Classic post-prohibition recipe given resurgence around 2012. Toasted hop spicing relegates grassy wheat-chaffed sourdough breading to maize-dried barley biscuit base for delicately sessionable moderation.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: NATIONAL BREWING COMPANY, EASTON, MD.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: EPIC BREW. CO., SALT LAKE CITY, UT.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Summery yellow-hazed pale lager with estimable dry-hopped IPA tendencies offers perfumed citric zest to dusty floral earthiness. Lemony grapefruit peel and orange pith embitter tart pineapple, marmalade, cantaloupe and apple illusions. Black-peppered herbal tea and grassy hop oiling add resinous backdrop.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: PRETTY THINGS BEER AND ALE PROJECT, WESTPORT, MA.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Daringly complex dry-hopped pale lager moves beyond stylistic limitations with its heightened vodka-like 7% alcohol volume, zesty citric intrigue, lingered herbal notion and perfumed lavender florality. Musty yeast funk brings earthen fungi peculiarity to lemon-peeled grapefruit, orange, clementine and navel orange tartness as well as black-peppered lemongrass, basil and sage herbage. Mineral-grained German pilsner malting provides soft base.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: EXPLOSION BREW. CO., STRAKONICE, CZECH REPUBLIC
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Desultory Czech pale bock unfolds slowly and haphazardly. Glutenous rye malting falters as buttery whiskey seeps into the light honey-spiced midst. Supposed oak-chipped smokiness barely registers and cloy beet sugaring is questionable.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: COORS BREW. CO., GOLDEN, CO.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
On tap at NJ Beer Expo ’13, thin golden-cleared lager brings dry malted hop spicing to toasted rye spine. Buttered popcorn smidgen and soda bread snip lost by ultra dry finish.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: HARVIESTOUN BREWERY, DOLLAR, SCOTLAND
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Serene warm-fermented pale lager brings fresh-watered mountainside dewy mist and marble rye sourdough breading to tangy grapefruit-peeled pineapple bittering. Lightly salted dry-hopped spicing tingles raw-honeyed ginger tea backdrop at billowy wheat biscuit bottom. Easygoing sessionable fare ultimately mingles light lagered baked breading with spritzy citric pale ale flare.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: BROWAR WITNICA, WITNICA, POLAND
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Disgustingly gross sinewy suds (a.k.a. Lubuskie Miodowe) allows slick raw-honeyed astringency and nastily cloy sugared malts to putrify one-dimnesional scum water. In comparison, Hall’s Honey Lemon Coughdrop tastes way better.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: PERONI BREWERY, ROME, ITALY
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Thin, clear-yellowed, sessionable light body layers simple lemon-salted zest and buttered biscuit malting atop a soft barley-maize-rice bed. Brisk carbolic nature and gentle hop spicing save its frail citric finish from oblivion.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: GOLDMINE BREWERS, ROCHESTER, N.Y.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Slickly glutinous pale-strawed fodder (reticently contract brewed by Genesee’s sponsor) promises the goldmine but gives us the shaft. Stale whiskey entry depleted by nasty corn-sugared malt liquoring and oily-hopped diacetyl buttering. Skunky cat urine salting further cheapens ruggedly coarse $2.99 per 6-pack dreck.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: CAPITAL BREWERY, MIDDLETON, WI.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Truly middle-of-the-road canned pale body merges sour Kolsch fruiting with toasted lager crisping. Tart orange oiling, parched lemondrop-candied pucker and dry cherrywood reminder waver through sedate grassy-hopped prickle as well as distant corn-sugared Vienna malting. Tertiary banana, apple and grape illusions need ripening.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: SUSQUEHANNA BREW. CO., PITTSTON, PA.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
On tap at Pocono’s Log Cabin Bar, approachable German-styled session beer brings orange-nipped lemon spritz to grassy Hallertau-hopped bittering. Buttery crystal malt base softly underlines citric crispness.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: S.A. DAMM, BARCELONA, SPAIN
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
On tap at Mason Jar, creamy crystal malt eloquence pervades soft-toned mineral graining and subtle grassy-hopped bittering of soothing moderation. Corn sugared citric easement receives salted buttering. Don’t expect as much from lesser red bottled or canned version.
