Off-dry coppery amber lager retains easygoing dry Scotch appeal. Roasted nut-grain subtlety and candied malt creaminess pick up tobacco-cocoa reticence before orange-grapefruit ripeness conveys appealing sourness.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: AASS BREWERY, DRAMMEN, NORWAY
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Tantalizing mahogany-hued foamy-headed Norwegian holiday treat furnishes flowery yeast, sour malts, and nutty caramel with explosive carbonation. Clove, overripe cherry, and date-prune add wintry luster to smooth barleywine finish.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: AFANASY BREWERY, TVER, RUSSIA
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Spotty prune-fig confluence picks up considerate dark caramel- toffee-butterscotch continuance as slightly syrupy nature recedes to blank mocha grained finish.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: CERVEZAS ALHAMBRA, GRANADA, SPAIN
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Indecisive deep maroon-bodied soft beige-headed dark lager (caught betwixt less resilient rauchbier and styptic Schwarzbier) drapes beechwood-smoked malts across suspect chocolate-anise bitterness, losing glazed ham and cured meat illusions as sharp-tongued phenol hop char increases. Ashy earthen astringency, wavered cocoa-fig sourness, and roasted nut harshness deplete marble rye hints.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: ARCOBRAU BREWERY, BAVARIA, GERMANY
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
White grape aroma, oak-y tannic dryness, and soured plum pungency give cloudy prune-hued lager its bitter resolve. Thick acridity overwhelms lazy wheat serenity of vinous peculiarity.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: CASTEL-SAKARTVELO, TBILISI, GEORGIA
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Soda-flowing tan-headed lager with sumptuous cascading bubbles rising from bottom to top of mahogany body. Chocolate raisin fortitude given red ale-like spiced hop bitterness and nutty cocoa finish, retaining up-front malt thrust along the way.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: ATWATER BLOCK BREWERY, DETROIT, MI.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Brewed by Stoney Creek Brewery since ‘04, this tepid caramelized German-styled lager lacks intensity from its bronzed mahogany body to its swirled tan-head. Dull hops, carbolic acidity, and displaced plum astringency ravage roasted barley spine, though herbal spicing and cola nut twinge save pithy dry-grained finish.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: PITTSBURGH BREW. CO., PITTSBURGH, PA.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Tawny burgundy-hued medium body retains dry roasted barleymalt frame for sweet chocolate variance and reluctant fruit swerve enhancing toasted hop shroud.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: BRAUEREI-AYING FRANZ INSELKAMMER, AYING, GERMANY
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Old Bavarian dark lager features beautiful mocha aroma, delicious smoked chocolate bitterness, and integral dry roasted nuttiness. Dank yeast souring perks up withered rye-wheat spine, gentle water flow, and earthy finish, though better carbolic propulsion would suffice.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: BALTIKA BREWERY, SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIA
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Smoked chocolate barleymalt lag, sagging spiced-hop bittering, and lax dry nuttiness offer shoddy Copper Ale-ish respite. Cheap burgundy-Scotch midst, oily mouthfeel, and flighty prune finish decrease value further.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: BARLEY CREEK BREW. CO., TANNERSVILLE, PA.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Amiable dark lager with cascading white head loses wood-toned peculiarity to unconvincing dry-hopped sour raspberry puree smear and dried red grape acridity.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: BROUWERIJ BAVIKHARELBEKE, BAVIKHOVE, BELGIUM
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Tart and fruity like most Belgian brews, but oak-dried cherry and raspberry dominance overrides any typical dry white wine-like essence. Sullen grained malt sweetness recedes to tamped-down hop docility.