Sparkling rosé ale recalls less involved lambic with its tart oaken cherry souring, lightly vinous champagne sparkle and ester-y grape effervescence swaying piquant apple cider, cranberry and peach adjuncts. Lovely cherry juice tartness spreads across tertiary sherry, port, pomegranate, crabapple and watermelon rind illusions that seep into thin Jolly Rancher wine cooler finish.
Crisply clean pilsner-malted Mexican lager betters most in its light-bodied class. Zesty lemon-spiced hop spritz provides initial pep as raw-honeyed maize dryness comes aboard. Dry straw and wet grass welcome compost-wafted black pepper herbage below the surface. Sunny citric-splashed cracked corn finish never loses resilience.
On tap at Cloverleaf, indecisive kettle-soured Hell Or High Watermelon with moderate lactose acidity lets melon rind adjunct lose out to vinous green grape pucker. French saison yeast adds sour lemon twist and oaken cherry mist. Wispy white wheat base evaporates.
On tap at Poor Henry’s, delicate citric hop profile gains salty white-peppered carbolic spritz for summery light-bodied Berliner Weiss. Subtle lemon-limed souring absorbs lactic acidity.
On tap at Doherty’s, massive yellow grapefruit influence rewards sharp citric frontage of refreshingly zestful moderate-medium body. Bark-dried pine dryness infiltrates floral citrus continuance as lemony peach, mango, tangerine and clementine tang gains strength above biscuity pale malting. Brisk clean water base enlightens fruitful essence. In the can, spry citrus pined sharpness and brisk juniper bittering contrast creamy spruce-licked crystal malting.
Exemplary India-styled red ale coalesces piney fruited IPA-like bittering with rich cookie dough yeast and caramel-spiced biscuit malts. Advertised “strawberry jam mouthfeel” wavers beside spruce-sweetened grapefruit, pineapple, navel orange, mango and peach tang. Below, cotton-candied pastry sugaring and light ginger-cardamom seasoning allow overall flavoring to lean on the sweet side. Recommended.
FDR’s Depression Era presidential chats inspired enchanting English-styled winter warmer (7.9% ABV). Brown-sugared Christmas spicing coats caramel-burnt toffee sweetness, cocoa-powdered brown chocolate creaminess, syrupy molasses sapping and phenol hop grind. Nimble ginger-nutmeg-cinnamon seasoning and mild green raisin dalliance make contact with latent burgundy-port nuances.
