Musty white wine-wafted clear-toned lightweight mired by watery blandness. Frugal tart lemon dryness turns cloy by pedestrian grassy-hopped finish. Softer and paler than paltry second-rate pilsners.
Monthly Archives: January 2009
TOMOS WATKIN’S LOVELY ALE
Astringent dark amber English pale ale inconspicuously soft-bodied enough to be labeled ‘session bitter.’ Vegetal barnyard waft informs earthen nature as dry-hopped grassy wheat formality, husked barley aridity, and meager tangerine hint deplete toffee malting. Undesired diacetyl acridity ruins bland finish.
TOLLY COBBOLD SUFFOLK ALE
Hey, the New York Yankees won the World Series (again) the night we plowed these down! So in our state of euphoria, we concluded this fine bitter ale had lots of rich character and a fair amount of distinction (which it ultimately did). Brisk-hopped cereal malting provides sufficient bite. Strong, assertive, full-bodied, and well balanced with ancillary barley-oat freneticism that never overstays its welcome. Brewery defunct: 2002.
(TOLLY) COBNUT NUT BROWN ALE
Perfectly balanced, elegantly regal English brown ale brings rich Bavarian lager influence to classic English ale styling. Roasted barley-oats crowd mild nuttiness to creamy mocha finish, comparing favorably to Samuel Smith’s famous ales. Should win over anyone with even the slightest nut brown interest. Brewery defunct: 2002.
(ALL SAINTS) TITANIC ALE
Thick-headed full-bodied deep brown dark ale combines sweet malt creaminess with moderate spiciness before being usurped by highly-hopped frisk. Brewery defunct: 2002.
TINKOV PILSNER
Moderate-bodied, malt-sapped, hop-fueled Russian finishes with sweet water-softened baked bread gentleness. Simplicity personified.
TILBURG DUTCH BROWN ALE
Pleasant mocha-raisin waft and glancing quince quip acquaint auburn-mahogany medium-bodied triviality. Sour candied malt dryness, insufficient chocolate-vanilla creaminess, and misplaced orange backdrop foil minor toasted hop sedation before diacetyl finish wearily terminates.
(T’IJ) ZATTE
Deep gold-clouded glow and turbid yeast viscosity provide visual stimulation for spicy floral-hopped orange-bruised tripel. Tartly acidic lemon-peeled pineapple tartness and mouth-puckering cider souring pick up white-peppered clove-spiced mint dirge.
(T’IJ) STRUIS
Stewed prune nose, candied raisin tongue, citric-floral spicing, and tiny yeast particles inundate alcohol-fueled rust-amber Belgian-styled dark ale, obtaining bruised orange swagger and coriander-clove nicety to rye-like finish.
(T’IJ) SCHARREL IJWIT
Aggressive alcohol-forward yellow-glowed moderation layers floral peach-nectarine tang and prickly lemon-limed zest above earthen bottom. Spicy maltose zeal and dry white peppering reinforce ancillary mango, guava, kumquat and papaya tropicalia.
(T’IJ) PLZEN
Billowy fluffy white head builds atop golden body as thick webbed lace coats glass of mouth puckering, harshly acidic dry pilsner reminiscent of tart Belgian gueuze. Corky perfumed waft, unusual white-peppered Band-Aid palate, and grassy-hopped blue agave-clove acccents buttress sharply vinous grape tannin bitterness, affably upending lemon-soured banana eruption.
(T’IJ) NATTE ABBEY DUBBEL
Bruised orange resonance, overripe banana nose, and sour apple pinch wrap around wispy mocha dirge as dry prune-fig-date coarseness and tart cherry insistence thicken creamy copper-hued ale. Earthen oak nuance and herbal respite underscore thinning finish, where slight acidity looms.