Impossibly clear pinkish amber hue proves even lighter and more transparent than soft-toned session beer itself. Faint orange dryness and distant grassy-hopped bittering coerce washed-out beet-sugared strawberry-melon-apricot astringency. Subtle pale-malted Pac Mac yeast influx doesn’t suffice and vacuous citric-soured finish leaves slight metallic twinge. Sadly, summer retreat ain’t nearly ‘wacky’ enough re-tweaking Magic Hat’s equally pallid beet-crazy precursor Kerouac Ale.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: MAGIC HAT BREW. CO., SOUTH BURLINGTON, VT.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: ALLAGASH BREWING, PORTLAND, ME.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Friendly moderate-bodied Belgian-styled white ale overlays up-front coriander-clove spicing and floral hop tease with steadfast orange rind bitterness. Husked wheat, dry hay, and fresh grass provide earthy touch to oncoming candied malt gloss and apricot-quince ascension, though phenol aspect disrupts herbal tea hint.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: ANCHOR BREW. CO., SAN FRANCISCO, CA.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Light, watery, dry-husked wheat with mildly spicy lemon spell enhancing biscuit-y bottom to undesired acidic citrus finish.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: ANDERSON VALLEY BREW. CO., MENDOCINO COUNTY, CA.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Delicious penny copper-hued tropical cream ale brings luscious kiwi-mango freshness to ripe strawberry-raspberry sweetness and tart cherry dryness. Juicy orange tang then engulfs cracked wheat backdrop as vanilla-pecan notes dart across buttery kettle corn nuance and toasted almond finish for an extremely interesting summer celebrator.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: H.C. BERGER BREW. CO., FORT COLLINS, CO.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Balking at traditional summer ale traits, this fizzy seasonal lacks fruity potential but procures sugary maltose finesse. Roasted barley-hop dryness finds tangy sour citrus center atop caramelized undertones. Brewery defunct: circa 2004.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: BLUE MOON BREWERY, DENVER, CO.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Halfway refreshing golden-fleeced seasonal benefits from clover honey sweetness and soft lemony orange peel bittering, but glutinous pale wheat stickiness and cloy soda-like finish become stagnant. Soapy backdrop outlasts vulnerable peppery coriander-clove spicing.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: BLUE POINT BREW. CO., BALTIMORE, MD.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Soapy translucent gold lightweight brings sly dry hop graze and dank lemony peach-grapefruit sedation to sweet corned cracked wheat center, but indistinct summery appeal and phenol vapidity mar commonplace brew.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: BOULDER BEER CO., BOULDER, CO.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Aggressively hop-embittered deep ruby-hued winter celebrator trickles brown sugared cocoa-powdered mocha-vanilla malts atop cinnamon-ginger spicing, honey nut glaze, and tertiary fig-prune-plum nuances. Tea-like midst surges to sherry-like finish, absorbing some lingered phenol acidity.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: BRECKENRIDGE BREWERY, DENVER, CO.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Softly carbolic pale-toned toasted oat-scented summer brew proves non-traditional, as roasted barley dryness undoes expected summery fruitiness by constricting fructose tolerance. Worse, predictable muted sour wheat finish tanks.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: BROOKLYN BREWERY, BROOKLYN, N.Y.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Basic pale golden moderate-bodied summer fodder fizzles. Seltzer-like fizz hides tart citric serenade and sour clover honey affinity. Worse, astringent pomegranate acridity ransacks grassy hop earthiness.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: CAPITAL BREWERY, STEVENS POINT, WI.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Unspecific German-styled brew relegates orange-fruited nature and dry nuttiness to delicate grain base as buttery diacetyl flail nearly detracts from poignant mango-strawberry midst.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: CASCO BAY BREWING, PORTLAND, ME.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Affable honeyed wheat-sourdough frontage trails off to nutty pine forest where hemp, hay, and leathery horsehide illusions settle. Cookie-like remnant further complicates unorthodox fruit-less Kolsch-styled ale.