On tap at Shepherd & Knucklehead, approachable copper-based autumnal hybrid retains buttery vanilla creamed crystal malting to abut vegetal pumpkin meat roast. Advertised orange-oiled pink peppercorn seasoning stays below candied ginger herbage, lemon saffron oiling and sugary gin-rummy ethers (produced by hefty 9% alcohol volume). Vodka-wafted rubbing alcohol waft increases ethanol burn, but supple cream ale never succumbs to acrid liquor-based phenolics.

Serviceable pre-prohibition style cream ale (in a can) claims to be staple in Rhode Island during the Sixties. A bit thin, its spritzy citric-spiced grassy hops creep alongside smooth pale-lagered Vienna and caramel malts. Mild lemony orange twist and light vanilla creaming veiled by phenol complacency. White-breaded spine nearly goes limp. But it’s summertime sessionable when chilled.

Fine canned version streamlines baked-breaded sourdough malting with resinous hop bittering, coarse grain-husked minerality and wafting cologne musk. Herbal snips and vegetal wisps glide through the salt-watered briskness as well. Serve to anyone intrigued by Heineken’s pungent hop bitterness or to less aggressive Dortmunder lager imbibers. Betters any marketed cream ale.

On tap at Mews (and available in cans), polite moderate-bodied cream ale makes for an easygoing, approachable session beer. Dry wood-toned hop spicing creases honeyed citric easement above crowded biscuit malt bottom. Baked bread, wheat toast and baguette illusions provide restrained alacrity. 

Approachable moderate-bodied session ale. Light caramelized creaming and doughy baked breading contrast subtly perfumed grassy hop bittering. Lemony grapefruit splurge picks up mild herbal tea nuance above wispy ethanol pungency, finishing with a zesty citric zip.

Aromatic green apple tartness and mouth-puckering citric souring provide eye-squinting bitterness, leading to heartburn-inducing vinous acidity. Intrusive carbolic fluff overwhelms miniscule butterscotch malt creaminess. Lacking necessary cereal-grained sweetness to counter dismal one-dimensional yellow-fruited sourness. Too similar to Big Hole’s lackluster Pale Ale.

Warbly copper-hued cream ale with ample sweet raspberry nose and mouthfeel done in by dour phenol creaming at shaky barley-wheat backend. Chewy caramel malt overtones are welcome, but mild astringency prohibits raspberry flux at incomplete finish. Nevertheless, well fermented milky yeast thickness provides solid depth.

Illuminating honeyed orange-lemon essence and sweet vanilla malting give tangy light-bodied thirst quencher an effervescent Orange Crush soda, sherbet, or creamsickle appeal. Seltzer fizz hides faint peach-grapefruit-ginger tones. A better ‘malternative.’

Amiable creamy-headed straw-hazed sparkling ale combines dark Belgian malts with sinewy yeast funk, bitter citrus spicing, and tea-like splendor for casually perplexed moderate body. As hoppy as an IPA (with wispy yellow grapefruit, green apple, and orange fruiting), but softly crisp-watered and lightly grained, allowing pilsner fans a chance to catch their breath.

Thick doughy essence and cloy creamed corn froth buried beneath dismal maize-dried metallic hop fizz to sudsy diacetyl finish. Acetous density bloats gut for flatulent conclusion. Low-budgeted blue collar fans call it Genny Cream. Pass.

Pours from the can like thick nitro-fueled Guinness (though much lighter in appearance), allowing cascading bubbles to arise from bottom. Creamy froth saturates orange peel tang, wafting barleymalt sweetness and brisk hop bitterness, bettering Boddington’s billowy dilution by a widget. But it’s a tidbit thin for its class.