon zest, orange juice, and banana-clove burst forth alongside advertised grains of paradise tropicalia, satiating creamy crystal malting. Mango, peach, and tangerine make nice cameos.
(NECTAR ALES) HUMBOLDT BROWN ALE
Advertised hemp oil influence may be nominal, but bountiful mocha nuttiness makes up for it in spades. Maple-sugared peanut-clustered hazelnut-cola sweetness counters pine nut bittering to chewy caramel-roasted center. Resin-hopped chocolate-seeded coffee-caffeinated punctuation and sour prune-plum nuance add depth. Creamy to the core, yet crisply clean-watered and neat – like Guinness Stout with a walnut ice cream scoop.
NOGNE O DUGGES SAHTI
Simply divine copper-hazed beige-headed Finnish Sahti, brewed jointly by Sweden’s Dugges Brewery and Norway’s increasingly popular Nogne O, brings botanical mead-like honey wine spicing to luscious red-fruited center and chewy caramel-malted rye spine. Floral-accented cherry-bruised quince-berry-peach fruiting countering bitter pine-needled juniper twigging hides medicinal absinthium 11% alcohol whir. Dewy chamomile, caraway, lavender, and heather illusions seep into heady digestif.
NOGNE O SAISON
Eccentricities abound for abstruse amber-hazed bubbly-headed saison. Sour-candied orange tartness, weedy dark floral frolic, cherry lollipop dollop, distant strawberry pungency, and impulsive brimstone acridity make strange bedfellows. Mild peppery-hopped orange rind bittering and soothing chamomile tea hint secure earthen fungi backdrop.
GOOSE ISLAND SOFIE
Meritorious wine-barrel aged Belgian-styled ‘sparkling Saison ale’ retains herbaceous hop-dried candi-sugared citrus nature. White-peppered orange peel, lemon rind, and juniper bitterness counters malt-lacquered grape-sugared champagne-fizzed white wine sweetness. Bubbly carbolic briskness brightens immense lemongrass-soured yellow-fruiting and ancillary banana-vanilla wince overriding earthen barnyard leathering to mildewed fungi yeast backdrop.
CAPTAIN LAWRENCE BIRRA DE CICCO
Rangy rust-hued Belgian dubbel ale may pass for chic sour ale. Unsweetened dry-smoked ‘Italian chestnut honey and jam’ overridden by tart orange-dried Courvoisier penchant, oaken cherry sourness, cider-y white wine sharpness, and fizzy carbolic pep. Mild herbal spell wavers through fruit-spiced Abbey-styled moderation.