Tart bitterness and intrusive carbonation overwhelm miniscule creaminess. Lacking malt sweetness and grain intonation needed to counter dismal one-dimensional yellow-fruited sourness. Too similar to Big Hole’s lackluster Pale Ale.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: BIG HOLE BREW. CO., BELGRADE, MONTANA
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: BIG HOLE BREW. CO., BELGRADE, MONTANA
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Aromatic green apple tartness and extremely dry citrus sourness provide covert eye-squinting results. Worse yet, supposed creaminess is completely absent amidst orange rind bitterness and heartburn-inducing lemon-lime tang.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: BLUE MOON BREWERY, DENVER, CO.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Copper-hued foamy-headed cream ale with sweet raspberry nose, pale caramel malt overtones, and refreshing wheat-barley fortitude. Dour phenol creaminess prohibits raspberry flux, but well fermented milky yeast thickness provides depth.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: BUFFALO BILL'S BREWERY, HAYWARD, CA.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
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.’
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: CLIMAX BREW. CO., ROSELLE PARK, N.J.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Creamy-headed sparkling ale combines dark Belgian malts with sinewy yeast and bitter citrus hints for perplexing moderate-bodied finish. As hoppy as an IPA, but watery enough to allow pilsner fans a chance to catch their breath.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: HIGH FALLS BREW. CO., ROCHESTER, N.Y.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Thick doughy essence and creamy froth buried by dismal hop fizz to sudsy diacetyl finish. Acetous density bloats gut for flatulent conclusion. Pass.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: GREENE KING WESTGATE BREWERY, SUFFOLK, ENGLAND
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Pours from the can like thick heavy-headed Guinness (though much lighter in appearance). Orange peel tang enlivens light barley waft, slight malt sweetness, brisk hop bitterness, and creamy mellow flow that differentiates Wexford from nearly all Irish-English ales. But it’s a tidbit thin for its class.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: FREDERICK BREW. CO., FREDERICK, MD.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Brewed with hemp seed, this indistinguishable cream ale knocks off the richer, more popular Hempen Ale, though it’s more sour and bittersweet. Fairly strong (is that the hemp going to my head?) with fine grain mesh and paltry berry dab.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: LA BRASSERIE LABATT, LONDON, CANADA
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Raspberry aroma, fizzy carbonation, floral fruit scamper, and grain tranquility consume front end. Short-lived meringue finish recalls spicier red ales, but expected creaminess lacks.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: LAGUNITAS BREWING, PETULUMA, CA.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Exquisitely full-bodied hazy golden amber libation seamlessly merges pleasant floral hop bitterness with dense honeydew-orange-grapefruit wallop and residual candied sugar sweetness, besting meagerly cream ale competition with its eccentric cornucopia of fruits, spices, and grains. Peppery herbs are scattered across tropical kiwi-mango flourish, sappy honey continuance, piney resin goo, and eventually, an earthen mineral-like mustiness. Sterling.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: SCHOENLING BREW. CO., CINCINNATI, OH.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Buttery cream ale seems fire brewed as flighty bittersweet cereal grains, charred hops, and toasted barleymalts increase filling nature of otherwise inconspicuous middleweight. Hints of orange and butterscotch induce Scotch-tinged aftertaste.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: LONETREE BREW. CO., DENVER, CO.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Light-bodied cloudy amber delight with solid head retention, smooth barley-hop confluence, and clean mocha-caramel malting. Arguably the best cream ale on the market. Brewery defunct: 2002.