Part of brewers’ ongoing ‘100 barrel series,’ smooth gin-soaked herbal medication upends cloying lemon-sugared heather-tipped orange tang with zippy ginger ale fizzing. But its cross to bear is the glutinous sorghum-like souring depleting honeyed ginger-spearmint-eucalyptus subsidy and citric-bruised continuance.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: HARPOON BREWERIES, BOSTON, MA.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: 21ST AMENDMENT BREWERY, SAN FRANCISCO, CA.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Mild golden-bodied wheat ale lacks fruity luster in canned version. Washed-out hard-candied Jolly Rancher watermelon tartness lingers softly through blanched rye wheat backbone. Subsidiary mandarin orange, peach, and cantaloupe illusions fade fast as abysmal pale-malted white-breaded sorghum slouching reaches soapy melon-limed finish. Watermelon juicing clearly needs deeper resonance and latent cloy nature proves troublesome.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: THE BRUERY, PLACENTIA, CA.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Profusely mouth-puckered beige-hazed yellow-glazed ‘tart wheat ale’ creates vinous Sauvignon Blanc or Belgian Gueuze feel (when not sweetened by raspberry and woodruff syrup). Sour green grape, Granny Smith apple, and unripe lemon fruiting reinforces wild yeast herbage and leathery barnyard funk. Grassy-bottomed horsehide, hay, and maize illusions breach tertiary tannic cherry tartness at tail end of light-bodied carbolic spritzer. Despite heightened brettanomyces level, acidic tendencies are kept in check.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: KONA BREW. CO., PORTSMOUTH, N.H.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Washed-out light-bodied limited edition ’09 release splashes passion fruit tedium across sour lemon-lime indifference. Tart kiwi-mango-plantain tropicalia disrupted by astringent citric-hopped doldrums to unstable white-breaded rye-dried cracked wheat spine.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: FLYING FISH BREW. CO., CHERRY HILL, N.J.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Well-balanced bottle conditioned straw-hazed ‘pale wheat’ ale (celebrating Jersey Turnpike exit) juxtaposes piney floral-hopped lemon-orange zest and mild grapefruit-currant bittering against tangy apricot-apple-tangerine sweetness. Candi-sugared Belgian yeast softens alcohol burn at fruity sherbet finish. White peach, purple grape, and parfait illusions come and go.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: THE BRUERY, PLACENTIA, CA.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Watch for explosive carbolic pour of unfiltered bottle-conditioned burgundy-hued Belgian dark ale claiming to be ‘unique distortion of Belgian witbier.’ Brown-sugared cocoa-powdered fig-spiced chocolate-covered raisin-pureed baked cake sweetness counters vanilla-beaned burnt coffee sourness impacting dry wood-burnt orange peel bitterness.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: PHILADELPHIA BREW. CO., PHILADELPHIA, PA.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
Perfumed floral-herbal highlights enliven sunny Seltzer-fizzed lemon glaze, tart blueberry midst, and orange marmalade reminder. White-peppered jasmine-lavender floridity bolsters ancillary eucalyptus, cardamom, and ginger herbage. Evergreen-fresh mint julep and mojito illusions provide further peculiarity.
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: HARPOON BREWERIES, BOSTON, MA.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: ANDERSON VALLEY BREW. CO., MENDOCINO COUNTY, CA.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: APPALACHIAN BREW. CO., HARRISBURG, PA.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: ARCADIA BREW. CO., BATTLE CREEK, MI.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None
- Author: John Fortunato
- Brewery: AVERY BREW. CO., BOULDER, CO.
- Category: Beers A-Z
- Comments: None




