Unique limited edition double-fermented Belgian-styled artisan pale ale from Mexico brings coarsened butterscotch-chocolate malt tryst to soured orange-cherry-prune rendezvous and dank leathery barnyard skulk, settling on alcoholic barleywine constraint lingering through musty corked grape skin dryness.
Monthly Archives: January 2009
CASTA GOLDEN ALE
Sweet malt aroma diverts dry barley roast to lackluster grapefruit-peach-orange stint. Undeveloped citric-spiced finish could use bitterer hop thrust.
CASTA BRUNA
Dark ruby hue counters light-bodied appeal and soft carbolic fizz of middling pale ale. Pallid barley-roasted mocha entry enhanced by caramel-candied cherry souring, mild chestnut ridge, and resin-hopped herbal twinge. Too meek to compete with better stylistic competitors. Simplicity is its saving grace.
CASSISSONA CASSIS
Wonderful Cordial-bottled ‘sparkling beer’ with viscous penny hue, lacey tan head, and bottom-dwelling lava-like yeast faulted only for allowing carbolic expansion to deplete lilting cognac warmth and tangy fructose core. Affable black currant suggestion never overwhelmingly embitters caramelized maple malts, cider-y Belgian yeast, and brandy-barleywine tinge as temporal raspberry-blackberry waft fades. Dry-hopped orange, peach, kiwi, and passion fruit illusions serenade buttery oaken Chardonnay finish. Tertiary cherry, pear, and candy apple whir further sweetens succulent moderate-bodied complexity.
CASCO BAY WINTER OLD PORT ALE
Dry-bodied, tiny-headed, oats-toasted light amber seasonal seems closer to defiant Pale Ale. Determined spice hop frontage and orange tang coat tongue before sugared malts overwhelm evasive chicory, nectar, and herbal hints.
CASCO BAY RIPTIDE RED ALE
Alluring dry-bodied floral yeast-wafted moderation integrates mild orange-peeled grassy-hopped peppercorn bittering with apple-soured dandelion, heather, and lilac accents. Organic wheat-chaffed barley-corn bottom tempers coffee-nut niceties.
CASCO BAY PALE ALE
Subdued coppery American-style pale ale not only compares favorably to superb Sierra Nevada rival, but also brings brusque spiced-hop tingle and malt-y red-fruited India Pale Ale traits to pronounced sugared grapefruit tang. Slim mocha-nut residue and scanty caramel malt backbone counter recessive orange rind bittering.
CASCO BAY OKTOBERFEST
’99 tasting: Cordial vegetative autumnal plies dried barley and husked wheat bittering above clementine orange souring as fresh cut grass, hay, and cowhide consume nose. A chummy ‘ur-Marzen’ Munich lager. ’05 tasting: Antiseptic pumpkin-spiced ruby red grapefruit-sweetened mocha-tinged mediocrity accrues nasty backend acidity.
CASCO BAY CARRABASSETT WINTER ALE
Musty sweet malt aroma, calm candied whiskey template, and elegant cereal grain backbone counter off-dry hop bittering. Lack of expectant seasonal herbs-spices lowers wintry resilience.
(CASCO BAY) CARRABASSETT SUMMER ALE
Affable sour-doughed honeyed wheat frontage trails off to nutty pine forest where hemp, hay, and leathery horsehide illusions reside. Cookie-like remnant further complicates unorthodox fruit-less Kolsch-styled ale.
(CASCO BAY) CARRABASSETT PALE ALE
Fluffy eggshell-headed pale-hazed bone-dry softie drops phenol aromatics into peppery hop-spiced orange peel bitterness juxtaposing sour fruited malt prowl. Melon, kiwi, and tangerine hints echo rising grapefruit tide. Straw wheat and toasted oats backend lithe soft-watered simplicity.
(CASCO BAY) CARRABASSETT HARVEST ALE
Pleasing honeyed wheat sweetness welcomes dry-hopped earthiness and everlasting sweet-grained hazelnut impression. Coarse walnut hint and stingy floral dab become phenol, exposing brittle toasted bread bottom.